I was invited by ChineseBites to try Tea Wok in downtown. It’s located just steps away from the BCIT downtown campus. It has a big menu, serving many Taiwanese favourites. On Zomato, the rating isn’t very impressive, so I was curious to give it a try.
Food
We tried a number of things and here were some highlights for me:
The Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets is a staple item at all Taiwanese restaurants, so it would be disappointing if it’s not cooked properly. And Tea Wok didn’t disappoint. The batter was thin, and it’s fried to great crispiness. The chicken nuggets were also flavoured nicely. There’s a hint of Thai basil in the chicken.
I’m a pretty adventurous eater, and pig ear is one of my favourite snack dishes. The Marinated Spicy Pig Ear was pretty good. The pig ear was sliced thinly, with a crunchy texture. It’s garlicky, and spicy.
The Taiwanese Sausage with Fried Rice seems simple, but it’s executed well. The fried rice wasn’t wet and mushy, and I liked the use of corn to add some sweetness. It went well with the Taiwanese sausage which typically also has a hint of sweetness. As a meat lover, I would probably like a couple more slices of sausage on the plate.
The Red Fermented Sauce Deep Fried Pork sounded really good, and the aroma of the red fermented bean curd was very fragrant. Using red fermented bean curd could make the dish too salty, but the seasoning was just right here. It’s too bad that the pork chop was a bit overcooked, but it was a generous portion of pork chop.
I always find the concept of omelete rice a bit strange. Rice wrapped inside a sheet of egg omelet? Really? For the first time I had it at Tea Wok. The Tea Wok Omelet Rice was a pleasant surprise. I was quite impressed by how thin the sheet of egg omelet was, and there was a decent amount of fried rice inside. The best part was this sweet and sour sauce, so much to slather on your rice!
Lastly, for dessert, there’s Ice Plate, aka shaved ice. For an extra $0.25 you could get the Brown Sugar version. There are a total of 15 options for toppings, and each order comes with 3 toppings. I would suggest considering Red Bean, Taro and Grass Jelly. Boy, and condensed milk is a must for all shaved ice!
Final Thoughts
Tea Wok offers a wide variety of dishes for affordable prices. Even though it was a hit and miss for me, there were many good things about the restaurant. It’s a good option for lunch and dinner, and very convenient for students and those who work nearby.
Tea Wok
551 Seymour Street, Vancouver
604-681-9777
teawok.com
Disclosure: The meal was provided to me complimentary of the restaurant. However, the views and opinions expressed in this post are purely my own.
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