Tai Pan — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Outstanding dim sum (all we ordered) in an elegant setting, with highly attentive service. Tai Pan pays attention to the quality of their ingredients, and the dim sum is freshly made to order, not mass produced. This combination makes for an excellent dining experience.

The baked BBQ pork buns are a standout - probably the best I've had: well flavored (not overly sweet), lean meat in a fresh baked, delicate bun. The XLB is also exceptional - thin skin that packs a bundle of flavor (especially the ginger) in a generous serving. The stir-fried beef he fen (rice noodles) has just the right amount of flavor (good restraint on salt), with quality beef that's tender. Couldn't ask for better. The chang fen (glutinous rice flour wrap) is made with the kind of glutinous rice flour that delivers an authentic mouth feel (soft). We loved the 2 gao dishes we had, both with seafood & greens. The shrimp & chives gao was fabulous, perfectly flavored, and a (large) mouthful.

The only 2 dishes I wouldn't repeat are the pan fried stuffed tofu (tofu is too bland, and the wheat flour coating is a bit too tough - they should try rice flour), and the sesame balls (they're OK - not extraordinary).

This place delivered on the promise of an elevated ambience with truly attentive service. We never needed to ask for more hot water in the teapot, and had fresh napkins handed up just in time. The tea (Jasmin w chrysanthemum flowers) was really good quality. All the details were seen to with care. Despite the premium pricing, we would return and would highly recommend...

Awful. One of the worst Chinese restaurants I’ve had the displeasure to visit. And the most disgusting surroundings: dark, with furniture piled up in the second dining room and the hallway leading to the restrooms. Sweet and sour pork: too sweet and bland. Kung pao chicken: noticeable lack of variety of vegetables, and also bland. We had a large group and paid about $50 per person. And half of our group was children! Outrageous. No alcohol, just plain water and green tea. If you have a group of 6 or more people, 20% is automatically added to the bill. But don’t you dare think that the service is good as a result. Oh no. “Give me your money and get out!“ was the attitude of our waiter. Quite the opposite of good service is what we got. The waiter, who is an an older gentleman, acts like you’re imposing on him. Well gee, I’m sorry mister that you are only getting $120 to bring us a few plates of food, and a little tea and some water. Last time I checked $120 per hour is a pretty good wage even with inflation. The dessert menu is mediocre at best. Really bad service, bad food quality and bad atmosphere. My recommendation? You could drive all the way to the Richmond district in San Francisco, pick out any Chinese restaurant on Clement, and it will be 50 times as good and less than half the cost of Taipan. So even if you have a gas guzzler and pay for parking you’ll come out way ahead. I’m not ever going to this place again. NEVER. EVER . AGAIN. Zero stars...

So this place is 10 out of 10 place for me. It might varies for others since everyone has different taste but these are the reason why I gave them perfect score. The taste of food are clean and very neat. You can taste that this place cook the food with perfection. No overdoes on sauce, no over spice, no over added ingredient. Pure perfection. The place will keep knocking your head after you leave....... Has anyone remember when you had In and Out for the first time? You be like "meh this is just another burger. I don't know why there are so much hype???".... yes... this place will have such a same reaction but the next morning you wake up, you want ro go back. Just like in and out. You would like to eat again and again and again. Their Mapa Tofu and Fish are perfectly cooked. Not so much sauce and not so greasy. Their King Pao chicken is very neatly made. Their Mongolian beef is perfectly salty enough to make a perfect pair with rice. As a SoCal guy, I hate almost everything in NorCal but so jealous about this place and Hong Kong Lounge in...