TAO'S

This is my 3rd visit to Tao's Restaurant. First visited this place 3 years ago in 2008. Recently, we went back to again on a Saturday afternoon. I was quite surprised to find that the layout of the place and even price has not changed. In terms of the menu, some of the items on the menu has changed.

Tao's Restaurant concept is to serve 6-7 course meal at an affordable price.

Lunch, it is 6 course meal at $19.80 ($23.30 nett)
Dinner, it is 7 course set meal at $29.80 ($35.07 nett)

What's the difference between lunch and dinner other than price? Well, for dinner there is an addition dish which is the Grilled King Oyster Mushroom & Sorbet. So far, have not eaten during dinner before so can't comment about this dish.

Now let's start with the lunch - 6 course set meal.Course 1: Starter - Bacon & Mushroom Gratin with soft toasted bread. It was baked in with mushroom, bacon and cheese. Using it as a spread for the bread, the Bacon & Mushroom Gratin was delicious although it was slightly on the salty end. You can ask for more serving of bread, I asked for 1 more to accompany this heavenly starter.

Course 2: Salads - Top Shell Salad with Cold Japanese Noodle. This dish was served cold. The top shell was served with chop chilli, peanuts, Japanese noodles and a dressing that seems similar to Thai dressing. This dish did not suit my taste bud as it was on the sour side.Course 2: Salads - Prawn Roll with Pork Floss. This dish is so much better than the Top Shell Salad. It was light, refreshing and sweet, the taste of this dish complement the ingredients well. Course 3: Soups - Cream of Mushroom. This dish is my favourite1 As mushroom is one of my favourite ingredient, this might be biased! This bowl of soup is 100 % mushroom! So many chunks of mushrooms between each flavour and the whole soup has a strong flavour/essence of mushroom (that I was wondering if my nose will start bleeding from being too heaty =P) Definitely home-made and totally different from the ones outside or the ones you find in cans. The only issue I had was why the bowl was not even half filled!

Course 3: Soups - Cream of Pumpkin. Ordinary, I prefer mushroom soup. Course 4: Main Entrees - Tao's Grilled Chicken Jumbo Leg. Surprisingly, there was a layer of chilli oil and giving it a spicy flavour which did not suit the sauce. Otherwise, the chicken leg was well cooked and well marinated. Moreover, it was very tender. Course 4: Main Entrees - Tao's Oven Roasted Steak. The steak was huge considering that this was our 4th dish. Moreover, it was well marinated and well cooked. It was tender, soft and tasty. I have no idea why the 2 dishes use the same sauce.But the mushroom sauce really spoilt the dish, does not compliment the steak. What about the sides (mashed sweet potato, yam chip and boiled broccoli)It was delicious!Course 5: Desserts - Creme Brule. After my previous 2 visit, I knew that the Creme Brule was a must order. But this time, I was disappointed. There was a very strong eggy flavour which even overwhelmed the flavour of the charred caramelised sugar. Course 5: Main Entrees - Tiramisu. This was good!

The 2 cup size are different!Course 6: Beverages - Lavender Tea. Too strong a flavour. Taste like medicine to me.

Course 6: Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea. Inside, there was pieces of apple and also rose bud. This was very refreshing and light. The fork at the side is used for the apples inside. Certainly something to try.

Overall, Tao's restaurant's lunch set is quite value for money. What I look forward to over here is Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, Mushroom Soup, Tiramisu and Iced Rose Apple Tea. If you noticed, the main course was not something I look forward to. As they were average or should I say below average. The service was good and prompt. I will definitely be back for some of the items here during lunch.

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2011/09/taos-restaurant-pomo.html

Tao's has a very interesting concept where one gets to choose from a few varieties for the 6 to 7 course.
All of them are all so appealing, it's really hard to make a choice.The food looks so attractive and they taste nice too.
What i like the most is the bacon and mushroom glatin.
The amount of bacon and mushroom is much,they taste well with the bread.
I also like the fruit salad.
It taste special.

Ordinary quality of food but wide variety of choices. $19.90++ for a six course lunch. Wouldn't say it's value for money though because standard of cooking and serving was just very average joe. Not sure which genre the restaurant is categorized to but it seems like fusion to me. anyway They do change their menu every now and then, so that even regular customers can have new dishes to look forward to for every visit.

It has been quite a while since I last visited TAO, but I realised they hardly change the menu. Still very popular is the lamb cutlet. Anyway this is sort of a fusion restaurant, east meets west, japanese meets I dont know which part of the west but well.. just west.

This first dish is pretty interesting, it is a bit like the vietnamese roll plus some pork flossHmm didnt really like this dish as i dont fancy fake crab meat.One of the very popular dishes, the mushroom soupThis was my favouriteThis was alright. The different desserts that we all had that night. Overall quite a creative concept, food is not bad, price is quite attractive too.

