date: 5/12/09
location: st. paul
grade: b (group grade)

most of the time this place does rank in the upper echelon of vietnamese places in the twin cities. our group had a mixed reaction.

me... well, i only have myself to blame for ordering wrong. the bun ga xoa ("chicken stir-fried with onion served on top of vermicelli rice and noodle salad with fish sauce on the side." $6.95 i think- the online menu that i found i think has older prices on it) was a bit on the bland side..

i think i was expecting something like mee goreng- with the noodles all sauced and the whole dish integrated. wrong paradigm. the noodles were cold and maybe about half-sauced. after i added spice to the dish (a hit of chili sauce) and a bit of sweetness (yes, i know it was wrong putting hoisin on it, but i like hoisin) and a bit of the fish sauce (not too much- wasn't sure how much shellfish is in there) it was ok. a few more peanuts would've been welcome. and no chicken tendons in with the chicken also would've been good. anyway, it didn't seem as complex in flavors as the other dishes.

though i will say it wasn't as i was spoiled for choice in my selection. this isn't a place for vegetarians or shellfish allergy people, that much is for sure. the menu is very beef (to the point of being able to get a seven course beef dinner for $16.95), pork, and shellfish driven.

someone else started with the goi cuon ("shrimp and pork spring rolls (2)," for $3.25 i think) and had some of the chicken with veg and steamed rice ($7.95). the last dish was the best scented one of the evening... i could even smell it (it's spring, and spring=even worse allergies than usual=lack of scents for me).

the best rated dish of the evening (by the person who ate it) was the canh chua tom ("hot and sour shrimp soup served with beansprouts, celery, pineapple tomato and steamed rice," $8.50?). it also had some other sour squash-tasting vegetable in it that made it more interesting. probably very good if you have a cold or something. and speaking of soups, i heard the pho here is also top-notch.

there was a service glitch. one person ordered an app. that came out, followed by my dinner, and the other person's rice. then the soup that went with the rice. and then... we waited for the other dinner. and waited more. it finally showed up... sans rice. that hit the table a while after that. they apologized quite a bit for it. apparently such problems almost never happen. (discuss- why wasn't it my dinner than never showed up? that's the usual scenario.) so that person downgraded based on service, not food.

it's a plain place (white walls, a picture or so on each). they do need to get rid of the weird fake scent in the restroom, though. i appreciate not having background music, just a mix of languages kind of blurring around you. it's not loud, though. besides the service glitch, it was pretty affable service (yes, good water refills). and very affordable- most of the food comes in huge, affordable portions. if you threw down $20 or so you could probably feed at least 4 people.