Invited Review : Tainan Restaurant at Midlands (One Stop) ~ From Little India

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Invited Review : Tainan Restaurant at Midlands (One Stop)

6:15 AM Bunny 2 comments

I must say this would be one of the very few reasons which made us started a food blog in the first place. I was invited for a food review and that got me but best of all, my dear friend off his feet. Yes, because its his humble first time attending to a review like this, and I think by him, you know who I'm talking about - Dennis.

I was invited by Chin Wai the owner of this Tainan Restaurant in Midlands Park Centre or popularly known as One Stop along with Dennis and Nick Chan. It was quite a surprise because ever since the developments of so many shopping malls in Penang like Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall, this place somehow gave way and has been less populated in contrast with its glory 10 years back.

The owner was very friendly and gave us a brief introduction about this place. According to the restaurateur, this place has a history of over 10 years and further renovations and relocation would be done soon.

We got to learn more about Taiwanese Food through the menu and to your disbelief we didn't place any order except for the drinks. Why? Because Chin Wai had his own recommendations of this place's signature dishes reserved for us. Well done.

First off was our Bubble Milk Tea. This was a very good refreshment to start our lunch in the afternoon.

The one above is the Golden Drumstick Rice which was served with minced pork as a topping and some vegetables. To be honest, probably due to the fact that our daily food consumption which has been incorporated all too well with dishes like this, I don't find this dish amusing.

The one above is the Golden Chicken Wings Rice which tasted better than our first dish. It is fried with a golden-brown texture and was really appetizing. Basically most of the dishes offered here are served with rice and vegetables. But we decided it would be hard for us to finish the rice, so we asked for the dishes to be served individually.

Next up was the Pork Chop Rice. It is actually deep fried pork meat and sure enough it is filled with crispiness and a little tenderness at the same time. My opinion was that this was better than the first two dishes.

When we got our first bite of this Eel Roll Rice, I thought it tasted a little bit like sushi, except for it had a exterior of fried layer. Crispy at the outside and soft in the inside.

The Taiwan Dumpling was a little bit upsetting. Instead of steamed dumplings, these were fried ones and it didn't taste as what we expected.

Prawn Roll, the Chinese just love to fry don't they. Almost similar to lobak (pork roll), this fried shrimp roll was alright but a little too oily to begin with.

Beef Noodles is a very common delicacy in Taiwan. Because I don't really eat beef, according to Nick, the soup was creamier than usual and the taste of the beef was also strong, but overall it wasn't spicy enough.

Now, who doesn't know lap cheong is actually a taiwanese dish? This Taiwanese Sausage had a distinctive tender-sweet taste to all our liking.

We had our stomachs satisfied with a wonderful meal. And to end things off with a sweet note, we were served with Foo Chok (Gingko Barley Dessert).

Overall, this place features a chinese classical and homey interior which was really comfortable. The only complaint would be the premise being a little too small and easily crowded, but still it was a good experience of taiwanese cuisine.

Prices .

Golden Drumstick Rice - RM 7.50

Golden Chicken Wings Rice - RM 7.00

Pork Chop Rice - RM 7.00

Eel Roll Rice - RM 7.50

Taiwan Dumpling - RM 6.50

Prawn Roll - RM 7.50

Taiwanese Sausage - RM 8.50

Bonus .

Tainan Restaurant (1st floor)

Midlands Park Centre ( One Stop )

488-1-07 Burma Road
10350 Penang.