TaiOne

Harizah Intiaz

3.0

TaiOne Restaurant Greenhills ReviewTaiOne is tucked at the backside of Promenade in Greenhills San Juan. Being a lifelong resident of San Juan City visiting Greenhills complex is habitual for me and my family. Had the chance of dining at TaiOne several times already and last night I was able to taste more of what they are offering on their menu together with my family. In general, we are all full when we left taione greenhills restaurant but I rated it 3 stars since there are always room for improvement. And here are the good and the bad…TaiOne Location & AmbianceKnowing that San Juan City is centrally located in the metro no doubt that most city dwellers have been frequenting Greenhills particularly Promenade. TainOne is located within the Promenade complex at first you would not noticed it but it is really easy to get to this place (just ask the guard). The atmosphere in TainOne is relaxed with simple wooden furnishing, cool air-conditioning and good spacing (at the 2nd floor) perfect for casual dining with friends and family. The resto is clean and neat too! 5 STARS!TaiOne Service and PricingI am the type of person who won’t skimp on food especially when eating out with family and last night I spent almost 2.5K (no desserts included) for our family dinner which is about 5hundred per person- quite expensive for people who have a big appetite and I don’t think its money well spent. Service wise the staff is quite accommodating but when asked about the dishes they could not give a straight answer. 3.5 STARSTaiOne Dishes- FOODI am totally aware that this restaurant features popular dishes of Taiwan and when it comes to taste TaiOne truly captures the authentic flavors of Taiwan food.  The spices are discernably from Taiwan (which I am quite familiar with). Although the menu is not that extensive but at least it zeroes in on the most loved food in Taiwan specially the noodle dishes. Here are the TaiOne dishes that I tried:Three Treasure Beef Noodle (Php348) (image 1)This noodle dish has the usual braised beef base soup with 3 kinds of meat parts (3 treasure)- shin, tendon and brisket. It comes with radish and onion leeks. It is very tasty and the play of various meat textures is very satisfying. Comes in a nice portion good for 2. 4 StarsMala Beef Noodle (Php318) (image2)Another gorgeous beef noodle with radish and carrots from TaiOne. I’ve noticed that they only offer the beef variety probably beef is quite popular in Taiwan. This dish has all the flavorful herb and spices that came all the way from Taiwan. Quite spicy, very tasty and the heat is tolerable. 4 Stars.Braised Beef Noodle (Php298) (image3)I love braised beef noodles and I love how TaiOne presented this old time favorite noodle dish. The beef toppings are slices of tender beef not the usual that come in chunks. The flavors of the noodle soup have captured me since I love the familiar braised beef taste and the spices are just right. It has some radish too for added texture. A real comfort food for me. 5 STARS!Curry Beef Noodle (Php328) (image 4)This noodle dish has a spicy kick into it compared to other TaiOne noodles. For curry lovers you might be a disappointment since this has a very subtle curry taste. 4 Stars.Panfried Pork Dumpling (Php168) (image 5)I love how TaiOne pan fried this dimsum staple. A bit crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The flavors are good too. Must try. 5 STARS!Beef Burritos (Php208) (image 6)Got curious on how TAiOne would prepare this dish. It has slices of seared beef meat in a burrito wrap. I don’t really enjoy this dish although the beef is quite good but the texture and the bits of cucumber (which I think made this a burrito in the first place) are a little off and strange. 2.5 Stars.TaiOne Chicken Steak (Php218) (image 7)TaiOne got this one right. The crispy batter coating of the chicken fillet piece is delicious. Kids approved. 5 Stars for taste (except for the price)Fried Chicken Nuggets (Php198) (image 8)Take NOTE this is not really a dish of chicken nuggets-it’s just fried chicken all spiced up in flavorful Taiwan seasoning. Love the spices but a bit overcooked. 3.5 STARSKimchi Pork Stir Fry (Php248) (image 9)I never realized that this is literally Kimchi (spicy Korean veggie) with strips of pork. Although the spiciness is tolerable what I don’t like about this dish is the overcooked pork strips. 