Tao's has a very interesting concept where one gets to choose from a few varieties for the either 6 or 7 course. The choices are all so appealing, it's really hard to make a choice. In the end, I tried to order differently from my friend so we could share and try different dishes. The tea was served in a very refreshing way (and tasted the same way too!) Heavenly is thelamb rack, tasting the best.

Ambience: Good. Tao’s is essentially a middle-end restaurant, located within a shopping mall. It has a setting typical of modern fusion restaurants, trying hard to be fancy and nice. I find it reasonably appealing. At the very least, the tables are comfortable and set a distance from each other rather than clamping you in until you can’t breathe.
Service: Average. While the service was pleasant, some items were brought in before we were done with the previous items. Admittedly it would be very difficult to gauge the dining time, still they could have held it back until we were ready. A mild point though. More importantly, although the waiter agreed readily to serving me iced water together with the iced rose apple tea at the start of the meal, the iced water never appeared.

2012-06-17

At Tao's, they offer quite many different types of set meal which are value for money and at the same time taste delicious too. I usually like to order their grilled steak. Before my main course is served to me, a bowl of their creamy mushroom soup will be served to me, which is quite thick and delicious. The steak is not too tough and the meat is really juicy and with no stingy smell in it. Herbal iced tea and also a choice of your favourite ice cream is also included in their set meal as well. Love their green tea ice cream which the green tea flavour is quite strong and the ice cream texture is thick and not too sweet too.

2012-05-02

SGD 15(Lunch)

I went dinner at Tao's Selegie for dinner last weekend. The place is flooded with food lovers. I am a very big fan of Soba and naturally i ordered Soba at Tao's to try and it turns out to be pleasant and chewy unlike the normal Soba that i have tasted else where. i also ordered a platter with sushi, Udon and fried chicken. and all this only cost me abt SGD 20 per head. I would say the price is fair and quality is really not bad. would recommend.

SGD 20(Dinner)

The food served here is unique and satisfying. We had the weekday 6 course meal set (about $25 per person). Each course may seem small but add them up together they can make for a filling meal. First up, we had the Bacon and Cheese gratin as starter which was very fragrant and cheesy. For salad, I had their Top Shell Salad with Cold Japanese Noodle, which is essentially a nice cold dish. The Cream of Mushroom soup was decent, of the right thick consistency and creaminess. The main, Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs was okay for me, it was tender and not too bad. Their tiramisu dessert was okay, nothing too special. I really like the drinks they serve. They have a wide range of unique fruit tea infusions to choose from. I had the rose apple tea which was tea brewed from rose buds and apple cubes. A very refreshing drink to have after the meal.

Although the food portions here are pretty small, they are exquisite and prepared with a lot of care and are reasonably priced.

SGD 25

Prices are very reasonable and service was good despite the lunch crowd, the staff's service was prompt and attentive. Ambience over there very normal but i think it is still a good place for group gathering with my friends. Think about group gathering, long time never done so, can consider calling my ex-classmates.. Hehe.

We went to this place for a friend's birthday, the service there is great, their waiters make jokes with us while serving great service. Their food are an eye opener for me. There's the cheese like bake rice, its so nice n cheesy!~ and then there's the main course which i order, a steam fried fish, its really nice and refreshing. there's also this small portion of rice with the ebiko-like gravy. delicious!! their drinks are also unique, everybody would have their teapot and small cup to drink from.

2010-09-08

SGD 30(Dinner)

I always remember leaving the place feeling full and satisfied, as if I've just had a buffet.
However this time, I noticed that the portion for some of the dishes has shrunk slightly.
Nonetheless the price remains affordable, the standard of the food remains high, and the service remains excellent.

They do change their menu every now and then, so that even regular customers can have new dishes to look forward to for every visit.

If you've never been to Tao's, I highly recommend you to try out this place.

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. $60++ 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.

http://thechosenglutton.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/raising-an-eyebrow-to-taos/

Well at least I did raise mine. I’ve heard crazy reviews on how it has never disappointed, food & service wise. I can vouch for the latter, but the former Is, disappointing. One of my friends did warn me on not holding too high an expectation before heading there. To be honest, I wasn’t quite on her side, based on what I’ve seen on the net – they just look too good to be true, and very true it is. I might have just slammed it a little too hard, I take some of it back. They’re not that bad, but you can just, somehow, taste the inferiority of the ingredients they use.

Tao’s Restaurant is renowned for its set lunch & dinner (6-course and 7-course respectively). It’s $19.90++ for the lunch, starting from 1130 – 1630 (last order at 1500), and dinner that time onwards at $29.90++. I had mine at lunch time.

COURSE #1: Starters
Bacon & Mushroom Gratin

There isn’t much choice for the Starters, is there I got ‘gelat‘ over it even though it is such a small plate. The bread helps, for sure. And I’m pretty positive that you can ask for more of this pastry.

