Foremost 福樂24餐飲
Hours / 營業時間
每天 7:30 am – 10:00 pm；Daily 7:30 am – 10:00 pm
02-2880-2896
1F No.115 Chung-cheng Road Shilin district Taipei ﹙MRT Shilin Station Exit 1 ﹚
台北市士林區中正路115號一樓 ﹙捷運士林站一號出口﹚
Credit Cards Accepted / 10% Service Charge 可刷卡 / 一成服務費
The best memory from childhood：Foremost’s hamburger, rippled French fries and chocolate milk shake
I wonder if the fact that I’m getting older and my birthday is just around the corner, I’m feeling quite nostalgic these days. The other day I drove by Chung-cheng road in Shilin district and a restaurant by the name of Foremost 24 caught my attention. I was really psyched up because for years I thought this place was long gone!
My encounter with family-oriented American style restaurant started with Foremost at an early age. I remember clearly that the first time I had a hamburger was at Foremost. When I took the first bite, I immediately fell in love with that big fat juicy taste of the very thick burger patty. At that time American food was not readily available in Taiwan and this is before Uncle Mac arrived on the island. You could probably count with one hand how many places that offered western cuisine. That was an era when there were only 3 TV stations and 3 radio stations in Taiwan. Hamburgers, steaks, sandwiches, macaroni, ice cream and etc. were considered prime goods. Nowadays we can get any type of international cuisine in Taiwan and it’s hard to imagine that back in 1950s and 1960s Taiwan used to receive food aids from the U.S. The rumor has it that the establishment of Foremost has something to do with former Madame Chiang ﹙Soong May-Ling﹚. After she spent much of her youth studying in America and that’s how American food was introduced to her at the first place. In retrospect I loathed milk when I was little but I always loved chocolate milk from Foremost. And I recall that once I celebrated my birthday at Foremost with an ice cream birthday cake and from that day on ice cream became my all-time favorite food!
In the past 47 years of history Foremost went through many changes. When I was growing up in Taiwan our family would often visit Foremost on Dun-hua north road. That location is now occupied by a newer generation of American style restaurant. And Foremost currently is operating from its one and only location on Chung-cheng road. I was in the mood for childhood reminiscence and I brought myself back to Foremost after nearly 20 years. And I had one mission in mind: Deluxe double-deck cheese burger with bacon ﹙NT180﹚. This has to be one of the most valued burger in Taiwan! Judging from two decks of burger patties and bacons in-between three layers of hamburger buns I was not sure where to begin! The classic way to enjoy a hamburger is to pair it with a chocolate milk shake. In addition to running a restaurant Foremost also owns a brand under the same name, selling milk and ice cream. I was hoping to get a chocolate milk shake for old time’s sake but chocolate ice cream was out of stock. Neither vanilla nor strawberry flavors could perk up my interest and I ordered a coffee ice cream float ﹙NT145﹚instead.
In the old days steak was always served in a sizzling plate and now Foremost still carries on that tradition. U.S. top choice rib steak (NT425; including bread, salad buffet, soft drinks and ice cream) is big enough for two people to share. That way you’ll have room for lemon pie (NT78) and UFO cookie sundae (NT145) because that’s how we do it at Foremost!
童年最美好的回憶：到福樂吃漢堡、配波浪薯條和奶昔
不知道是否因為隨著年齡的增長，而且生日又快到了，對於童年往事我總是特別懷念！某天開車經過士林中正路時，偶然發現「福樂」，讓我雀躍不已，因為我以為它早已不存在了！
認識闔家歡樂的美式餐廳就是從福樂開始。我清楚記得，這輩子第一次吃漢堡就在福樂，。咬下第一口時，吃到多汁的厚片漢堡肉，我就深深的愛上那滋味。當年台灣並不興盛美式餐飲，麥叔叔也還沒登陸，供應西式餐飲的少之又少。在那個年代，台灣的電視台只有三家，廣播電台也只有三家，漢堡、牛排、三明治、通心麵和冰淇淋等等西方食物都是高級食品；如今台灣什麼都有，實在很難想像當年物質缺乏的光景。據說，福樂的成立和宋美齡有些關係，畢竟她也是到美國留學才有機會品嚐到西方食物。雖然小時候我對鮮奶興趣缺缺，但是印象中福樂巧克力調味鮮奶好喝的不得了！有一回過生日，在福樂吃到冰淇淋生日蛋糕，讓我今生與冰淇淋結下不解之緣！
在過去47年歷史裡，福樂歷經不少變化，小時候常光顧的敦化北路店面早已被新一代的美式餐廳取代，如今只剩下位於士林區中正路的現址。為了重溫童年的記憶，十多年之後我再度回到福樂，心裡只想著一樣東西：超大cheese培根雙層漢堡﹙180元﹚。這應該還是目前在台灣最超值的漢堡之一，看著雙層的漢堡肉、培根再加上三片漢堡麵包，我總是不確定應該從那裡開始吃！經典的吃法應該配上一杯巧克力奶昔，因為福樂有自家的鮮奶和冰淇淋，可是那天只有香草和草莓的口味。我只好退而求其次，以咖啡冰淇淋浮羅﹙145元﹚取代。
早期在台灣吃牛排，都是以熱騰騰的鐵板裝盤。如今福樂依然是這樣的做法，特級美國嫩煎無骨牛小排﹙425元；套餐包含香蒜麵包、自助沙拉吧和飲料吧、冰淇淋﹚份量足夠兩人分享，留一點空間在餐後吃檸檬派﹙78元﹚和幽浮聖代﹙145元﹚。因為小時候我們都是這樣吃的！
