Taipan Cafe

Ordered delivery from here for the first time today — we had received a flyer and decided to try something new since they had so many good options (and some decent online reviews).
Delivery was estimated at 45min but the driver was at the door in around 20min.
I found Taipan Café to be a little pricer — around $ 50 for 4 items, some of which were on special. Not even fortune cookies are included (25 cents each). Although we wanted green onion cakes, neither of us were willing to dish out the $ 5 per green onion cake.
As for the food — it was pretty good. It wasn’t amazing but there wasn’t anything unappealing about it like there can be with Chinese food. The chicken fried rice was really good, as was the sweet and sour pork. The almond chicken was good, but didn’t taste like anything special. The beef satay was pretty gross — the noodles were pure slime.
Overall though, I never expect to like every dish ordered. And between the quick delivery (though that might have been a fluke) and the pretty decent food, I would order again.
I’m pretty sure there is MSG in it, though, as I started getting a headache within 10 min of eating. That’s something that I pretty much expect, though.

Sunday evening. Hungry. Needed Chinese and decided to order from Taipan. Maybe the most bland Chinese takeaway I’ve ever eaten.
We ordered Chicken Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Pork and Chicken Curry. The rice was flavourless. Literally just tasted like egg, chicken and plain rice. I’d prefer the msg riddled dishes they serve you up at the Dodgier establishments.
The curry was not good at all. Upon opening the box, there was an overwhelming smell of coconut. This is fine, I don’t mind Thai curry, but that was all I could taste. The chicken itself was nice and tender but there were also huge chunks of fat in there which is not something I can say I have ever experienced getting takeout before. Not nice. The potatoes were nice and soft, though (although I’ve never had potatoes in Chinese/​Thai curry before).
The S&S pork was OK, a little rubbery but the sauce was good. The batter was also nice and crisp and even. Maybe that’s all they are good at?
We ordered from here based on the reviews but we will not be ordering/​visiting again.

I am not a fan of this place and wouldn’t personally ever pick it myself as a place to go to eat, however it is popular among people I know and whenever I come here the place is crowded (no matter what time you come). Menu is quite large and the place has just gone thru renovations and now looks cleaner and brighter. Service is still lacking. I personally don’t like how the food tastes here either.

We were from Bay Area, as we know what to look for H. K. Style Chinese food. This place fit well within our spec.

This has been a Chinatown institution for 40 years if I understand correctly. And I only visited for the very first time today as part of the Yeg Food Crawl event. Not only were people in my group related to the owner but the owner came out and spoke to us about the restaurant and its history and we tried three of the dishes served here. All were pretty standard Chinese dishes (peach shrimp, Shanghai noodles, pepper beef and eggplant) but each was good for what it was.
I kind of wished that there were more interesting/​unusual items in our tasting menu, to get a better idea of the full range of items prepared here, but overall it was pretty standard. The restaurant itself has been renovated in recent years and expanded (it now seats about 200!). I like the building architecture as it’s pretty unique and interesting. The washroom was clean and the business seemed clean as well so that was good.

It was more than 20 years ago since I ate at Taipan. The whole place has changed inside. It is now bigger with more items on the menu. I wonder if it is the same owner that runs the place. We went there around 9 pm on a Sunday night. It was quiet inside with only 3 tables occupied. We decided to order the wonton soup, baked pork chop rice and the mixed grill plate. Skip the wonton soup, it was very bland. The baked pork chop rice was not what I expected. The tomato sauce on top was very orange/​red and was not appealing to the eye. But to my surprise the taste was quite good. It didn’t have the traditional celery in the fried rice base though. There were quite a bit of pork chop pieces. Well worth the price for this dish. The mixed grill plate was also delicious with the black pepper sauce. Would I come back? Sure, it is authentic Hong Kong style and tasty, just stay away from the wontons.

This is one of my Chinatown favorites. There’s many a chilly day that’s been warmed by Taipan’s dependably good Wor Wonton soup. Also try the vegetarian satay soup, which is also great. Most of the food is fairly traditional and well past my adventure line … but it’s otherwise inexpensive, quick and the staff are cheeful. The pork dumplings and deep fried wontons are also welcome treats.

Yes, been going here for years. Great food. Good lunch specials. Big portions. Not bad service for Chinatown. We had the Shanghai Noodles and the Baked Seafood in cream sauce and cheese on rice. Everyone who’s met me here loves the shanghai noodle. They are savory and spicy here. The baked seafood is my personal favourite! It is a little bland sometimes, but a punch of the chili sauce on the table gives it the right kick.
Also had the red bean drink with vanilla ice cream. This was the first time I had it with ice cream and it was a welcome delight. The sweet red bean isn’t for everybody, but I like it. The crushed ice in it is sometimes annoying when you bite into it, but besides that it’s a different and fun drink treat.
Red bean with ice cream was around 5 $. Shanghai was around 12 $. Based seafood was about 14 $. The portions are big. Two dishes should feed three (maybe four) comfortably. If you order too much, wrap it up to take home.

