Affordable steak in the Taichung market – 12-ounce thick-cut sirloin!

Text/Photos byAh Mon

I had just returned from abroad not long ago and decided to catch up with some friends. One of them directly chose this steakhouse located inside Xiangshang Market and even guaranteed that the food was delicious. Due to travel fatigue, I didn’t bother looking for another restaurant and simply agreed to meet at the restaurant entrance. When we arrived at Ted’s Steak, I was surprised to find that this place used to be a “Six Liang” skewer shop—I had no idea when it had turned into a steakhouse. Parking a scooter at Xiangshang Market is pretty convenient, but if you’re driving, finding a parking spot might take a while.

We came to dine on a Saturday night without making a reservation in advance, so by the time we reached the restaurant entrance, there was already a long line of people waiting. We quickly found a server to register our party size and received the number 10. It felt like we’d have to wait a long time, but we didn’t think much of it and just sat outside waiting. After about half an hour, a server waved us in and led us to our table.

As soon as you walk into the steakhouse, you can see the serving counter. The layout of the restaurant feels a bit odd—the serving counter faces the entrance directly, so servers delivering food cross paths with customers entering to dine. Plus, the steaks are served on high-temperature iron plates, so safety could be a concern. I heard that if someone orders a flame-grilled steak, you can see it being prepared at the serving counter, but that day I was too busy chatting with my friend to notice XD.

Dining Area

The number of seats in the restaurant is about what I expected—around 20 to 30 spots—so it can get fully booked pretty easily when it’s crowded. I’d personally recommend making a reservation in advance. Also, because Ted’s Steak uses larger iron plates, the table space fills up quickly. I suggest finishing your side dishes early, otherwise, when both main courses arrive, there really won’t be much room left.

Gourmet Set Meals

After being seated, we asked the server for the menu. There was also a menu available at the entrance, but the one inside the restaurant was more refined and included photos for reference. The cheapest item on the menu is the iron plate pasta for $100, but the main highlight is the steaks. They also offer pork, seafood, chicken cutlets, and more—there are quite a lot of choices, and the price range is fairly wide. If you order a gourmet set meal, it comes with bread (2 slices), corn chowder, and iced black tea. It’s similar to set meals at other restaurants, but here none of the drinks are refillable.

Deluxe Set Meals

These two pages of the menu feature higher-end ingredients, so the prices reflect that. Those with a bigger budget might want to consider ordering from here.

Combo Meals

If one main course isn’t enough, you can also opt for combo meals. The main dishes include both meat and fish, making the meal even more substantial.

Add-ons, À La Carte Items, and Drinks

After selecting your desired set meal, you can ask the server to take your order. Payment is made after the meal.

Side – Bread

Each person gets two slices of toasted soft French bread. The bread is pre-spread with garlic butter, so if you’re sensitive to garlic, remember to mention it in advance. The bread is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside—pretty good overall.

Side – Salad

This is the salad that came with the thick-cut sirloin beef. It’s a generous-sized bowl of salad, which feels quite sincere. Besides the usual greens, it also includes quail eggs, apples, and more. The dressing is thousand-island sauce, which gives it a refreshing and crisp taste with lots of texture.

Side – Soup

It’s a pretty standard corn chowder. The consistency and garlic flavor are okay, and there are some corn kernels in the soup. Remember to sprinkle some black pepper—it makes it taste even better.

Drinks

Since the prices of the set meals vary, the size of the included drinks also differs. On the right is the regular drink that comes with the meal, and on the left is a drink ordered separately. Both are black tea, but the portion sizes are different. The taste isn’t overly sweet and is pretty acceptable, but drinks aren’t refillable—which I find a bit disappointing, because by the end of the meal you might get thirsty and have nothing left to drink.

Seasonings

There are small metal holders on the table with black pepper and ketchup, so you can adjust the flavors to your liking. I personally quite like adding a bit of ketchup to the iron plate pasta—it makes it tastier.

Mushroom Sauce VS Mushroom Sauce + Black Pepper Sauce

The sauces for the set meals are served along with the food. I tried both sauces, and found that neither was very rich in flavor, so I only used a little of each.

Rose Salt

The best seasoning of the day was definitely this one. Without it, the dish would have been far less delicious, and those in the know all say you have to dip it in this.

Premium Thick-Cut Sirloin $390/12 oz

My friend originally wanted to order the handmade filet mignon steak, but it was a limited item and, unfortunately, had already sold out. So we had to go with this thick-cut sirloin instead, which is a mid-range option among steaks. As soon as it was served, a rich meaty aroma hit us. The portion was really generous— a whole 12-ounce piece. It also came with grilled noodles, cucumber, carrot, a sunny-side-up egg, plus a choice of salad and drink. They really went all out.

Sirloin is a more chewy cut of beef, and the thick-cut preparation makes it even more so. We all opted for medium-rare this time, so when the steak was sliced open, the pinkish-red cross-section was immediately visible. Just looking at it made our mouths water, and it tasted even better than it looked. Though we had a choice between black pepper sauce and mushroom sauce—or a mix of both—I found that dipping it in rose salt was the best. The slight saltiness really brought out the umami of the steak. Amazing.

Grilled noodles, sunny-side-up egg

The noodles were your typical grilled noodles, paired with plenty of cucumber and carrots. I thought this part was pretty standard—the steak was definitely the star.

Premium Filet Mignon $320/6 oz

We originally wanted to order chicken leg too, but that was sold out as well, so we went with this filet mignon. Because it’s a bit cheaper, it didn’t come with salad. At first glance, the filet mignon seemed a bit small when it arrived, but that was mainly because the plate was so big—no idea why it was plated that way =-=. Alongside the steak, there were also grilled noodles, cucumber, carrot, sunny-side-up egg, and baby corn.

Cross-section reveal

With just a gentle cut from the knife, you could feel the tenderness of the filet mignon. When sliced with a bit more force, juices gushed out—it looked absolutely delicious. Once cut into small pieces and dipped in rose salt, it was juicy and tender with every bite. Absolutely fantastic. I have to say, the steaks here are really top-notch. But the 6-ounce portion might not be very filling for guys, though it should be enough for most women.

Overall
The quality of the beef was excellent—you really get what you pay for—and I left quite satisfied. It’s quite suitable for meat lovers. However, the sides felt a bit weak and could use some improvement. These are just my personal thoughts, for reference only.

Ted’s Steak
Address: No. 193, Xiangshang North Road, West District, Taichung City
Phone: 04-23055959

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