Sherman's Food Adventures: Kao's Family Restaurant

Kao's Family Restaurant

Normally, I'm pretty shy despite exhibiting verbal diarrhea at times.  Hence, I haven't gone seeking out public appearances all that much.  Recently, I received an email from a faithful reader (now to be known as Ned Flanders) who has gone on his own food adventures in search of diverse and tasty food.  He thought it would be a great idea to meet up and we ended up heading over to Kao's Family Restaurant in Richmond.  Not sure why he chose Richmond because by reading the blog, he would've known my "love" for the place...  LOL...

Since Miss Y was in the neighbourhood, she stopped by to join us.  She was only late by 15 minutes to my complete shock.  Anyways, starting with some offal, we tried the Pork Intestines and Beef Tendon.   I found the intestines to have the right texture which combined a fatty tenderness with only the necessary amount of chew.  Naturally, being intestine, there was a certain level of gaminess, but it was not overpowering.  The accompanying sauce was flavourful in a savoury manner that was aided by the nice zip of grated ginger.  As for the tendon, it was very soft, yet still maintained its shape and some texture.  The seasoning penetrated the tendon while the soy dressing was mildly balanced by some sugar. A sprinkle of pepper on top added a background spice.

The Crispy Chicken Nuggets were super airy and light.  Juicy and super tender, the chicken was dusted with a crispy, barely-there batter.  Personally, I didn't like the inclusion of the chicken skin because some parts were still quite fatty.  However, the other portions were very crispy and rendered.  Flavourwise, I thought it was predominantly salty with little in the way of any 5 spice nor pepper.  Since not many places serve Stinky Tofu, it was necessary for us to try it.  I've had it before, but this version was more pungent and sharp.  I thought it was fried quite well and the chili sauce was a good accompaniment.  Yet in the end, it was a bit too sharp for me personally (not that it wasn't any good).

Our order of Spicy Wontons featured tiny dumplings filled with smooth processed pork.  These were not inundated with too much wrapper, hence they were light and easy to eat.  The sauce was a nice balance of soy, chili oil and sugar.  We also gave the Beef Noodle a try and it featured really moist beef shank.  It practically melted in my mouth with little chewing (probably braised a bit too long).  As for the noodles, they were not too soft nor al dente (but then again, we didn't eat them right away).  As for the broth, it had a nice amount of chili oil and overall flavour, however, there was very little depth or meat flavour.

Lastly, we had the Fried Chicken Rice which was mostly a duplicate of our chicken nuggets, except with a larger piece of chicken. Hence, the texture and flavours were similar, however, by virtue of being a large piece of chicken, the meat was a bit more moist.  In the end, we thought the food was pretty good for a small, hidden family joint.  Nothing Earth-shattering, but okay for a quick casual meal.

The Good:
- Friendly family-run restaurant
- Okay pricing
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- And the winner of the most hidden restaurant goes to...
- Don't expect any ambiance
- Insufficient parking lot

Kao's Family Restaurant 台灣高家小館 on Urbanspoon

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