Aroma Island

Absolutely nothing to rave about here. Went for an early Sunday lunch after debating what we wanted for lunch and we couldn’t have picked a more mediocre place to dine at.
Ordered their beef noodles, beef wrap and a pork belly stir fry dish (don’t remember the name of the dish on the menu) and we were most definitely victims of marketing. All 3 dishes sounded great on the menu but what came to our table was a stir fried beef ho-​fun (and it wasn’t even that well made) and a stir fried pork belly dish with cabbage, green/​red peppers and red chilies that had a hint of vinegar. The beef wrap probably the only saving grace here. It was thin slices of beef wrapped in a scallion pancake with hoisin sauce and fresh green onions.
Oh and I have to give them some points for serving a decent house soup. It was Chinese style chicken and lean pork soup with lotus root. It tasted like it was simmering for a few hours and was definitely void of any MSG. A true rarity for Chinese restaurant soups, especially those that came with a lunch meal.

My wife and me dine at Aroma once a week by ordering 5 items from their comprehensive menu list. While it is a large menu, I have tried most of their dishes. My favorites are ox-​tail in wok and spicy fish in salty mustard. Absolutely delicious when eaten with steaming white rice. U have to ask for their daily special dishes which is written on a whiteboard hanging from the restaurant wall. Ask the excellent waitresses about the specials. As the quantities are large, I always have enough left overs to last me for about 7 meals. For an average of $ 48 (plus tips), it is good value. Service is quick usually. U get complimentary house soup to start off and u get oranges cut into quarters for each person as complimentary desert. They accept credit card. Place is clean. Washroom is clean as well.
Decided to type this report as I was googling for their phone number to make a reservation for Saturday night dinner with some friends to celebrate Chinese New Year one week early. :-)

We got the baby oyster mushroom with bok choy, fish filet with taro, and shredded pork with. something. There was vegetables and tofu I believe along with the shredded pork. The first two dishes were delicious. The latter was mediocre. Still, the food came out decently fast and none of the dishes were too oily, which is a rarity amongst many Chinese restaurants! Great, authentic food. They use high quality ingredients and the portions are large as well. Best of all, the dishes do have a unique taste to them compared to other Chinese restaurants since I guess it’s Taiwanese cuisine.

I’ve on been here once so I’m not going to base my review solely on this first visit. We’ll definitely go back but order something other than the cheapy dishes. I ordered the spicy duck tongue & it was really good! Pretty big dish for $ 10 so i packed the rest to take home.

Aroma Island describes itself as a restaurant serving Taiwan’s gourmet but aside from Taiwanese fares there are also a lot of Cantonese items on the menu.
Lunch Specials from $ 5.99 includes a bubble tea which is excellent value!
Three Cup Chicken with rice ($ 6.99)
— use of sesame oil, rice wine and soy sauce as the base sauce with ginger and basil to add the extra flavours
— chicken was quite juicy and tender… cooking Three Cup Chicken can be tricky as quite a few restaurants I been to have overcooked the chicken and made them so rubbery and dry!
— a healthy serving of broccoli which is a pleasant surprise!
Fish Yaki Cake ($ 5.25)
— You see the influence of Japanese cuisine in this particular item as Taiwan was under Japan’s rule from 1895 to 1945
— Chewy Rice cake wrapped inside Fish Cake and then lightly deep fried
— texture wise is really interesting. I loved that chewy sticky soft feel of rice cake.
Both of the items we ordered today were both not too oily or salty… as Aroma Island prides itself as a new style restaurant that cater to the healthier lifestyle.
The interior of Aroma Island is decorated with this chic dark wooden theme, which is really common in most of the South Asian restaurants that were opened this last couple of years.
Services here was nice and friendly… Waitress speaks Mandarin/​Taiwanese so I ended up have to communicate with her in English.

5 MINUTES could have changed my life. A life without the consumption of Aroma Island’s Beef with Noodle in Soup Taiwanese (Tainan) Style ($ 5.99), as I heard the only other table’s Mandarin speaking patron ask a weird question. «Is that Beef Noodle?!?»
Before I went into the restaurant, I saw an AD written in Simplified Chinese for an Assistant Cook so I was suspicious then the LCD was showing CCTV which is China based TV station. The waitress greeted me in Cantonese and the Menu showed plenty of Chinese/​Hong Kong/​Malaysian food with some distinct Taiwanese items.
The Beef Noodle? The Beef was Cumin spiced and grilled just like most Northern Chinese Skewer places. The Soup was almost transparent except for Chinese Spices and the Noodles was shelf variety. SKIP!
HahahaHaa… Spicy Duck Tongue ($ 9.99) was actually right for my taste except I wish it was a tiny bit spicier to give that Spicy Duck Tongue EXCITING enjoyment level. There was even some Julienne Cucumber on top for your Vegetarian friends, sweet.
This leads me to think that Noodle is an afterthought and that they focus on mostly Appetizers and Mains as you can see that the Restaurant setting is made for dining experience rather than Quick&Cheap style. You can also notice that too as their Menu had Cocktails & Wines that was unexpected.