Formosa Bistro - Edmonton, Alberta

Overall: really good service, flavours are different and simple but very robust and delicious. Would definitely recommend this place . It was our first time having Taiwanese and it was wonderful. The server was great at explaining things. The cook sent out a couple of things for us to try on ... the house once he knew it was our first time. I got the black milk tea to drink. It was perfectly sweetened and a very smooth flavour, unlike some that are a bit more bitter. It came with a couple of very crunchy little tea cookies/pastries that were a bit sweet and savoury. Tasted a bit like sesame. My dining companions weren't very adventurous and got water and green tea. Taiwanese kimchi was one of the things given to us on the house. It is definitely from what I'm used to. Slightly sweet and sour, no spice to it. Delicious and and different and yet somehow a familiar flavour. The other thing we were given to sample was Taiwanese popcorn chicken. It was crispy, perfectly cooked and a delicious nutty flavour to the very light breading. We ordered the calamari tentacles, that were also cooked well; not rubbery at all. Again the breading was very light and had a different flavour from what I've had elsewhere, but definitely a good taste. One of my dining companions got braised pork on rice, the other for chicken karaage and I got stewed beef noodle soup. The braised pork was very tender, well flavoured all throughout and, despite being pork belly, not super greasy or fatty. It came with some slightly sweet house made pickles, rice and a marinated egg. The chicken karaage was crispy and tender. It also came with some house made pickles and rice. The sauteed vegetables on the side had a very strong ginger flavour, which was enjoyable as we all like ginger. Just be careful as there are pieces of ginger mixed in. My stewed beef noodle soup had a very deep, beefy flavour. The beef didn't even really need chewing as it was very tender. It's obvious that the broth is cooked for a very long time, as the flavour was strong in the veggies (carrots and chinese radish) that were stewed in the broth. The noodles were a bit gummy but overall good. Our server informed me that it can be made spicier if I'd like for next time and I personally love spice so I'll have to come back again and try it spicy :) Read more

Friendly owner who took the time to come to our table to let us know about her menu and what was popular to order. We liked that they did not use MSG but felt the dishes were kind of plain/bland though. Portions were so-so, little meat, little vegetables but decent ... amount of noodles. We had really hoped the beef noodle soup would have robust flavors because it had been “boiled for 6 hours” but unfortunately it wasn’t that flavorful. The seafood glass noodle dish was okay but the soup tasted like ocean water...very fishy in taste. The braised pork and rice was tasty but we wished there was more pork in the dish. The spicy wontons were overly salty and we’ve had better wontons before at other restaurants in the city. All in all, it’s not a terrible restaurant but not a place we would visit again. We really hoped this place would be similar to Tawaiianese restaurants we’ve tried in Vancouver, but no such luck! 😕 Read more

A lone Taiwanese restaurant amid the East Indian and Korean corridor. I couldn't wait to try this place when I first heard of it, and it didn't disappoint. The popcorn chicken and beef noodles were excellent, and reminded me of those I had in Taiwan. The portion sizes are decent, while the ... prices are comparable to most restaurants. Unfortunately, I still haven't had the chance to try their pork buns (which seem to be so popular that keep it in stock). Read more

The beef noodle was definitely the highlight of the meal. Authentic, traditional Taiwanese beef flavors with different spices (star anise being one of them). Noodles were cooked well and not overly soft, or mushy. The reason for 4/5 stars is for multiple reasons:. The Guo Bao had a ... lot more Bao then pork (would be nice to see a better balance), some pieces of our popcorn chicken were cold, and the food is on the pricier side for a meal like this. Other than that, owners were very friendly. Will probably return! Read more

First time coming here and new ownership. Loving the dishes here as they're all homemade. Very flavourful. We had the hand-pulled noodles, gua Bao, Taiwanese popcorn chicken (which was very tender) , and braised pork on rice. Owners are very friendly and approachable. We will be returning for sure!