Looking to hit a restaurant that tastes good & easy on the pocket? Well look no further and head on to Tien Ma's Taiwanese Cuisine.
With huge tables & long benches that calls for group eating, you know that Tien Ma's all about food sharing. Don't expect any glitz & glamour here, the classiest thing you'll see will be the glass table tops (that goes through thorough cleaning after every session). As seen in the picture above, at 7:30 in the evening, all tables were filled & there was already a waiting list.
Tonight's menu choices comes from my mom's recommendations.
This is Japanese Tofu with Century Egg. The thinly sliced Japanese tofu is delicate and just melts in your mouth while the Century Egg gives texture to the dish. Don't forget to spoon over the sweet soy sauce. Food-Stars Verdict? You can never go wrong with silky tofu & sweet soy sauce.
The craze for this soupy dim sum dumpling is greatly fueled by the coming of the Michelin-starred dim sum franchise from Taiwan. Tien Ma's version (Xiao Long Bao Php 200) is a nice homage to the dish. They serve it steaming hot & what I really liked about it was the fact that the "skin" doesn't tear easily. Picking it up with chopsticks is an ease. Food-Stars Verdict? Tien Ma's XLB is tasty & had none of the flour taste that some places have. The ginger sauce though lacked that certain kick that ups the flavor as you chew & swallow.
 |
| Hand Made Pork with Kutchay Dumplings (Php 150) |
This is basically seasoned ground pork with garlic chives. They steamed it just right and this tasted quite good. The sauce that comes with it really helps the flavor of the dumplings a lot so I strongly advise you to put lots of it before each bite. Food-Stars Verdict? Although I would've loved it more if they served it in bamboo baskets, this is a definite crowd pleaser.
 |
| Three Cup Chicken (Php 199) |
There's nothing like Three-Cup Chicken to remind you of rich Asian flavors. I was looking for well-coated tender chicken bites swimming in sesame oil. Tien Ma's was able to deliver that but it wasn't exactly bursting in flavor. Food-Stars Verdict? Good but could've been better.
