Chanced upon the new Tai Kitchen whilst going back to the office after lunch on another day — Tai Kitchen is probably one of the newest additions to Icon Village. Taking over the former premises of a short-lived tenant that was serving up Chinese beef noodles, Tai Kitchen is located just right beside the very first outpost of Two Men Bagel House within the mall. Tai Kitchen has a pretty eye-catching appearance — the space being decked in a mix of yellow and black that is also part of the colour scheme that is adopted in its logo; the dine-in area comprises of wooden tables and thinly-cushioned seats as well. Being an establishment that serves up Taiwanese fare, Tai Kitchen’s menu comprises of a few Rice, Ramen and Cold Noodle Salads — think items such as that of the Taiwan Crispy Pork Rice, Salt & Pepper Chicken Ramen, and the Shredded Chicken Noodles Salad. Patrons can also go for appetisers / side dish to go share around the table, while the beverage menu here is pretty tea-centric; think sections of the menu that are being dedicated to Milk Tea, Fresh Milk Tea, Fruit Tea Series and Pure Tea & Honey Tea.

Being one who is usually into Taiwanese-style Braised Pork Rice, we went straight for the Braised Pork Rice. Tai Kitchen serves up their Rice, Ramen and Cold Noodle Salads dishes in a single size. This also means that the Braised Pork Rice from Tai Kitchen only comes in a size that comes as a pretty substantial eat intended for a meal as opposed to the smaller bowls of the same that some establishments would serve up as an accompaniment to communal dishes to be shared around the table. The Braised Pork Rice here comes with a good portion of braised pork, cucumber, an entire braised egg sliced into two halves, as well as pickled radish coming atop a bed of rice. Going straight for the braised pork, we found that the braised pork was well-executed here; comprising of mostly pork belly, the braised pork here is diced just like how one would expect for a true bowl of Taiwanese-style braised pork rice. The cuts used here were mostly on the fatty side; that being said, it was barely jelak considering how it was diced — the entire feel being really pleasant with its melt-in-the-mouth texture rather than being gelatinous and heavy. The braised pork also seemingly have absorbed all the goodness of the braising liquid that it was marinated in; there is a distinct note of spices here and a really rich flavour that is veering towards the sweeter side of things. There was also sufficient braised liquid being drenched atop the bed of rice as well; this made the rice beneath especially easy to eat considering how it was sufficiently moist and pretty flavourful to have. The other elements were good additions though nothing much to shout about on their own, though we did feel that the cucumbers were especially fresh — pretty refreshing as it refreshes the tastebuds when had in between all that meat and rice.

Besides the Braised Pork Rice, we also took the opportunity to give Tai Kitchen’s Tempura Enoki Mushrooms and their iced Honey Assam Tea a go; the latter was being charged as a $1 top-up to the Braised Pork Rice as part of their opening promotion which they ran during the time period that we had made our visit to Tai Kitchen. The staff at the counter recommended for us to go for the Tempura Enoki Mushrooms with their Paprika Seasoning Powder — this proved to be a very well-executed Taiwanese street snack to be ordered at Tai Kitchen considering how the Tempura Enoki Mushrooms came with a light and airy tempura batter without feeling particularly greasy; the Tempura Enoki Mushrooms carrying a crisp crunch while also coming with a good bite, all that while the paprika seasoning powder adds a hint of spiciness that should go ok with the folks who are accustomed to lower levels of spiciness. The Honey Assam Tea was also appropriately sweetened; coming in a plastic can, there is a light floral hint of honey that could be detected as one first sips on the beverage before the prominent tea aroma of Assam tea takes over thereafter — also very clean in its finish. Overall, Tai Kitchen does seem to serve up pretty well-executed Taiwanese-style dishes that satiated our tastebuds based on the items we had tried; the price point of the mains can also be said as fairly reasonable considering how most of the items are priced at $9.90 — a price we would not quite say would fit as an everyday eat, but certainly comparable to other indie eateries in a non-coffeeshop / hawker centre setting in the Central Business District. We would probably be back again to give the Taiwan Crispy Pork Rice a go some day; Tai Kitchen would likely be one of the spots that we would seriously consider hitting for lunch especially when the cravings for Braised Pork Rice kicks in!