Tao's Restaurant

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.

Location: 1 Selegie Road Paradiz Centre Singapore 188306

Contact: 63398858

Website: http://www.taos-restaurant.com/

Price Range: $20 - 35 per head

Menu

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.

Interior

Sign

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

Another Look

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

Another Look

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.

Bill

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.

Overall Score: 7.25/10

Last Word:

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.