Mabu Generation, a Taiwanese bubbletea restaurant and bar (yes bar) at First Markham Place has been open for a few months now. I believe they are the same owners as Mabu Station at Yonge and Finch who have decided to expand and include alcohol on their menu of drinks and more food options. This definitely sounded intriguing and with the modern design, I wanted to try it out even though I'm not drinking right now.
Besides offering Taiwanese food like Mabu Station, they also offer a number of Japanese dishes and hot pot for one. Their dessert selection also is a bit different and includes a variety of matcha items. However, this next generation is also more expensive than Mabu Station.
I was disappointed. Well actually, the service was quite good but the food...ahhhh, needs much improvement!
Unfortunately the place is dim because of the hipster lighting so the pictures didn't turn out very good. My meal was a Grilled Chicken Donburi (or House Special Don) but looked nothing like the photo in the menu. The chicken tasted good but there just wasn't enough meat or seasoning for the rice; the presentation was quite poor, like someone just slopped it together.
Braised Taiwanese beef noodle...poorly done as well. Meat was not tender and the noodles were too soft and the soup was not up to par. Given that Taiwanese beef noodle is almost like the national dish, I would have expected at least average but sadly it wasn't.
My friend ordered the curry pork cutlet and she said it was okay but very salty. Nothing to rave about. Nor was the mini hot pot another friend had ordered.
I also had the mochi waffle with ice cream pictured above. This was better than my meal. The waffle was entirely mochi, a good size and tasted okay, soft and chewy. Part of me expected a wheat based waffle stuffed with mochi filling though...I guess I've been seeing too many pics from cafes in Taiwan that make a mochi waffle but the mochi is a filling inside so you still get a nice crisp exterior and a chewy centre.
As I said, decor was really nice (too many people to take a picture of the inside, sorry) and I think for an evening with friends it would be an okay place to chat with friends over tea and dessert. I say this because our experience with service was good so could be worth giving them a try if you're in the area. But for lunch or dinner I would pass, there are much better places.
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| Wall mural of the popular tourist and day trip town Jiufen. |
Mabu Generation
Unit #23-26, 3235 Hwy 7 E. (First Markham Place)
Markham, ON L3R 3P3
T: 905-604-8358
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