Tao 淘 @ Sydney

Team dinner to welcome a new member of the Sydney team and after a long time away, I craved for some Chinese food but did not want to go to Chinatown. They are located between Sydney Tower Eye and Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, in the heart of CBD. However, they are not on the main street so you may miss it. But they do serve very good Cantonese cuisine.

Newly opened Cantonese restaurant Tao in Sydney stands out among many predecessors that have gone array with fusion style cuisines by sticking to their Cantonese roots.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls 脆香素春卷

Snow peas, vermicelli & mushroom with dipping sauce 

An appetiser for one vegan among us that all of us would enjoy, the vegetarian spring rolls never fail to please even the most carnivorous among us. The popiah skin was so crispy but not greasy. I would only say it was bit too think skinned.

Squid Dumplings 墨鱼水饺

Steamed squid dumplings 

Instead of the traditional pork and chives dumplings, I decided to go a bit more adventurous with the squid dumplings. The filling was made with minced squid meat with prawn, and squid ink was infused to the dumpling skin. It was not overpowering with squid rawness.

Truffle Xiao Long Bao 黑松露小笼

Mini pork & truffle soup buns 

The truffle was not obvious, but it was still a credible xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).

Prawn & Chives Har-Gao 虾皇韭菜水晶饺

Steamed dumplings with dipping sauce 

The classic hargao made with a twist. Chives were added to the filling to make the hargao taste to be closer to Teochew chives steamed cakes kucaikueh 韭菜粿. Nice.

Whole Roasted Maremma Duck Beijing Duck 港式明爐片皮鸭 (一鸭两食)

Sliced Duck Pancake 片皮鸭

Roasted maremma duck with pancake, the crispy skin of the duck coupled with the soft and warm pancake has always been everyone’s favourite on the table. Raised completely free range and chemical free these birds are Australia’s only true free range Aylesbury Pekin ducks. 

Duck San Choy Bao 鸭丝生菜包

The second course for the Peking duck was the sautéed shredded duck meat wrapped in fresh lettuce cup 生菜包 or sangchoybao in Cantonese. The portion was perfect for our group, with one pancake and one sangchoybao each.

Wok Fried Clam With XO Sauce On Crispy Vermicelli Noodle XO极品酱爆花蛤煎米粉

They used venus clams and not pipi clams like most other places, so the price was pretty reasonable. Turned out my party did not like clams, so I had to eat most of this course. But I had to say, it was delicious, and a must order when I come again to this place. the crispy vermicelli that laid on the bottom soaked up all the fermented bean and XO sauce. The clams were fresh and plump, and there were so much in one portion.

Black Truffle Fried Rice With Seafood 黑松露炒饭

The main course was seafood truffle fried rice. The fried rice was nice, but the truffle did not turn up. I liked the addition of snap peas for crunch and sweetness.

Foie Gras Scallops 鹅肝酱煎带子

Pan seared scallops with braised foie gras paste

When in Australia, one must have scallops and broccoli as they are readily available and a lot more cheaper than in Singapore. These Tassie scallops were as good as Hokkaido scallops in terms of sweetness and size. It was paired with snap peas instead of the usual broccoli. This was the third dish with snap peas, so I guess it was in season.

Typhoon Shelter Style Lamb Fillets 避风塘香爆羊里脊

Tossed with crunchy garlic, grounds of black soya bean, chilli & lemongrass

“Typhoon shelter” style 避风塘 has become a style of cooking featuring a signature golden garlicky breadcrumb coating which has been applied to all kinds of ingredients, especially seafood. But it was not exactly the same as I had in HK, where it originated. Nevertheless, the lamp chop was still good eat even though it was not the traditional typhoon shelter style.

Salt And Pepper Tofu 椒盐豆腐

With dried garlic & fresh sliced chilli

I only had one piece of this. In fact, the party general skipped this course.

Kung Pao Cauliflower 宫保白菜花

With cashew nuts

The reason the salt and pepper tofu was skipped generally by the party was because of this delicious kung pao cauliflower sautéed with cashew nuts. The lusciously coated cauliflower was simple yet innovative use of an old technique.

Stir-fry Brussel Sprouts 蒜炒抱子甘蓝

With garlic, snap peas and two kinds of mushrooms

Take a bunch of kale, Brussel sprouts, trumpet mushrooms and cap mushrooms and sautéed them with garlic. Simple goodness.

And as with all Chinese restaurants in the West, you have to end the meal with a fortune cookie. Many thought that fortune cookie was a Chinese idea, but it was actually Japanese in origin. But since it was often given as a sweet ending to a Chinese meal in the US and the largest manufacturer for this cultural icon was Chinese, it was mistaken to be a Chinese thing.

Afterwards

There were only four of us, and one was a complete vegan. Yet as we placed our orders, we were not warned that it was too much food for us. Anyway, it was compensated with excellent and attentive service. It was annoying for some flies flying around the place – shouldn’t a proper restaurant like this one be rid of these pesky insects? But it serves seafood and seafood attracts these pests during summer.

But those hiccups aside, the food was the main reason I recommend that one would come to this restaurant. The authenticity of the Cantonese cuisine can be questioned, like the typhoon-shelter and XO sauce. Nevertheless it was really delicious food, definitely better than a lot of other so-called Cantonese restaurants in the CBD area. Of course, there’s others in the Chinatown area, but since it’s so close to the office, I would come back here.

TAO Restaurant and Bar
176 Clarence St, Shop2/44 Market St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Tel : +61 402 518 698

Date visited : Mar 2022