Taishan Restaurant The Sanctuary Mall (Somerset West) — Restaurant in Somerset West

UPDATED REVIEW - OCTOBER 2024

It is with sadness that we need to update our review because this reastaurant has changed.

When ordering the usual items from them, which we have for more many years, they are no longer the same. Our favourite soup is the Won Ton (wonton) Soup and without fail this has always remained true to the reciepe.

BUT NOW, it's 100% completely different.

When we asked management about this, explaining that perhaps the kitchen had gotten our order incorrect, it was the Owner who had responded with "We only put a new green vegetable in the soup. That's all and it's exactly the same as before."

With all due respect - No. It is far from the same soup.

Wonton is a chicken broth soup - ...... what you gave us was a beef broth.

Wonton comes with some green onions, maybe lemongrass, a light soy sauce/ fish sauce, sometimes has mushrooms within it, ginger - ..... what you gave us was spinach, brocolli, cauliflower and carrots.

100% NOT WHAT YOUR TRADITIONAL SOUP is and a HUGE disappointment for those that know what your standard recipe has been since you first opened with Sanctuary Mall.

OLD REVIEW - JULY 2024

It's disappointing that this restaurant is situated inside The Sanctuary Shopping Mall, as it retracts from its potential.

The atmosphere is very small and has a crowded cafeteria seating feel, the booths situated at the entrance on the outside need to be replaced, as the cushions have been well worn through.

The counter staff are not friendly on arrival and sometimes do not greet customers. The Servers are very much the same and seem to speak very little English, as they are soft-spoken, shy, don’t seem to understand what you are ordering unless one points at the item on the menu, and they are also unsure when you ask for anything additional (beverages, sauces or cutlery).

HOWEVER, we do want to highlight that the food, in our opinion, has always been incredible and worth the wait it takes before receiving your order. The Kitchen prepares everything on order and do not store any pre-made dishes, therefore, quality and freshness come into play. This does, however, mean that on some occasions, they may run out of certain more popular dishes.

Despite the lack of customer service experience and the atmosphere, we would recommend that you try the menu, as you may well be surprised.

Should you feel that this is not a restaurant you wish to dine at, they often have a long line of customers who have placed take-away orders with them. Alternatively, they do have a second restaurant on Main Road in Somerset West town, which we are...

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