Eric Berger, chef and managing partner at The Naked Cow, is certainly not prepared to let other viewpoints perturb him. While he is mindful of others and takes all things into consideration, the Philadelphian is someone who chooses to dictate his own destiny.

"The problem with fengshui is that if you speak to three different masters you get three different opinions," he said, referring to the Chinese practice of placement. "Some might tell you that the problem lies in the river running behind your property, some may say the problem comes from the elevated highway. I listen to these guys, but I decide for myself."

Needless to say, the venue of his latest project does not have him lying awake at night. The old building on Danshui Road previously housed the ill-fated Zin Wine Bar and Grill, which many felt deserved to have done better than it ultimately did. A case of a cursed location perhaps? Berger did not agree, and "hoped that the present incarnation is something that can draw people here better than before."

The Naked Cow, which opened in October, is a 70-seater fun, casual family establishment that focuses on bovine dishes in their simplest forms. Diners order a plate of Qingdao beef that is carved into smaller pieces and is meant to be shared.

A 500-gram tenderloin is served wrapped in bacon and costs 250 yuan (US$32) and can easily feed two. The beef is expertly cooked and well-marinated; there is no need to think too hard about it.

Big eaters or larger groups can tackle the one-kilogram porterhouse (400 yuan) that is cooked with sea salt, fresh thyme and coarse black pepper. A porterhouse comes from the rear end of the tenderloin and varies from a T-Bone in that it has a larger filet portion than a New York strip.

If beef is not your thing, the restaurant also whips up a wood oven whole slow-roasted chicken (150 yuan), beef stew (175 yuan) for the cooler season and a slow roasted pork shoulder on the bone (160 yuan), among others.

Sides are ordered separately, a trend that is increasingly prevalent in up-scale restaurant town New York. Big salads and soups cost between 60 yuan and 80 yuan and are intended to be shared.

Other accompanying dishes come in smaller plates. Fried green beans (30 yuan), roasted mushrooms (30 yuan) and beef carpaccio (40 yuan) are common fare, but the restaurant also serves chicken lollipops which are actually wings (40 yuan) and fish fingers (50 yuan) to add to the fun factor and to appeal to the family crowd.

Chef Berger has years of experience, having worked in California, Cyprus, Indonesia and Singapore, among other places. The 38-year old states the US West Coast as the menu's main influence, while the style bears more of a resemblances to places found on the US East Coast.

Berger also said the main attraction of the joint was Western food served in Chinese restaurant fashion. "Locals are less intimidated by Western food if it is presented in less formal fashion."

The chef from the "City of Brotherly Love" also demonstrated his ingenuity with the construction of his own custom-built smoking machine, a creative touch.

When asked if his restaurant's name was likely to offend authorities who had recently condemned the suggestively-titled "Frog Keeps a Mistress" tea house, Berger was unfazed, stating that "cows naturally don't wear clothes."

The bovine theme is obviously to be taken light-heartedly, and the chef hoped to even install illuminated fiberglass cow replicas in the courtyard.

The Naked Cow plans to offer alfresco dining in the spring and will be serving "blunch," more lunch than brunch, on weekends. It also hopes to be able to host a farmer's markets every Sunday.

Naked Cow
Address: 66 Danshui Road
Tel: 021-6385-8123