Taipei Osaka - Gilford

It all starts with an angry little waiter I 'll call 'The Penguin ', because he bore the same disposition and carriage as the Batman villain played by Danny DeVito. The menu had mackerel. It had maki sushi. It just didn 't have mackerel maki sushi. I asked for a simple mackerel sushi roll, but Penguin immediately dismissed me like I was a moron for suggesting that they combine two different menu items, as they do at every other sushi place ever. Penguin didn 't check with the sushi chefs, acted like he 'd never heard of mackerel, just acted like a **** all around. So, I ordered chirashi while my girlfriend ordered lo mein. He forgot my soup, and he didn 't check back at the table once to see if we were missing everything. All of our dishes came out at different times, ending with the appetizer. When each plate was delivered, Penguin essentially slammed them down on the table and walked away, except for the one he left hanging halfway off the table as he shuffled off in a huff. We were not impressed with his balancing skills, and rescued the plate from the edge. His 'tude just made no sense, because we 're nothing but polite, even to the least deserving flightless birdholes. The food was fine; nothing great. The chirashi portions were minuscule; 2 pieces of fish each, and each piece terribly small. It was a platter of bait, not human food. Total waste of time. Eat here if you want to feel like you 're ruining someone 's day and want mediocre fish.

We ordered take out on New Year's Day. Everyone was helpful. Price was fair as we're servings. Our order was ready in 30 minutes. As for complainer about long wait on New Year's Eve. Lesson#1. If ordering Chinese food on New Year's Eve, order at least by 10:00am and reheat to serve for dinner. Chinese food on New Year's Eve is like turkey on Thanksgiving, or Ham on Easter in New England.

Ordered food at 445pm on Dec 31, told it would be ready in one hour. At 750 we're still waiting for pickup!

I was a bit hesitant to try Taipei Osaka due to the many negative reviews, but since there aren’t many good options in the area, I decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised by my experience. We were seated right away, and the waitress even brought us fried wontons and duck sauce before handing us the menus. We ordered the House (combo) Lo Mein, General Gao’s Chicken, and Ginger Beef with String Beans. The Lo Mein arrived first, quickly followed by the other two dishes. It was cooked to a perfect al dente, packed with a mix of meats (chicken, pork, shrimp, and beef). The sauce was light, surprisingly non-greasy, and very flavorful. The Ginger Beef with String Beans was tender, featuring crisp beans and generous strips of ginger. The General Gao's Chicken was decent but didn’t quite measure up to the other two dishes. Overall, our total was around $33, including tax—which isn’t bad. While this is not authentic Chinese cuisine, but rather American Chinese, the food was enjoyable, the service was friendly, and the prices were reasonable compared to nearby restaurants. They also had a variety of lunch specials for under $8, which included soup, an appetizer, and rice. We didn’t sample the sushi this time, but it’s something we might try in the future. I’m glad to have found a place nearby with decent Chinese food that isn’t smothered in the usual brown sauce.

I arrived right at 11 AM and found the restaurant to be reasonably clean. It seemed like not much had changed since its days as West Lake. The server appeared to be either the owner or the owner's wife. She quickly brought me a drink, provided a menu, and offered some crispy wonton chips before taking my order. My food arrived fresh and hot. While the boneless spare ribs weren't great, everything else was quite tasty. However, once I started eating, the server and her husband joined in their own meal. I was left rattling the ice in my empty glass, unable to catch their attention. After finishing my meal, I went to the register to pay, where she took my card and I left. The food was solid, typical Chinese cuisine, but the service could certainly improve. I’ll give it another try and see how it goes; they might just not be accustomed to having customers that early. The hot and sour soup was fantastic, though!