Oriental Basil Taiwanese Restaurant 阿鈜滷肉飯 — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

TLDR: Been on the hunt for a good Taiwanese spot for a while now so after seeing this place, finally stopped in and gave it a try. Wide offering of Taiwanese dishes in a fast casual setting. Portions are generous.

-[PINEAPPLE FRUIT WINTER MELON TEA] $5.99 🍍 Winter melon has a light vanilla flavor bur some people say it tastes slightly like cucumber too 🍍 When mixed with pineapple pulp, it is a refreshing drink and the portion is generous as it's the full volume of a mason jar

-[TAIWANESE ICED MILK TEA] $4.49 🧋This basically tastes like normal bubble tea milk tea without tapioca 🧋 Just like the previous drink, this is a very reasonable amount given for the price paid and it's not too sweet

-[BRAISED MINCED PORK & TAIWANESE SAUSAGE BENTO] $14.99 🍚 I thought this was just going to be the normal sized bowl of rice which is what caused us to over order 🫣 🍚 The "on rice" menu options are the normal bowls of rice and the "bento options" are enormous and have sauteed cabbage, pan fried vermicelli, pickled vegetables and assorted diced vegetables all served on rice

-[STEAMED SOUP DUMPLINGS - 6 pcs] $11.99 🥟 Only served on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays 🥟 Super hot when served so eat with caution 🥟 The vinegar served with it brings out the pork flavor of the filling for me but you don't have to use it if you don't want to

-[TAIWANESE POPCORN CHICKEN] $10.99 🍗 Comes in either "Original" or "Garlic Spicy" - the latter option is what we got 🧄 This version was packed with a kick and garlic flavors meaning I thoroughly enjoyed it ⚠️ Some of the pieces had tendons/ cartilage so eat with caution

-[OYSTER PANCAKE W/VEGGIES & EGGS] $14.99 🦪 The texture of this was bouncy and a quick search reveals usually tapioca/sweet potato starch to make that consistency 🦪 Has whole oysters in it and the sauce topping it is a sweet one

-[BLACK PEPPER BEEF ON NOODLES] $17.99 🍝 This dish actually lacked flavor overall despite the amount of black pepper in it - perhaps a pinch or two of salt was forgotten when it was made but I'd rather order their braised beef noodle soup next time

📝 They give you a notepad to write down what you want to order and hand it to a server 📝 The servers seem to speak Mandarin, Cantonese and English from...

I first tried Oriental Basil Taiwanese Restaurant when a friend brought me their braised pork rice (滷肉饭) as takeout — and I really liked it. It had great flavor and left a good impression, so I decided to visit the restaurant myself one day when I was craving it.

Unfortunately, that visit wasn’t quite as satisfying. I didn’t order the braised pork rice again — instead, I tried the pork hock rice, which turned out to be a letdown. The portion was big, but the pork hock wasn’t tender the way I like it — I prefer the soft, melt-in-your-mouth kind, and this one was on the firmer side. The overall presentation also felt very sloppy. I know it’s a budget-friendly bento-style spot, but everything was kind of just tossed into the box without much care — the sides were mixed in messily, which made the whole thing feel a bit cheap.

That said, not everything was disappointing. I also ordered the Taiwanese stir-fried rice vermicelli, which was genuinely tasty — light, flavorful, and had that nostalgic Taiwanese street food feel. The 滑翅丸 (shark fin-style fish balls) were also good.

As for the oyster omelet (蚵仔煎) — it looked pretty decent and authentic when it arrived, but the flavor didn’t quite hold up. The oysters had a strong fishy taste, and overall it was just okay, not something I’d order again.

In summary:

✅ Recommended: Braised pork rice (滷肉饭), stir-fried rice vermicelli, and fish balls

❌ Skip: Pork hock rice, oyster omelet

📝 Tip: Presentation is basic, so manage expectations if you’re dining in or ordering bentos

Overall, a hit-or-miss kind of place — some dishes are worth it, others...

No frills canteen style Taiwanese restaurant that sells a variety of traditional Taiwanese eats at an affordable price.

We got the Taiwanese Soup Vermicelli with Pork Intestine, Pork Floss Egg Pancake, Original Popcorn Chicken, Blanched Taiwanese Lettuce, Apple Sidra, and Iced Milk Tea. Everything tasted absolutely delicious and super authentic. I especially liked the popcorn chicken that was seasoned to perfection. The pork floss egg pancake was crispy and flavourful and the soup vermicelli tasted great with some black vinegar! The milk tea wasn’t the taste I was expecting but was still good.

The restaurant was spacious and had plenty of seating. The only downside I had was how cold it was inside the restaurant. It seems like they didn’t turn up the heat high enough despite freezing cold temperatures outside.

Despite that, service was absolutely impeccable! The servers were very friendly and kindly explained to us any questions we had about the menu and even gave us some suggestions. Near the end of our meal, when our soup got cold, the server offered to reheat our soup without us even requesting to do so. Highly recommend this...