Tao’s

Tao's is named after the ceramic pottery and utensils the restaurant uses to serve its food. The use of such utensils serve to keep the food warm and tasty for a longer time after it is served. Formed in 2003 by Mr Huang Yen Kun after a spur of inspiration from being on the shorter end of the stick which negated his chances of having a 7 course meal in more expensive establishments, this was his answer to good food for the masses at an affordable price.

This is it, the menu is all you are going to get and you get to pick one item from each category that you fancy. Even so, it makes for a generous selection which will probably satisfy many including food aficionados.

The interior is well lighted in a bright and cheery way with flowers and exotic decorations adorning its front walls. Polaroid pictures of stars who visited the restaurant were also found on the picture above. Staff were all courteous and very service oriented, even humorous. A point to note is that the man featured on the television commercials of the restaurant can still be found serving right now. That says something about the place i believe.

Complimentary Toasted Bread ($19.80 set lunch), Bacon and Mushroom Gratin - The bread and gratin came together and i have to say, both were delicious together. The bread was lightly toasted and warm, remaining slightly fluffy yet firm. The gratin of bacon and mushrooms blended well with cheese to achieve a full yet non overwhelming taste. What can i say? I almost couldn't resist ordering seconds for it.

Ham and Potato Salad/ Farm Boy Splendor - For our second appetiser, my gf had the ham and potato salad while i ordered the farm boy splendor. I found the ham and potato a little too bland for my liking and had nothing too special for me to rave about. In its defense, the potato was done pretty well, soft and firm. The farm buy splendor came is sizable chicken chunks sprinkled with crushed roasted nuts, carrots, lettuce and sweet syrup. It tasted good albeit a little dry when it came to the meat.

Cream Of Mushroom/ Fish Soup - Next came the soup, whereby mine was the boring cream of mushroom which turned out much better then expected with it being creamy yet filled with mushroom bits. My gf had the more interesting fish soup which was served in the teapot to our surprise and tasted pretty interesting. Neither salty nor having an overwhelming fishy taste. There was also a few ingredients inside to whet your appetite like the scallop shown above.

Ice Grass Jelly Mint Tea/ Orange Juice - Having been here previously, the one thing that stuck in my mind was the iced tea i had here. Mine was the mint tea which was refreshing and tasty as i remember it, having it throughout or at the end of the meal simply clears up the feeling of oil and makes you want to eat a little more. My gf had the orange juice which came with some apple pieces and orange pieces inside. Pretty good but i found it too sour for my liking.

Baby Lobster Pasta in White Wine Sauce - The main course of my gf is the baby lobster white wine sauce pasta. The base is of the creamy variety but turned out a little too salty which made eating it somewhat less appealing. It did come with 2 shrimps and a generous helping of pasta. The pasta itself was springy and chewy which is a plus. The presentation of this dish is the first bad presentation i noticed in the entire meal.

Tao's Oven Roasted Steak - A signature dish, the steak came as i ordered, medium rare and done to perfection. The meat was soft and chewy which went well with the peppery gravy making this one of the better steaks i had. Not the best but one of the better ones. The only complaint i have is the small portion size for this one. I want some more!

Home Made Chocolate Mousse Cake - In a word, weird. The cake was relatively hard and the chocolate did not have much taste to it. The mousse layer was too small and it was hard to make out where the mousse started and the where the cake ended. Not something i'll have again.

Creme Brulee - Made from vanilla extract (this can be concluded from the lack of spots on the creme brulee), Tao's rendition falls a little short as the creme brulee had too much of an eggish aftertaste which reminds me of egg tarts and the sugar coagulation was too hard which is evidence of over burning. Decent, just not great.

Some hits, some misses and lots of heart. The meal came up to $46.60 for 2 people. Not too much considering the variety we had and the great service rendered.

I remember the first time i saw the advertisement on television years ago about a restaurant serving 7 course meals at a fixed price. I dismissed the business as a gimmick and that good food could never come from such places. I was terribly wrong and misjudged the situation badly. Now, i heartily recommend this place for the uninitiated as the service is great, the food is good and the ambiance is homely despite the horrible location. I'll definitely be back and so should you.

Its been a while since I last stepped into Tao's, with my last visit being about one and a half years ago. Since I was in the vicinity, I couldn't resist dropping by to renew my acquaintance with this small humble eatery.

Occupying a space big enough for about 50 pax at the basement of Paradiz Centre, Tao's retains its clean lines and bright lighting to give the wholesome family dining feel. Tao's dining concept is rather different as the menu is fixed and you get to choose a dish for each course. There are 7 courses in total for dinner (I believe its 6 for lunch) but choices are rather limited.

Mushroom & Cheese Gratin and Toasted Bread - I personally like the gratin quite a bit, tasty yet not nausea inducing. It did come across as a little more watery this time round but portion size seemed to have grown slightly. When eaten with the lightly toasted bread, the combination really got me craving for more.

Curry Yogurt Prawn Salad - The prawn salad was a joke really. 3 thin slivers of prawns covering asparagus, cherry tomatoes and golden mushrooms. I could have easily stuffed all 3 into my mouth at one go. It didn't help that the accompanying curry sauce was rather strong and sweet.

Farm Boy Splendor - Having ordered the farm boy splendor on previous occasions, it certainly didn't impress me very much, coming across as very average. On a positive note, the pieces of chicken in it were sizable and the vegetables were relatively fresh.

Cream of Mushroom Soup - A most decent rendition of the humble cream of mushroom, with bits of mushroom in it and obviously not tasting like a straight out of the can variation. It would have been better if it was slightly more coagulated (less watery) though.

Wild Mushrooms - This has to be the only time that I found the wild mushrooms more enjoyable because they didn't taste too wild for me nor were there the irritating little hard bits present, unlike previous occasions. Not that I really fancy it that much still.

Slow Cooked Pork Back Ribs - The pork ribs is Tao's signature dish which has apparently won an award in some competition. The meat was fall of the bone tender but did come across as a tad too sweet, which made me rather sick after a while.

Tao's Oven Roasted Steak - The steak came almost well done although I had asked for medium rare. The presence of excessive tenderizer was also evident as the meat did seem a little too tender by normal standards. Probably the only positive thing about this dish was the gravy, which was a little peppery and relatively tasty.

Creme Brulee - Good Creme Brulees are made from real vanilla beans, not vanilla extract. Tao's rendition was made from the latter. Not that it tasted bad though, just that the layer of sugar atop was too thin and not even hard. Talk about poor execution.

Home Made Chocolate Mousse - Homemade stuff usually entail a certain standard, but the chocolate mousse was just plain weird by any standards. It tasted like a 2 layer cake with the mousse on top and kueh at the bottom. Definitely not for me.

Ice Grass Jelly Mint Tea - An excellent way to end off dinner, with a choice of teas. I personally like the grass jelly mint tea because its sweet and cool with a dash of freshness from the mint.

Prices at Tao's have not gone up since more than a year back, which is really commendable given the rising costs. $61 for 2 set dinners is rather reasonable for the quality and quantity of food if you ask me. Service is excellent and friendly as well. I can't find a reason not to return.

See all my pictures here