Tai Wu

I was a bit disappointed with this place — especially since it seemed to be better reviewed than some of its neighbors. Not certain if we ordered wrong, or what. The noodle soup was probably the best dish we had. The mapu tofu and sezhuan pork were average, at best. The green vegetable was ok. Others seemed to be ordering the Peking duck and dim sum… which it may do better. The setting feels very traditionally Chinese… impressive coi pond entrance; gaudy interior; lots of red. Also, I was sort of surprised to see a lot more Dutch and white folk or tourists in here than I saw Asians/​Chinese (unlike other Chinese restaurants in the area which were packed with Chinese folk). This place is family friendly; big space and lots of families/​kids eating here. I found the service to be very lack luster; very slow and inattentive.

Pretty good Chinese food, close to chinatown and to the center.
Been here on a party if two and with a big group, in both occasions they were fast serving and the food was up to the standards.
Not an Asian food fan but I enjoyed it here, the vegetables were fresh, the meat well baked and more than enough quality.
I advise to go with a big group, you can pick several dishes to share between you and its pretty cheap.
You must try the «Desert shrimps» its not in the menu, but if you ask they will know it, its Amazing!

Good food. Dated interior.

We visited Tai Wu today after a long day of sight seeing in Amsterdam. My husband, son and I were tired and hungry. My husband had visited this restaurant a few years ago and said it was good. We took a few snap shots while waiting for our waitress.
The waitress took our order. We asked for her recommendations, she wrinkled her nose and shook her head no. She said she did not like anything. Our son ordered a bowl of wonton soup, my husband ordered some dumpling appetizers and beef with radish, I ordered sweet & sour chicken with pineapple.
We waited for quite s long time as she brought out our food a little at a time. We had finished eating and still no sign of the sweet & sour chicken. My husband flagged her down to ask if it was coming out. She proceeded to say we never ordered it. I even said H208 without looking at the menu. How would I know that unless it was what I had chosen? My husband heard me, my son heard me but our waitress did not make any apology, she just said «no, you did not order anything.»
We told her it was ok, we were done. We paid the bill and left.
Although the décor was authentic style Old world Chinese, the food tasty, the service was very poor. Perhaps it was because of the late hour. However, we won’t be back. My rating is based on the whole experience.

Service is not bad of you are used to the Chinese way of service. I’m not really looking for authentic food just the combination of spices, meat, veggies. The taste is wonderful.
Chinese broccoli was good, Chinese hotpot with egg plant was really good, the funny thing is that you can order dim sum dishes during dinner. Deep fried chicken with salt and pepper on the side was very good, lo mai fan was good. The price reasonable. Noise level ok.

Dim Sum review only
I know I’m running the risk of a lot of Rotterdam’s peeps disagreeing with me. But I’m gonna write it anyway. :)
My biggest pet peeves when it comes to eating Chinese Food are the use of MSG, excessive use of oil, and bad presentation. Tai Wu in general is a good restaurant from what I heard. Many of my Dutch friends seem to speak highly of this restaurant, mostly for their regular dishes.
I decided to try it out one day for their Dim Sum. I’ve been on a Dim Sum streak lately. I’ve tried out a few other restaurants, including Paramount, de Lange Muur among others. I have to say I much prefer Paramount over Tai Wu.
Here are my reasons why I didn’t like Tai Wu that much:
— Char Shiu Bao/​BBQ pork buns that they serve do not taste authentic in my opinion. Generally Char Shiu Bao filling is a lot more refined, the pieces of pork should be too chunky. The Tai Wu’s version taste a lot more like Surinamese BBQ pork than Cantonese style that I’ve been craving for while. Paramount buns are much better even though I don’t think theirs are not excellent either.
— I was so excited and hungry when I first arrived in Tai Wu. I then found myself feeling quite sick 15 minutes into eating their food. It was mostly because their dishes were really greasy. One of the most greasy Dim Sum’s I’ve had. I think the taste is quite good, but with the amount of oil they use, I got quite sick over their food quickly. I didn’t even feel like taking the left-​over home.
— I generally judge the Dim Sum restaurants by how they cook their radish cakes. Radish cakes are really easy to cook. They just have to pan fry/​grill these cakes. It sounds simple, but you’ll be surprised how many restaurants who claim to be authentic have failed to serve a decent radish cakes. Tai Wu’s radish is soaked in grease and it seems a bit undercooked. The moment I try to grab it with my chopsticks, the cakes crumbles and mushed.
— Even the steamed dishes feels a tad too greasy. I’m not sure how they managed to do that.
It sounds like I complete hate this place. I really don’t. I think the décor seems authentic. Although the miniature pagoda seems a bit much. I believe the Chinese finds a roof under a roof is a bad Feng Shui.
The service was friendly. It was a bit slow considering the restaurant was packed. Lange Muur was a lot quicker in my experience. Overall, they have a great selection of dishes and the service was really friendly. Sadly, I don’t think I will go back because the food was just a bit too salty and way too greasy for me.
pros:
big selection of Dim Sum,
friendly service,
plenty of tables to bring big groups
cons:
too greasy,
too salty,
worst radish cakes I’ve had
BBQ pork buns taste more like Surinamese bbq pork
Final Statement: I’ve tasted better. For my own personal taste, I prefer Paramount. The dim sum taste more fresh and not greasy. If you go for the décor, then Lange Muur is still a much better Dim Sum restaurant, in my opinion.

delicious duck noodle soup. great variety of dim sums. the roasted duck is very recommended. they make their own ice tea. the service is quick.