Not bad but not excellent. Large portions but it lacks the authentic Chinese flavours. Modified to suit the tastebuds of edmontonians.

I have tried only faux Chinese fare at Taipan Café, so I cannot comment on the quality of the more traditional Chinese dishes on offer there. The Chineez fud I sampled was competently executed, but it was not exceptional. Overall, Taipan Café will do if you need a late night feed of round-​eye chow and you happen to be in the area, but I would not make a special trip there for any reason.

This is our standard Chinese food place for the last 5 years or so. We have never had a sit down meal there. It has always been delivery or take out. They deliver pretty much anywhere in the city for a surcharge.
The prices seem to be a little more than other places but the food makes up for it. They have good sized portions and the food is better than other places I have tried in Edmonton.
The one item I don’t like is the spring rolls that come as a side with a meal combo. I like spring rolls but those are not very good.
Normally we get lemon chicken, ginger or szechuan beef, chow mein and chicken fried rice. These are all good items.

Taipan café is very Hong Kong style restaurants in urban city for who like to dine in or take out at reasonable price, fast service and big potion dishes. With the price they usually offer a small soup, main dish and most of the time it was way too much for us, we always have the left over to take home.
The restaurant has 2 splits open floor plan; you can be very close to the next neighbor on the busy days. The menu comes in Chinese or English and I always point at this photo whatever was temped in front of me and it works very time. :)
PS: You can ask for low salt, less oil, no MSG.

We were starved on a Friday night after going to Taste of Edmonton and fighting the mob of a crowd (worse idea ever. Last time I ever got to Taste but that’s a different story). We tried to go to a couple phở places around the area but they were all closed pretty early for a Friday night (boo Edmonton).
Anyways, we found our way to Taipan Café. They have one of the oddest layouts for a restaurant that I have ever seen. Two dining rooms split and isolated completely from each other. Sorry for lack of prices and knowing what the dishes were (it was awhile ago).
— Eggplant Szechuan style — eggplant were nicely cooked but the sauce was way, way too sweet.
— Rice noodle with vegetables — this dish was tasty and promptly devoured.
— Deep fried basa fish and something else (2 for $ 24 deal on their «special» menu) — all I remember is the fish had barely any meat on it and was super crunchy, not in a good way. 80% bones.
Very, very average/​mediocre Chinese food. Would not go back. Walk a few streets over to one of the (many) better restaurants that are nearby in Chinatown.

Worst Chinese food ever. Bland chicken fried rice, soggy special ial chow me in, beef broccoli average, mushroom egg foo young watery and bland– overall a horrible meal. Threw it all out.
Was a special birthday meal paid $ 47.00 for barely edible food. Would never recommend anyone to eat their takeout especially when you call to complain and are told no one there in charge to speak with

Went to Taipan earlier this week with some colleagues from work.
As far as Chinese food goes in China Town I’m pretty happy with the food that they provide. The portions are large and the lunch for 2 could easily serve 3. I’ve been a few times now and I keep trying new dishes and I’m never disappointed. They are consistent and everything is flavourful. We’re always out before the lunch hour is done and the service is decent.
The restaurant is nothing fancy but it’s a great lunch spot if you’re downtown and in a bit of a hurry (even for groups of up to 6).
I’ll be back for sure.

While Sarah and I had intended to lunch at Boualouang, we couldn’t do so, as we didn’t have any cash on us. This sent us on a journey to find a place very close by which served a wide selection of Vegetarian options and accept debit cards.
As such, we stumbled upon the Taipan Café, a clean, enormous and recently renovated restaurant located one block north of Boualouang. And they accept debit and credit cards for orders over $ 20. The Décor isn’t fancy, but the booths are comfortable. The menu appears to have at least 100 items on it.
As we were both very hungry, we ordered spring rolls, vegetable chow mein, red chili tofu (Vegetarian), and an order of steam rice. Despite ordering by number and pointing to the item on the menu, our chili tofu had chicken in it.
We then notified one of the other servers at the restaurant, who then returned our chili tofu/​chicken. And while the servers were peeved at us for returning the dish, our server gave us a chicken-​less red chili tofu with a smile, apologizing for the mix-​up.
And the food itself was tasty. The vegetables in the chow mein were crispy and fresh. The noodles were a little greasy, but that’s to be expected.
Spring rolls were crispy and not too greasy.
And the chili tofu may be the most flavourful Vegetarian Chinese dish I’ve had in Edmonton thus far. I just wish that they used firm tofu instead of soft tofu.
Portions are very large and service is quick. Our order of two dishes plus spring rolls could serve four people. I look forward to trying more items on the menu.

