chateau tien Tao in Pasadena

Having just moved back to LA after 15 years in Taiwan, I’ve been really hesitant to try Taiwanese restaurants in SGV. But, finally got to try a place tucked away in Old Town Pasadena, that offers all the traditional flavors of Taiwanese food in a polished setting, perfect for our girls lunch. Ambience was great, decor was modern yet not too stereotypically “Asian”. All dishes were tasty especially the beef noodle soup which had depths of flavor and they even gave us extra soup without extra charge. The bone marrow fried rice was also superb!Walked by last Friday night and the restaurant was empty, not sure why? Perhaps the location, wrong TA, price point, or not enough promotion? Please go and support, otherwise I really don’t know if they will survive.P.S. I didn’t give full 5 stars as I thought prices for some dishes I.e. BNS for $22, were a bit high for Taiwanese food.

Was staying in the area and walked around Old Town Pasadena looking for a place for dinner. They had a sign outside about their Soft Opening, so we decided to give it a try.The service was attentive, but not overbearing (considering it was kinda quiet on a Thur night).They had a small selection of beers and cocktails, so the BF decided to try the Passion Fruit Mojito. He really enjoyed it - said it was tasty and well balanced (alcohol wise).We tried the House Special Egg Rolls, Braised Beef Noodle Soup, and Grilled Salmon. Everything was delicious! The “egg rolls” are different from what you’d expect, but the flavors of the pork and black pepper came through. The BF said the pork inside reminded him of carnitas. The Braised Beef Noodle Soup was a large portion with plenty of noodles. The soup broth had the spices & herbs I enjoy from a classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup and it was clean; I could tell they didn’t use any MSG bc I went away from this meal not being all thirsty. And the cut of beef - it was moist, soft and tender. People are going to say there are cheaper Taiwanese beef noodle soups in the SGV… sure. But the quality and quantity were worth the price, IMO. There are many Taiwanese beef noodle soups in the area to choose from, but this is going to be one of my top spots. The BF said it reminded him of Caldo De Res. The grilled salmon was cooked perfectly and paired nicely with some asparagus & mushrooms. The sauce tho! A bit on the sweet side, but it went really well with everything, and we poured some of that sauce on rice to enjoy after we’d eaten all the salmon & veggies.Because of the soft opening, we received free dessert, which I forgot to get a picture of. They had strawberry or matcha ice cream - we got one of each. It’s not traditional ice cream… more like Asian style ice cream where it’s more ice forward.The space/decor was really nice. I didn’t even realize they had an entire section of the restaurant until the BF went to the restroom. Oddly, they were playing Bad Bunny music and a TV was showing the FoodieBoy YT channel. But overall, we enjoyed the atmosphere, and the manager was really pleasant to talk to.I encourage y’all to support Mom & Pop restaurants like this… go give them a try!

The restaurant took over the space that Green Street Tavern previously occupied. This is a good place to visit on a cold day. The braise beef noodle soup and clear broth noodle soup were hot and flavorful. I enjoyed the Tien Tao trifecta especially the tripe.Our server gave us complimentary tiramisu that we really enjoyed. She said the chef was trying out desserts to add to the menu. His tiramisu was better than most Italian restaurants.This is a must try for those who like Taiwanese food!

We came in during their soft opening window and were super happy! The food was delicious and true to the description of Asian and French fusion. Their service is also wonderful. Since it was our first visit we ordered the house egg rolls which were amazing and we cant recommend them enough, we also loved the garlic noodles, house rice, and spare rib mini tacos!

The chef is skilled and service was excellent. Some dishes get very creative, others are traditional but flawless. Meat quality is good, seafood tasted fresh.

Love the food here, very traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup. And the people here are very friendly as well, environment perfect! Definitely would come for next time.

Been here a few times. The service is amazing. The style of the food is new and refreshing. It’s kind of like a fusion style cuisine. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

We found this amazing place after our wedding shoot. The thai surf clams salad is to die for. Every entree that we ordered was simply amazing. The staff was incredible. Our server Ian was very polite and simply served us as if we were important. The chef personally came out and introduced us to some of her food masterpieces. Overall, I would definitely come back for these unique flavors.

Everything is delicious, service is excellent, the ambiance is nice. There is more option in their new brunch menu, which is great. And they having a soft opening right now, which giving a free dessert! Yum :)

The food is good. The service is good. The ambiance is good. The only knock on it (and its a pretty big knock for some to be honest) is its pricey.I got the beef noodle soup and it was good. The beef was very tender and the turnip and carrots were delicious. The only issue is it cost $23 for that bowl. You can get great beef noodle soup for $15 in many other restaurants. The ingredients here are higher quality but its arguable if its tastier (to make it clear Im saying the noodles here were great, but so are $15 beef noodles in other places) so it becomes a question of is it worth the mark up?Its very easy to justify a 25% mark up ($18.75) for the ambiance and service and ingredients. You can definitely justify a 33% increase ($20) too because the service, ingredients, and ambiance are clearly better (rent has to be quite a bit more). When you start to hit a 50%+ increase though it starts to become a tough sell to go to regularly.This isnt a place to go to for bang for buck, but its a good place to go to for a nice date.