The deals my dad was talking about

Inside the interiors were a bit dull with the pale yellow walls and soft and warm lighting. Not gonna lie they made me really sleepy!

The service was pretty decent and efficient but as to be expected because there was only one other family in the restaurant!

The deal we were getting!

$75 for a 4-Course Banquet with…

- Canh Chua Ca Chem (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup)

- Ca Chem Kho To (Fish Caramel in Clay Pot)

- Suon Uop Xa (Spare Ribs with Lemongrass Sauce)

- Dau Que Xao Sot XO (Dried Fish & Green Beans with XO Sauce)

I found it so interesting that the sign said that the first two dishes… Canh Chua and Ca Kho To would be served with "Ca Chem" (Barramundi) because usually it is made with Catfish!

Their usual menu is really nice with lots of pictures and thick glossy pages

Our large serve of rice in a metal pot that comes with the 4 Course meal! Free refills!

The rice was a bit dry though haha

The food took a little bit longer than expected to come out however it all pretty much arrived at the same time.

Suon Uop Xa (Spare Ribs with Lemongrass Sauce) $16

- Pretty tasty but I'm not a big fan of anything with lemongrass so I mostly passed

- There were hug chunks of fat on some of these as well so the size is a little bit deceiving

Dau Que Xao Sot XO (Dried Fish & Green Beans with XO Sauce) $16

- My favourite part of the meal!

- The XO sauce on these green beans was soooo good and more-ish. I've never had green beans like this before except with garlic.. but I prefer this 100%!

Ca Chem Kho To (Fish Caramel in Clay Pot)

- One of the most anticipated dishes turned out to be quite disappointing

- The pieces of barramundi were so thin and small. They were cut in half to even appear bigger inside the clay pot. I would say I felt a bit underwhelmed?

- Francis and Anne also complained that the fish has so many of those small little bones in strange places. Luckily I only got 2-3 bones but it still wasn't great to hear that

- The caramel sauce was a bit too light and easily forgettable but I do like how they did leave in the small cubes of pork belly fat and meat for flavour and extra fattiness!

Canh Chua Ca Chem (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup) $20

- The other most anticipated dish was okay, not as disappointing

- Canh Chua is usually served with Ca Kho To to balance out the sour to sweet/salty flavours

- The ingredients for the Canh Chua (Vietnamese Sour Soup) come on a metal tray that is over a portable gas stove as pictured. You lift the lid in the middle and push all the ingredients into the hot soup to cook

- My mom makes an AMAZING Canh Chua so I have a very high standard and this easily paled in comparison. It wasn't bad. Just lacking in sour flavour and tartness. It was extremely sweet. Even though there were only a few pineapple chunks on the tray, the entire soup tasted like hot pineapple syrup. Maybe this is how some people like it? But not me, sorry :(

- The barramundi is small and you can see where they cut out the slices used in the Ca Kho To. I wish they used more of the fish in the Ca Kho To and less for the Canh Chua!

Crispy Fried Noodle (Hong Kong Style) - Combination $14

- I think we were expecting something like Mi Xao Don where the egg noodle is entirely deep fried and eventually becomes softened by the gravy-like sauce, but this was certainly a bit different from that. I searched what Hong Kong style fried noodles were and they are actually pan-fried until crispy noodles

- The noodles in this dish were more tough and chewy almost like rubber bands. Really unpleasant

- The sauce did not help either because it was SO bland

- The meats and seafoods tasted a bit defrosted however the vegetables tasted much fresher! 

Overall we were all disappointed by what Tay Do had to offer. With all the new and constantly improving eateries popping up in the already overly populated area of Canley Heights, it's sad to say that Tay Do falls very behind. It definitely shows in the fact that we were the only other family out of 2 eating there on a busy Saturday night. If you have ever ventured to Canley Heights whether it be on a weekend or weekday, you will know that it is near impossible to get a parking spot. There is nothing special or competitive about the store, the service, or food. They do have some attractive deals on display like the one we had in this post, however I felt like we could be eating better quality and tasting food elsewhere.

This was one of the more harsher reviews I have ever had to write yet it is all my honest feelings and opinions. I've heard that Tay Do do Peking Duck really well so I wish them all the best.

TL;DR:

Price: On the expensive side

Quality: Not great

Service: Efficient but nothing special

Ambience: Dull and quiet