3 StarsSteamed Fish with Fried Soybean Crisp (Php298) (image 10)Don’t expect too much from this dish since this is just simple cream dory fish fillet that you can usually buy in grocery stores. With that said, the fillet is steamed and drenched in ginger soy sauce then topped with fried soybean which is unnoticeable. All I can taste is soy and ginger which is not really bad but considering the price I am expecting more from this dish. 3 Stars Hometown Stir Fried Pork & Dried Squid (Php228) (image 11)I honestly love the taste of this dish because of the spices used in it. I love the rustic and earthy flavors but the meat and squid is super overcooked. The vegetables in this dish are overcooked too. You will notice how the pork meat and squid shrunk in size which made it rubbery and hard to chew. If the pork, squid and veggies are cooked just right then dish could have been perfect. I love the taste but meat and veggie are inferior. 3 StarsTaiwanese Sausage with Egg Fried Rice (Php218) (image 12)This is one of my favorites in TaiOne. Yummy fried rice with generous Taiwan sausage slices and egg. Although a bit oily (but I can tolerate that) this TaiOne fried rice is definitely worth eating. 5 STARS!Sakura Shrimp Fried Rice (Php238) (image 13)Imagine tiny crispy shrimps or otherwise known as alamang in fried rice? Yummy and great with any food choices. A sure winner. 5 STARS!Sweet Tofu in Soy Milk (Php148) (image 14)If you love tofu then you’ll love this. You can adjust the sweetness since the sweet sugar syrup is separated then toss in some milk- yummy but for me I will not spend more than a hundred bucks for this. 3 Stars.Grass Jelly with Cream Balls and toppings (Php148) (image 15)I love grass jelly and the combination of cream balls (which is made from sticky rice flour or galapong) makes this TaiOne dessert satisfying. Hope they will reduce the price for this item too. 3.5 Stars.Wintermelon Tea (Php110) (image 16)I really love how they blended the tea. It is a pleasant drink to sip into and the sweetness is just perfect. But again a bit pricey. 3.5 Stars.Three Cup Chicken (Php248) (image 17)Marinated bits and pieces of chicken in soy with herbs and spices in a pot. This is a good tasting dish but nothing extra special on it. 3.5 Stars.Teppan Tofu with Black Pepper Sauce (with egg) (Php248) (image18)TaiOne has made this dish very appetizing with how the tofu is cooked. The dish is served with egg and corn on the side then topped with black crushed pepper corn over a bed of bean sprout. The sauce on top is delicious. A definite must try. 5 STARS!Grandpa Stir Fry Rice Noodle (Php238) (image19)This TaiOne pansit bihon rendition has nothing special on it. It is quite bland and a bit oily. 3 Stars.Soy Milk (Php50) Just a glass of warm or cold soy milk. It is fresh and yummy too. 3.5 Stars.TaiOne Greenhills San Juan Final VerdictTaiOne has good dishes to offer in my case it was a trial and error process. I tried as much as I can to taste as many dishes from their menu- some disappointed me while others need improvement but of course there are good stuff also. Beef Noodles here are excellent if you love something warm in your tummy except for the high price. The Sakura and Taiwan Sausage fried rice dishes are superb- must try. The chicken steak and the fried dumplings are good choices too. Now for the rest I just hope they will improve the quality of these dishes but retain the yummy Taiwanese flavors. There is always room for improvement on how they carefully cook their dishes in terms of correct temperature and timing. They should also train their staff to familiarize them with the dishes they serve since most customers would throw in some questions before ordering items from the menu. I just hope on my next visit I’ll see some improvements on the dishes, pricing and service. Until then enjoy your next food experience. Ciao!NOTE: All images are my personal property and no part/portion of this review should be copied, altered, pasted or used without permission.

Andree Santoso

4.0

TaiOne's Braised Beef Brisket Noodles is such a bargain for P298/bowl! Its rich and flavorful broth is a 4 out of 5 for me, with plenty of beef brisket toppings. Yes, check out the photo! The cooks made sure they did not skimp on those tender beef toppings! I just wish they have the option to add tendon and tripe as well! Plus P50 for an extra serving of that distinct savory broth. The noodles were freshly made, kneaded, and cut into thick noodles perfect for that noodle-slurping moment you're supposed to make to show appreciation for the food!Definitely coming back for more! I wish most noodle houses are as generous in amount of serving portions as TaiOne!