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| - After reading the two reviews before mine, I had some high expectations of Taiwan Cafe. A few reasons: 1) I love Taiwanese food, 2) My dad is hard-core Taiwanese, 3) this location used to hold Winner's, where I enjoyed many good meals in college, 4) I was looking for a good Rose Tea alternative. So I went one day and had the Tofu with Broccoli (I was on a meatless lent diet at the time) and it was pretty good. Not exceptional, but then again it was a simple dish. The second time I came here I wanted to try something that I believe is a Taiwanese staple. I ordered the Pork Chop over Rice - a simple yet delicate dish. What's special about this dish is that although it's "just a pork chop", to get the perfect deep fried consistency takes the perfect batter, the perfect amount of batter, and the perfect frying time. That dish alone was a 1.5 star. I wouldn't order it again.
Some things I would disagree with from the previous reviews: The menu is NOT large, it is a normal size for a take-out restaurant. They have some selection of authentic dishes, but most are pretty common Chinese restaurant selections. This is definitely not the BEST place. It may be a good place to scratch an itch for some Taiwanese food craving, especially if there's a particular dish you can't find elsewhere; but, I would hope that the standard for Taiwanese food would be better. Perhaps it's such a rare find in Pittsburgh that we're lowering our standards?
Hey, there's no shame in liking a 3-star restaurant, as long as we remain honest with ourselves. Yes, I think Taiwan Cafe is good, and I will continue to eat there. But I will not give stars where stars are not due.
Other useful information: the old Winner's booze fridges still exist, so you can still choose from a huge selection of 40s. The prices are fair, especially if you get the lunch special. Order at the counter and seat yourself. And, if it's your first time there and you find yourself walking down a sketchy staircase, you're going the right way!
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