Rustic take on Chinese staples

NEW RESTAURANT

TAO Seafood Asia

12 Marina View

Asia Square Tower 2 #02-10

Tel: 6844 9969

Open for lunch and dinner from Mon to Sat: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6pm to 10pm. Closed on Sundays and public holidays

FOR a city that is supposed to be predominantly Chinese, it's harder than you think to find independent Chinese restaurants in Singapore that don't fall under the umbrella of big guns such as Imperial Treasure or Crystal Jade. It's as if a home-grown chef would sooner open a modern European bistro or at most dabble in "mod-Sin" cuisine than get behind a wok and serve up comforting family-style Chinese recipes in trendy surroundings - or at least where the toilets don't strike terror in your bladder.

There are a couple that we can think of, such as Blue Lotus and Home, and now there's Tao Seafood Asia - which attempts to look like an upscale Cantonese-style eatery but actually hides a down-to-earth Singaporean warmth within.…