今年已經悄悄過了一半多，回頭一看，整體情勢似乎並沒有比去年，甚至是今年年初來得樂觀，不僅國際間幾場區域衝突依然膠著，從東歐、中東到亞太地區，各方勢力角力不斷，讓全球政經局勢持續緊繃，而某些大國領袖更是頻頻發表策略性言論，動輒牽動地緣政治敏感神經，讓原本就不穩定的市場更加混沌不明。
好幾家，我慕名已久的平價美食餐廳，居然紛紛地歇業，我都是突然看到它們的結束營業消息，連想去吃最後一次的機會，都沒有，這家開業多年的牛排館，其實也在我的平價美食口袋名單上，但是，我也是聽到它即將結束歇業的消息後，才想去品嚐看看，我趕緊找了好友，趕在店家結束營業的前一天，上門拜訪。
走入店中，發現店家以黑黃色裝潢為主旋律，很有年輕、有衝勁的感覺，店內的牆面上，強調它們使用百分百的原肉，當我聞著空氣中瀰漫著牛排的香氣，已經讓我迫不及待地想品嚐看看，一看菜單，價位都在兩百元台幣上下，自由配的套餐更是划算，可以選兩份主餐，折價六十元台幣，可惜我不是大胃王，一份主餐應該就可以讓我吃得飽飽飽的。
上菜時，牛排熱騰騰地躺在鐵盤上，外層有著漂亮的焦化痕跡，刀子劃下去，果然如同期待地軟嫩，一口吞下，肉質真的很軟嫩，而且肉蠻厚實的，難怪網路上這家店有不少好評，以平價牛排而言，可以感覺得出來，店家用的肉品不錯，至於自助吧，就中規中矩，有汽水機、玉米濃湯及冰淇淋，不知道是不是因為人們知道店家即將結束營業，店內用餐客人還不少，還是像我一樣，趕來吃最後一次。
最近這些歇業的店家，公布的歇業原因，大多說是人手不足，其實，我知道真正的原因是店家賠錢，會賠錢的原因，我猜是成本增加，可能是店租或是人事成本，但是店家不考慮調高售價轉嫁給消費者，因為店家的競爭優勢就是平價，於是，只好選擇歇業止損，唉！我的口袋名單又少了一家店了。
More than half of the year has quietly gone by, and looking back, things don’t really feel any more optimistic than they did last year, or even at the beginning of this year. Several regional conflicts around the world are still dragging on, from Eastern Europe and the Middle East to parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Different powers continue to clash behind the scenes, keeping global political and economic tensions high. On top of that, some world leaders keep making strategic statements that stir up sensitive geopolitical issues, making an already unstable market even more unpredictable.
Lately, I’ve been seeing several budget-friendly restaurants—ones I’ve wanted to try for a long time—suddenly shutting down. Most of the time, I only find out they’re closing when the announcement is made, and by then, it’s too late to even go for one last meal. One of those places was a long-running steakhouse that had always been on my affordable eats list. When I heard it was about to close, I quickly called up a friend and made it there the day before they shut their doors for good.
When we walked in, I noticed the restaurant’s black and yellow décor. It gave off a youthful and energetic vibe. The walls proudly displayed their commitment to using 100% real cuts of meat. The smell of sizzling steak filled the air, and it instantly made me hungry. Looking at the menu, most of the steaks were around NT$200, which is super affordable. They even had a “build your own combo” option where you could get two entrées and get NT$60 off. Sadly, I’m not a big eater; one entrée is more than enough to fill me up.
When the food arrived, the steak was served piping hot on a sizzling plate, with a beautiful sear on the outside. As I cut into it, the texture was as tender as I’d hoped, and the meat was thick and juicy. No wonder this place had so many good reviews online. For a budget steakhouse, the quality of the meat was surprisingly good. As for the self-service bar, it was pretty standard, soda fountain, corn soup, and ice cream. The place was fairly crowded, and I couldn’t tell if it was because people, like me, wanted to get one last meal in before it closed, or if it was always this popular.
Recently, many restaurants that closed down cited “staff shortages” as the reason, but honestly, I think it’s really because they were losing money. My guess is rising costs, maybe rent or labor, but the restaurant didn’t want to raise their prices and pass the cost on to customers, since their whole appeal was being affordable. So in the end, they had no choice but to shut down and cut their losses. Sigh, another one gone from my list of go-to spots.
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