Tao's, Bulleen

I've heard of Tao's in Bulleen many times before, but had never been. So when Gaz suggested we visit Tao's for a special ocassion, I was secretly delighted. At $58 per person for a 6 course dinner, it was reasonably priced.

I was also assured by a colleague beforehand that I would not need to visit KFC or the Golden Arches after dinner at Tao's. That is a relief because I am not particularly fond of the big prices, big plates and minute food portion type restaurants, no matter how well done the 'amuse bouche's are.

The set menu started with a plate of assorted starters - from right to left: bacon wrapped spring onion, oyster with ginger and cucumber and a sweet chilli mayo with bread stick.

To be honest, I only really liked the oyster, which is very surprising because I usually liked bacon, any bacon and dislike oyster, any oyster. The bacon on my plate was a tad too salty for my liking, while the oyster was really refreshing and wasn't fishy at all.

We had a list of entrees to choose from. Gaz chose the soft shell crab, deep fried. It was a little fishy, but I think it's the case with all soft shell crabs which usually comes frozen.
I chose tempura prawns for my entree. Deep fried... what can I say?

Next came this beautiful dish of meatballs. It was a ball of pork, minced till smooth, covered with a layer of glutinuous rice topped with bonito flakes which fluttered in the heat making the meatball look like an anemone in deep sea.

There was some mild curry sauce to go with this gem, but I liked it better without. The nicely seasoned meat was really tasty, and the meatball just melted in my mouth. It was very good.

For mains, Gaz chose the lamb which came with some mint sauce. We saw many people in the restaurant order the steak which was presented on a sizzling plate. The lamb was good though, very tender.

I decided to go with the healthy option by choosing the baked rockling with herbs. What herbs I don't know, but the fish was flavourful and slightly crispy, very nice.

We were also served fried rice on the side which filled us up immeasurably. No pics here because it was much too dark. It was served in a little pot, which reminded me of Pooh's honey pot.

Before dessert, we were invited to cleanse the palate with a shot of passionfruit drink served in a pot of ice with two daisies sticking out of the pot. Presentation was a bit... off, but the drink was really very good! So refreshing and indeed, very cleansing to the palate.

For dessert, Gaz chose the creme brulee. I didn't really manage to eat very much of it, and you'll see why in the next picture.


This was my dessert, panna cotta with mango mouse on top. Now, if you looked to the right of the cup of panna cotta, you'll find a stick of metal. That is the spoon. How was I supposed to eat with that?? I had no choice but to place the cup against my mouth and slurp the panna cotta noisily into my mouth. I only managed to eat half of it before I gave up and sent it to Gaz.

All in all, we tasted some nice food and the bottomline is that I was actually full after the dinner. The service was very good, the food came very quickly which is absolutely wonderful. Once we had to spend 4 hours to finish a degustation menu and only left the restaurant at 11pm. On a weekday. Not something we'll like to do again. So, quick service and good food at reasonable price. It's worth a second visit!

Update: This restaurant is permanently closed. There is a new concept vegetarian sushi restaurant Midori by Tao's in Bulleen by the same owners.