|
|
Formosa Grill: Fine Tempura Is Worth a Brief Wait | |
| BY ANNE WILSON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE |
04/10/1998 | |
| The Formosa Grill has been open for a year, but business is just
now beginning to pick up, according to owner Barbara Chen. That's a shame, because Formosa offers fresh, reasonably priced food. The place is spacious, clean and well-lit and has several private rooms with floor seating. Plastic plants and Japanese lanterns are the main decorative accents, but an indoor fountain at one end of the restaurant provides pleasant background noise. Formosa's menu is not as extensive as some Chinese restaurants', although Chen and her husband, Jack, plan to expand it. In addition to traditional Chinese dishes, Formosa serves tempura and teriyaki, a concession to loyal customers of the former occupant. The tempura was a generous selection of shrimp, plus slices of carrot, sweet potato, onion and squash, all lightly battered and fried ($6.95.) It arrived later than the other dishes because it is prepared from scratch once the order is placed. You will have to wait for the pot-stickers or Chinese dumplings, too, but they are worth it. Each order ($4.75) included eight dumplings, fried or steamed. They were tender and delicious. Other starters include egg rolls (two for $2.50), fried chicken wings ($4.25), and paper-wrapped chicken ($4.50). A short selection of soups sounds enticing, especially the house soup ($5.75 for two) with chicken, scallops, shrimp and vegetables. Entrees include poultry, seafood, beef, noodles and fried rice.
The garlic chicken ($6.75) had large tender chunks of chicken,
plus crisp
broccoli,
carrots, water
chestnuts and bok choy in a spicy, garlicky sauce. For a milder
but filling dish, try the Formosa pan-fried noodles: shrimp,
beef, chicken
and fresh
vegetables
blanketing lightly browned noodles. Both reheated nicely the
next day. Anne Wilson is The Tribune's restaurant reviewer. The newspaper covers the cost of meals at restaurants reviewed and there is no connection between reviews and restaurant advertising. Wilson welcomes food and wine news, comments and suggestions at awilson@sltrib.com or by mail, c/o Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, UT 84110. Formosa Grill
|
||
