Even though I currently have a daughter studying in Taiwan, I totally didn't understand the name of this restaurant until I walked in the door. Inside, there is a large photograph as a mural of downtown Taipei, Taiwan. The center of the photo is the wonderful 101 Building.
I was telling my friend, Vickie, who was dining with me, that Anna had recently been to the 101 Building and there was a very high-end mall in it, when the owner came over. She agreed with me and told me that she and her family were from Taipei.
The reason I tried this restaurant was because of positive reviews on Yelp.
The menu looked like regular Chinese dishes. Where other menus sometimes go overboard with choices...I found this one a little lacking. So, when she came back to take our order I asked her if there were any shrimp dishes in a spicy brown sauce. I said I like a variety of vegetables like cabbage and broccolli, etc. She looked at the menu in the seafood section and said, no. She then directed me to the "Chef's Specials" and told me to get the Seafood Delight. I asked her if it was in a brown sauce, (as dishes like this are usually in a seafood sauce (white)). She said yes. I ordered it. I also ordered some hot and sour soup and an egg roll.
Vickie ordered off the Special Diet Menu and got some chicken and broccoli.
The hot and sour soup was good. It was thicker than usual but had good flavor. The egg roll was fried well but it was kind of mushy on the inside and the cabbage seemed overcooked.
Now, to the main entree. It arrived. It was shrimp, scallops, and fake crab. All of these were actually prepared very well. None of them were over cooked (which is what usually happens). There was also a nice amount of seafood (they weren't skimpy). But the only vegetables were some bok choi (the crunchy part...not the leaves), some onions, some thick cut carrots, some water chestnuts, and 2 pea pods. The onions and carrots were the only thing with flavor. The other vegetables were there for crunch, and there was almost no color to the dish. Everything was white. Now, to the sauce. It was tan. I think they had just added some soy sauce to the regular sauce. It was not flavorful. It all also had a slight taste of char...like being cooked in a wok that wasn't cleaned well.
It was not bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for.
Vickie's chicken and broccoli was exactly like the menu said...steamed. Blah! It did come out with a soy dipping sauce. She was fine with it as the chicken was tender and it was all cooked well.
So, nowhere on the menu does it reference that this family is from Taipei, Taiwan. As we were leaving, I notice on the board by the cash register that they make the Taiwan national dish...Beef with Noodles (think big bowl of pho). Anna loves that in Taipei.
I probably wouldn't feel the need to return, but maybe I'll give the beef noodles a try.
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