Tanka Modern Asian Cuisine & 川渝印象 — Restaurant in Miami

I was not impressed with my food and wasn't going to leave a review, until I had an issue with the billing. I was staying at the Hilton and ordered take out. I phone ordered the chicken pad Thai and the scallion pancake. I got there in the requested time. I was told I had to wait a few minutes for my order, as I was told it wasn't ready. It came out a few minutes later. I went right back to my room to eat. The pancake was ridiculously tiny, dry and the edges were burnt for $8. The chicken pad Thai was also dry, the chicken was overcooked and it had no taste to it. It was blah. No seasoning or anything. The noodles had soaked up any sauce because they were a pale pinkish orange color. Anyway, neither dish was impressive. What really disappointed me was that they sneakily added $7.77 onto the bill! I was told I had to pay over the phone at the time I ordered. I was given the total of $35.31 and gave her my credit card number to be charged. When I picked up, I never signed a slip and was never given a receipt. When I reviewed my credit card statement a few days later, they charged $43.08! I called the restaurant and asked for the manager. I got someone named Antonio, I believe. I explained it to him and his response was "Well sometimes they make a mistake and may have added a tip on." C'mon! Who makes a mistake and adds a 22% tip?? I demanded to be refunded the money. I never authorized any tip and told him to prove I did. I told him I had a screen shot of a charge alert on my iPhone at the time for $35.31. He said he would look into it and get back to me. Well, he never did. I disputed the charge with my credit card company. It's apparent that someone is overcharging and hoping people don't notice! I guess shame on me for not requesting a receipt when I picked up the order, especially since I was required to pay over the phone. Anyway, buyer be ware. My food was not great and I got intentionally...

I had high hopes for this spot as a reliable Asian restaurant in my neighborhood has eluded me. Being that my father’s favorite cuisine is classic Chinese - American I decided to give Tanka a try since the menu features quite a few tried and true classics.

Let start with the positives.

The restaurant is very well appointed and quite frankly visually striking. The location boasts an enormous window showcasing the impressive kitchen.

The food, while not earth shattering was very good. .

The cons?

Before we go down this path I want to ensure that these observations are made with nothing but the best intentions in mind, and are simply my opinions. I am certainly no authority in fine dining.

The first red flag I noticed was the entrance door and windows are smudgy and absolutely filthy which straight away makes me question the cleanliness of the establishment. Being that there is a hostess doing very little during an rather empty lunch service I would certainly recommend encouraging her to grab the windex and some paper towels and making the first thing the client sees more up to par with the level this restaurant is trying to portray.

Our waiter, while civil enough, was hard to hear when asked about dishes, forgot part of the order and did not remove service ware once food was complete making for an extremely messy table.

The dining room was nearly empty, but a loud business lunch three top was seated nearly on top of us making for a very uncomfortable setting, adding that not once but twice during our meal the music mysteriously just stopped for 10 minutes or more (the second time I politely asked if the music could be turned back on) at a time giving the restaurant the feel of a library with our very loud neighbors practically sitting at our table.

$300 lunch is absolutely fine but please pay attention to...

My family and I have been visiting this venue for over a decade. Tony Chan's (the former restaurant's name) was a staple for us; we would regularly visit for family get-togethers, holidays, etc., and the previous restaurant's owners were so well-known to us that they might as well have been family too. So you can imagine our trepidation when we first discovered that the previous management was leaving, the restaurant would be remodeled, and would change its name.

Undaunted, we set out to try Tanka.

For dinner we we decided to share the edamame and calamari as appetizers, and the Peking duck and shrimp fried rice as entrees.

Our fears were completely unwarranted.

The edamame was delicious, but the calamari was exquisite; the flavor of the latter had just the right amount of spicy meets smokey. Not only was it an absolute delight for the taste buds, but it didn't linger on our tongues due to over-seasoning and/or greasiness (something fairly common in other places which serve calamari), leaving our palates ready for the main event.

The Peking duck was the item we were most nervous about, approaching it with an attitude of, "hope for the best but expect the worst". At last, the duck arrived on our table, and the moment of truth...

The Peking duck wasn't like Tony Chan's. It was BETTER.

Served with mandarin pancakes, hoisin sauce and vegetables as it had always been, Tanka's pancakes were thinner and tastier than the previous restaurant's, and this complemented the flavor and texture of what we were eating. The rice was exactly what one looks for in a quality Asian-style fried rice; fluffy and light, non-greasy, but packed with flavor. Other restaurants take note: this is how you do fried rice right.

My family and I look forward to enjoying Tanka for...