A couple of weeks ago Sheila and I had a sudden
craving for Chinese food. So I picked her up at work
and we went straight to Chinatown. It wasn't
something that we normally do. It was a random
thing. And even more random was our choice of
restaurant. We walked into New Tai Yuen. I honestly
have no idea what the place was like. It turned out
to be a big mistake!
The first thing that I noticed was the lighting on
our table. Of course if you're just there to eat
then that's not an issue. But for me it was quite
hard getting proper pictures. Everything was yellow!
The next thing was the way the service works. One
waitress only takes drink orders, and another one
only takes food orders. And it's not like they both
stand in front of you at the same time. In our case
we had to wait another 15 minutes for someone to
take our food order.
Because I have no idea what New Tai Yuen was like I
suggested that we only order the simple stuff on the
menu. I'm glad that's what we did because when the
food arrived they weren't really up to scratch. We
had fried dumplings first. They were very oily, and
the sauce that goes with them seemed to have been
diluted in water.
Then the fried rice came. There was hardly anything
in it. And notice the peas. They're not bright green
anymore and they've collapsed. It's a clear sign
that they did not cook it to order. It was probably
been sitting on a corner somewhere. Oh, and the
whole thing barely had any flavor.
When the Lemon Chicken arrived the first thing I
noticed was the portion size. It was tiny. And when
I tasted it there really wasn't much flavor. It does
not taste like lemon at all. The texture of the
chicken is like that of overcooked Schnitzel.
Then the Sweet and Sour Pork came. It was weird. It
should've been called Sweet and Sour Onions with
bits of Pork and Vegies. The ratio of the Onions to
the other Vegies and the Pork was 3:2. I counted the
pieces so I know what I'm talking about. And the
flavor... there's hardly any sweet taste, and the
sour flavor leaves a strong aftertaste, like cheap
vinegar.
The Calamari was the last one to come. It wasn't
crunchy. And the flavor wasn't really there. But at
least it was tender, but as soon as you bite into a
piece oil oozes out. Hmm... strange!
If they can't get the simple items on the menu right
then imagine what we'd get if we ordered the Fish or
the Duck. The Chinese take away at our local Food
Court can produce the dishes that we ordered at New
Tai Yuen several times better! We're both very
disappointed and we're definitely not coming back.
Thumbs down from Sheila and me!