COURSE #2: Salads
Top Shell Salad with Cold Japanese Noodle
Prawn Roll with Pork Floss
Farm Boy Splendour
Fruit Salad
Huai San
Grilled King Oyster Mushroom & Sorbet (for dinner only)

I love Top Shell (especially when it’s stir-fried with chopped chili, but that’s beside the point). Initially, I understood it as cold soba, but as you can see from the above picture, it isn’t. The Top Shell Salad with Cold Japanese Noodle, however, tastes better than it looks (I’ve never been a fan of thick / fat noodles). It’s a pretty decent dish.
A pity though, that they’ve ran out of Prawn Roll with Pork Floss by the time we were there.

COURSE #3: Soups
Shark-fin Melon Herbal Soup
Japanese Fish Consomme
Cream of Mushroom
Cream of Pumpkin

I didn’t get to try the Shark-fin Melon Herbal Soup, but between the Cream of Mushroom & Pumpkin Soup, the former definitely tastes more decent, in my opinion. One thing is too, that I’ve always been a devotee of Mushroom Soup and the opposite for Pumpkin. Nevertheless, I’ve tried some of the Cream of Pumpkin, and it tasted nothing extraordinary.

COURSE #4: Main Entrees
Grilled Snapper with Japanese sauce
Baked Atlantic Flounder with Cheese
Tao’s Grilled Chicken Jumbo Leg
Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs
Tao’s Oven Roasted Steak
Marinated Rack of Lamb
Crabmeat Aglio Olio
Spicy StingrayThe Grilled Snapper with Japanese Sauce was swapped with Sea Bass instead, because, once again, they’ve ran out of (something). I thought the fish was pretty good – good meat. And same goes to the Slow-Cooked Pork Back Ribs. I really have no idea what sauce it came with, but it was pretty interesting and compatible with the course (I must say that it’s entirely up to your taste on this). The Tao’s Oven-Roastd Steak was so-so, in any case better than the disappointing Marinated Rack of Lamb. The lamb didn’t taste like it’s lamb. I like the ‘foul‘ smell / taste of meats like beef and lambs, but this doesn’t have a single bit of it. It tasted like some meat. In a nutshell: Pork Ribs > Snapper / Sea Bass > Steak > Lamb.

COURSE #5: Desserts
Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates
Green Tea or Yam Ice cream
White Chocolate Mousse
Brownie with Ice Cream
Crème Brule
TiramisuCreme Brule is the dessert to order (at least of the 4 above). Probably one of the few items that is up to standard, in my taste bud’s opinion. The White Chocolate Mousse was diabetic-ally-sweet, something to avoid at all costs (well unless you’re having a heart break and need some serious high level of sugar intake).

COURSE #6: Drinks
Iced Tropical Grapefruit Tea
Iced Grassjelly Mint Tea
Iced Summer Peach Tea
Iced Grape Mallow Tea
Iced Rose Apple Tea
Iced (Hot) Fruit Tea
Lavender Tea
Orange Juice
Coffee

Once again, like aforementioned, inferior quality of drinks. Nevertheless, they decided on a cute design for the drinks. A tumbler-like container for the drinks, and a small, tiny, shot-like glass for slow consumption of the drinks.

Of the 6 courses, I don’t remember enjoying any 1 of it to a full extent. They were all just, food, made to keep within the low budget they have because of the low price they are charging. One thing I won’t deny, however, is their service. Well most places have varying standards within the restaurant itself, like this. I called the restaurant to check if they have set lunch on this day, since it’s a public holiday. I was told clearly that there is – everything as usual. But upon seated at the restaurant, we were told that they only have set dinner as it’s a public holiday. I politely told the waitperson that I’ve specifically asked over the phone, but he was persistent on his stand, insisting that it couldn’t have been the case. He then went to check and track back the call and who picked up the call, and came back with a changed attitude, offering us the 6-course lunch set once again. So a point here I want to make – this waitperson was rude over the incident (which I was a little affected because I’m usually a very easy-going person when it comes to service), but subsequent waitpersons we encountered were more than friendly and approachable, striking small chats and the likes, which made the overall visit a positive one. I wouldn’t really re-visit the restaurant – if you want to say that it’s cheap, it really isn’t that cheap afterall, twenty odd for sub-standard food. Not really.

2011-08-09

SGD 23(Lunch)

As my friend has been in love with the fruit tea since the day she has tried. She has been asking us to go there for gathering !

At Tao's - meals were served as a set-course of 7. They will serve with appetizer like bread first , then baked cheese and it goes on to main course !

like the way they served their food on tiles ! which is a creative way of serving

Strongly recommend their baked cheese and fruit tea !!! which is a must- try

the staff's services were good and efficient !