Taipei Gourmet — Restaurant in Lexington

Taipei Gourmet is a small restaurant with ample parking (for the restaurant size), just make sure that you parking in the correct lot or your car may get towed!

I was craving some authentic Taiwanese food, so I came here for the first time to give it a try. In particular I was craving Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup, Spicy Wonton and Steamed Fish. Taipei Gourmet has all these items, so I ordered one of each, plus some xiao long bao as a little treat.

Spicy Wonton: Wasn't quite what I was expecting. The wonton (maybe 5 or 6) was tiny and the meat portion was "only" about the size of your fingernail. Also in the dish was bean sprouts and peanut sauce. However, the peanut sauce was very good! Maybe I would order this dish again.

Steamed Mini Juicy Buns (Xiao Long Bao): Good! Best eaten when hot. Just be careful cause the juice inside can burn your tongue. I would order this dish again.

Steamed Fish: For me the fish seemed to be overcooked...maybe it was cooked twice or so meting? Taste was okay, I've tasted better at other places. I would not order this dish again.

Taipei Style Beef Sirloin in Noodle Soup: The broth looked nice dark and tasty, however that was not the case. Although it looked rich, for me, the broth was very light (almost tasteless). I couldn't finish all the noodles as the broth was too bland and therefore the noodles were bland. The beef (7 or 8 pieces) was thinly sliced and moderately chewy. This is the first time I had thinly sliced beef in this dish, typically there are chunks of tender beef. I would not order...

I was really hoping this place to be good. Two of the most famous and popular dishes from Taiwan (or its capital city, Taipei) are Oyster Vermicelli and Stinky Tofu, unfortunately they had neither. Ordered the oyster omelette instead but it was primarily all egg, barely any oysters, little to no veggies, no chewy starch, and no sauce?! The cold noodle had too much sugar, it was like eating candy noodles in a smaller bowl and again with barely any cucumbers, no carrots, no shredded eggs, and no green onions. The beef noodle soup also had too much sugar put into it, why would it be sweet in the first place? Not enough sour cabbage as a condiment, and none of the noodle soup flavor, maybe need to put a bit more star anise while brewing the broth. The stir-fried beancurd with shredded meat also didn’t have any flavor and looks overcooked (burnt) - reminder, MSGs won’t help with the flavor either, it’s all about the technique in cooking it. The only things decent were the soup dumplings and the stir-fried garlic pea-pod. Sorry to say, this is not gourmet, not even close, and way over priced for the subpar standard and quality - same level, almost no better than the mainland restaurants. Come on, make Taiwanese Americans proud! I know this place can do better, won’t be back...

TERRIBLE service!!! Don't go there unless you want to eat/drink something which might be cooked in the kitchen sink! I went there with my family for lunch. As we were finishing the meal, I found a piece of wash dish cloth steel wire in the soup. I shown it to the waitress and she took the soup into the kitchen without saying anything. After more than 5 minutes, the boss passed our table and I inquired about the issue of the steel wire in the soup. She said it must be the careless of the chef when they washing the bowl and she had censured the chef seriously. THEN... THEN NO THEN...! I asked her to offer a new one, she said they were so busy at that time and did you want another bowl of soup with the steel wire in it! F**K, what's the logic!!! Finally, they offered another small bowl of soup which was much cheaper than the original one, and still charged for the original soup. I won't be there anymore, the owner there makes me feel i'm not treated as a customer and makes...