I came here for a business lunch and was happy to find that it wasn’t busy and we were seated right away. The three of us decided to share a lunch for 2 which came with 2 bowls of soup, 2 bowls of rice, and 2 entrees for $ 23. We supplemented that with the baked escargots in mushroom.
The soup came out first and quickly. They were larger bowls than your regular rice bowls. Next came out the rice and shrimp and egg dish. The shrimp were large and succulent and combined with the egg, it was a perfect dish. The chicken came in a sauce with vegetables. There was lots of chicken and a large dish for even 3 people to share. The escargots were a tasty treat as well. The food came out quickly and the waitress was friendly. I would definitely go back.

I visited Taipan with some of my Chinese friends and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I was told that «a long time ago,» Tapian was not very good, but it had gotten a lot better in the past while or so.
The menu was huge and they also offer a breakfast menu, which one day, I would like to try. Because we had a relatively large party (seven of us) we ordered a group meal consisting of six entrees, crab maw soup, steamed rice, tea and a provided dessert. The cost was very cheap — with some of us having drinks, it was $ 80 all together.
The food was wonderful and fresh — very large entrees for sharing and lots of flavorful sauces. I can’t remember the names of the dishes, but we stuck to some of the more ‘authentic’ choices and were not disappointed. The soup was delicious and comforting and we all ate a huge bowl, and there was still some left over. The dessert was a red bean filled crêpe and it was hot out of the pan, very yummy!
The restaurant appears to be newly renovated and the washroom was very clean and modern looking — something I can appreciate. The service was excellent and quick, and very hospitable.
I enjoyed my first experience at Tapian and am looking forward to going back.

I was quite surprised seeing Taipan revitalizing their décor both inside and outside.
Upon being seated, we requested our bowls to be replaced which was prompt and without issues.
Menus are in both English and Chinese so fear not non-​Chinese people, you do not need a translator to come with you.
I ordered Hong Kong style noodles with a glass of Hong Kong style milky tea. It came out pretty quick which was surprising. The milky tea was as authentic as it can get here in Edmonton. I thoroughly enjoyed the large serving of it. I would say it is comparable with Garden Bakery’s serving of milky tea.
I didn’t know what to expect when my noodle dish came. It honestly tasted like some of my mom’s own egg noodle soup dishes. The only difference was the heaping servings of extra fat which I oddly didn’t question since I’m not an expert on this dish. I referenced my friend and he said that was too be expected. This dish had a home style taste rather than a restaurant rushed dish which I was happy to see. I tried some of my friend’s dish which was shrimp fried rice and and a pork cutlet on rice.
The shrimp fried rice was literally crackling. I wouldn’t say it was like a sizzling hot plate but it had an energy which was very exciting. It tasted sharp with the topiko, eggs, and shrimp all fused with the rice. The pork cutlet wasn’t as flavorful but the tomato based sauce mixed with the fried pork and rice gave it a humble experience.
All in all, my dish rang in at about $ 7.95 with about $ 2.00 for a drink. I am excited to return to try something they would be famous for.
Be warned that paying anything under $ 20.00 is cash only. You are, however, able to use your credit card or debit if it’s over $ 20.00

I first became acquainted with Taipan Café when a friend of mine exclaimed that it had the best Chinese food in the city. She brought the topic up again when a group of us were wondering what to do for lunch one afternoon, and we ended up coming from the west end of the city to Chinatown to dine at Taipan. It was worth the trip. The food was fresh, plentiful, and had a richness in flavour and texture, even in standard dishes like ginger beef and green onion cakes, that put it a notch above other Chinese establishments.
I went back more recently with a friend who was craving Chinese food. I recommended Taipan based on my previous experience. We were not disappointed. For twenty-​seven dollars and change we ordered the Dinner for Two, which included chicken fried rice, wonton soup, and three entrees of our choice. We went with the szechuan beef, orange chicken, and chicken with mushrooms.
Our friendly server brought our food quickly. First came the wonton soup of which I did not partake because I do not eat pork, but my friend said was excellent. Next up was the chicken fried rice, which was an ample portion for two people to share. Our main dishes followed, and our tastebuds were tantalized with the crispy texture and tangy sauces of the szechuan beef and orange chicken. The chicken with mushroom was also delicious — the slices of chicken tasted fresh, and there were plenty of plump mushrooms.
Dinner for two cost us $ 27 and change. I also enjoyed an iced Hong Kong coffee, which is espresso mixed with condensed milk over ice — similar to Vietnamese coffee, but without having to wait for the drip and mixing it yourself. We had enough food left over for my friend to take home for another meal later on that evening. Taipan Café has excellent food, value, and service.