Formosa Teriyaki — Restaurant in Murrieta

Always eager to try a new promising place, we saw Formosa Teriyaki and their 5 Stars average reviews. It did not take much after that to stop by, and give the place a try. We, a party of 3, arrived past 8 PM, knowing they close at 9:30 PM. Place had about two tables occupied. Nice smiles from the staff made for a good first impression. Sing, took our orders, a personable and friendly representative. Following dishes were ordered: Chicken Wings (6), $6: we chose the popcorn type, not the sweeter kind. Have to admit they were easy to enjoy. Nice and crispy. 4 Stars. Grilled Chicken Teriyaki, Bowl $7: Teriyaki sauce on the side, arrived with additional rice, cabbage, pot sticker, and egg roll. Chicken was a little dry, maybe the late hour? You enter a place near closing time, and sometimes you just don’t get a fresh batch. Teriyaki sauce on the side right out of a bottle, it seemed. White rice at the end of its shift, not fluffy, and obviously not recently made, sad but true, and since this type of food depends on a great white rice, arriving late was the culprit of such minor offense. Egg Roll like any average one in this great land. Cabbage on point, Pot Sticker flat and lukewarm. 3.5 Stars. Grilled Salmon Teriyaki, $11: Once again sauce on the side. My lovely female companion complained inwardly about the fish being on the dry side, something to consider when ordering it grill versus steamed? The same shortcoming with the rice mentioned before. Egg Roll and Potsticker average, Cabbage nice. Nice amount served. 3.5 Stars. Ginger Fish, $10: kind of like salt and pepper, and deep fried. Nice amount but unable to discern the presence of the Ginger, and ooh wee, salty! No special sauces, same ole same-o tiny teriyaki, but by request a spicy home made sauce was brought, by the very nice and efficient Sing, who never let out being a courteous and dynamic server. 4 Stars. Wor Won Ton Soup, $9: I would say that the broth was very tasty, and one of their evident fortes. Good enough to repeat, with all the makings of a very decent Wor Won Ton Soup. 4.5 Stars. Sing, and his family, embody all that is good in a family owned operation, and certainly deserve all the success they can muster. Water was of great quality. Bill under $50. Nice...

I've been a regular at Formosa Teriyaki since the day they opened about 6yrs ago. At that time it was a strong 5 star restaurant. The food was high quality & always cooked to perfection. Portions were generous. Unfortunately, the establishment has changed owners at least 4x since it first opened & with each new owner the food has gone downhill. Tonight will probably be my last time coming here. The prices are high & the portions have gone significantly down. Tonight's beef teriyaki bowl was tasteless & was the size of a kid's meal. I'm so very sad to see my favorite restaurant take such a turn for the worse. I loved this place so much because I could get delicious & healthy choices. They use to have steamed white fish & steamed pot stickers on the menu. When I inquired recently about the steamed options I was told that "steaming takes too long & frying is fast". Wow. This is a far cry from how the original owners started this restaurant out....

(Update below!) Formosa is the BEST Asian food around! It seems like a small, family-owned business and it has its own little charm. I love their teriyaki bowl (I got mine without veggies), and everyone who works there is super nice. Their portions are also amazing, the picture below is a plate! 10/10!

EDIT (12/13/22)- Unfortunately the quality has majorly gone down. Their plates and portions are smaller now, and I don’t recognize any of the staff. While before it had the hole in the wall charm, now it’s just kind of a sad reminder of what it used to be. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it’s really done downhill. Even the chicken tastes different. It used to be cooked perfectly every time, and recently it’s been all rubbery and hard to chew. I’m actually pretty sad about what it’s become now. I really hope something changes because this was one of my favorite...