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| - The Choo Choo Train, as my friends and I call it, just ain't the same anymore. Ever since it moved upstairs into the larger, but blander space, the food has gone down hill. I went in for lunch the other day since my friend who used to live here had chosen it for old time's sake.
This lunch was actually within 12 hours of my late night visit to another pho joint just around the corner, so I opted for some snacks instead. The deep fried wontons were just that - way deep fried. It would've been nice if they were more crispy and less borderline chewy from all the oil. The shrimp salad rolls were trusty as they have always been. One thing that Xe Lua has always done well though, are their shakes. My first ever avocado shake proved to be super creamy with just the right hint of sweetness.
My friend really enjoyed his ridiculously large bowl of pho. I generally don't have that much to complain about when I order pho either, but I did notice that the plate of bean sprouts and basil accoutrements were much less lively than the ones at the restaurant the previous evening.
I guess it was a busy lunch, but the large dining room is hardly ever less than half full, so I often wonder aloud why the service is so non-existent sometimes. We had to wait forever to even get a sheet to order with and basically gave up on getting our tea pot refilled.
On this last visit, I also witnessed a pretty funny thing. When another patron wearing a red shirt was leaving the restaurant, he was mistaken for a server and was flagged down by a frustrated lady trying to pay her bill. It was awkward and hilarious when he revealed that he didn't work there.
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