Formosa sports a very large dining area and on our Saturday visit was mostly unpopulated with maybe 3 or 4 other tables occupied. I have read they feature Japanese style private tatami rooms. We were never offered or even told about this on arrival so I cannot comment. If you have a nice quirky feature like this wouldn't you advertise it to each new customer? Oh well. We were seated promptly with menus but it did take some time for the waiter to take our order. Two servers were working the floor for at most 12-15 people, so it was a little worrying. The large dining room and lack of diners made for an uncomfortable experience. The menu was standard for a budget chinese eaterie. The highlights of which being the low prices. I opted for spring rolls to start. Going against my own advice of sticking to the basics when going somewhere new I ordered the whole duck for main.. The s.rolls were basic fare and a little cold in the middle. Quite dissapointing. The duck is a story of its own. In the past I have only ever had duck served with pancakes, hoisin sauce and vegetables. The Formose duck was a mite different. To be fair this was my own naivety expecting their dish to be much like I had in the past. What I got was a whole duck. Baked, torn into pieces. That was it. no sauce, no vegetables, no rice, nothing. Just a big plate o' duck. Always one to try something new, I dug in. The duck was excessively overcooked.. Dry tasteless and very little meat to discern. Our co-diners mainly comprised elderly couples sharing a plate of chow mein, I guess they don't get much call for the duck. My waiter seemed almost upset when he took the plate away that I hadnt eaten more. Paying for the bill took almost as long as eating the meal. Our server also doubling up as cashier on the way out. When 5-10 people came in as we were leaving chaos ensued. I would hate to see what happens if this place really fills up.\r
Pros: Quiet, cheap
Cons: Bog standard food, eerily quiet
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