Modern setting but food is surprisingly authentic |
**This post is dedicated to Clem. :p
The first Taiwanese food/drink that came into Singapore is probably bubble tea. Then Shihlin Taiwan Street Snack jumped on the bandwagon and more Taiwanese Food kiosks followed. Extra big fried chicken, oyster mee sua, braised pork belly etc... These two years, I have seen more Taiwanese restaurant opening up in Singapore which strengthened the Taiwanese food market with the rise in local awareness. But none of them came close to the real deal in Taiwan.
Then Tai Thai came along... and I am impressed with the authenticity of their dishes! It's really the closest thing to what I have eaten in Taiwan. Even my Taiwan friends gave it the thumbs up! :-)
This restaurant currently serves Thai and Taiwanese cuisine. Hence the name "Tai Thai". I am not the expert in Thai cuisine so I shall wait for Joy to go try it then give me feedbacks. But their Taiwan part of the menu is phoarrrrr.....! 很道地!
And soon they will unveil a second all Taiwanese restaurant named 台灣廟口小吃 in Buona Vista.
Watch This Space for more updates y'all! :p
滷大腸 |
All the dishes here are made from authentic Taiwanese recipes and sauces are all imported from Taiwan. Fiona (Boss's wife who is Taiwanese) is very stern about the quality and takes a lot of pride in her home-made recipes and ingredients.
Braised Pig Intestines (滷大腸, $6.90) had been sliced thinly. When you bit into it, it was mild but had a hint of Taiwanese soy sauce. The texture was extra light with a very slight hint of chewiness. Simple food is the hardest to make. And they perfected this dish. I loved the ones I had in Kaohsiung and this almost made me well up in tears.
鹽酥雞 |
I enjoyed the Taiwan Special Popcorn Chicken (鹽酥雞, $6.90) which are deep-fried with a thin, non-existent crispy skin. It's nicely spiced with salt, pepper and five spice powder, very addictive. I remember walking down 墾丁大街 holding a brown paper bag of this chicken exactly this time last year. *sobz* I miss Taiwan alot...
月亮蝦餅 |
Taiwanese Prawn Cake (月亮蝦餅, 4pcs for $12) is deep fried till the skin turns golden brown. Looks ordinary? The unique part is the dipping sauce which is a garlic chilli sauce. Dip a piece of prawn cake into the sauce and it just open up your appetite.
扣肉包 |
Pork Belly Buns (扣肉包, 3 for $8) is actually Taiwanese Gwa-Bao (掛包, Braised Pork Wrapped in Steamed Buns). Gwa-bao is a kind of steamed bun filled with braised pork. As it is eaten like a sandwich, it is sometimes called a Taiwanese hamburger. It is similar to Singapore, except that our local kou rou bao uses pork belly. The soft oval-shaped bun is filled with braised pork, pickled vegetables, Chinese parsley and minced peanut. The pickled vegetables and minced peanut gives it a nice smell.
大腸麵線 |
If you have been to Taiwan, you definitely have tried Ah Zhong mee sua before. Their mee sua is silky thin and cooked with intestines instead of the oyster mee sua we are familiar with.
豬扒飯 |
Pork Chop Rice (豬扒飯, $10) is another very famous Taiwanese dish. The pork chop is marinated in five-spice powder then pan-fried to a golden brown finish. The rice is topped with braised minced pork and braised egg then served with pickled cucumber and vegetables. Only complain I have : the rice they serve wasn't the typical rice you get in Taiwan. Thai Fragrant rice just doesn't make the cut.
紅燒牛肉麵, |
Tai Thai's broths and gravies are all home-made and authentic. Beef Noodles (紅燒牛肉麵, $12) uses boneless ribs and tendons for their tenderness and chewiness. Wide type of noodle is used here, which absorbs the broth and yield a robust flavor and a chewy texture in every bite.
As mentioned above, they will be opening a new restaurant in Star Vista (Buona Vista) in
September this year, named Lee’s Taiwanese (台湾庙口小吃). This new restaurant
will focus on only Taiwanese cuisine.
Finally, an authentic Taiwanese restaurant is here in Singapore. Let's REJOICE!
Tai Thai
112 Faber Drive, Faber Hills
(Jalan Lempeng, Off Clementi Ave 6)
Tel: 6444 6311
Tel: 6444 6311