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| - I was so excited to try this place out, hot pot in charlotte, seriously where else can you find a place with hot pot in Charlotte? Buffet Dynasty in Matthews used to have hot pot(very good) but they closed down, ever since then I have been on the hunt!
To start off, the ambiance of this place is pretty decent compared to most vietnamese places. Booth tables along the wall, regular tables in the center. The place looked fairly clean with a barista table at the front of the restaurant. Also the menu is quite extensive. Not many places have singapore noodle, pho, egg noodle, vermicelli, fried rice, banh mi sandwiches and hot pot. But the trick is to do the vast selection well and not suffer in authenticity and flavor by having a large menu.
First of all, the price is pretty high here. $9 for a bowl of pho? We asked about the difference between small and large, and were told that large was the regular size...well then. My friend ordered the beef pho, she is Vietnamese, and she said it was ok...Mediocre.
I ordered the spring roll vermicelli. The dish itself had no flavor except for the spring rolls. I poured the fish sauce that is supposed to be mixed in with the vermicelli but still NOTHING! By this point, I was desperate and added salt to my vermicelli to make them edible. Anyone of us who has tried adding salt to a pre-made dish at a restaurant knows how disjointed the dish can feel, so I tried adding pepper to make the flavor pop. I have to say, I had vermicelli at an OK place before and the vermicelli I had at Doan's is worse.
For drinks, we ordered the Vietnamese coffee, which was the best part of our dish. It came in a traditional vietnamese coffee strainer. Condensed milk was added to the bottom of the coffee. We were given a separate glass filled with ice to pour the coffee into. Overall, that tasted like a yummy iced coffee, but I am sure the condensed milk contributed majorly to the taste factor.
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* FRUSTRATION*
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My frustration about this place is the lack of training and coordination of the staffs. When we were seated, someone took our order for drinks. 30 seconds later, another waiter came by to ask us what we wanted for beverages? Ok, I have never had such a mis-step at a restaurant, this is really bad.
The same person that took our order, made ZERO effort to remember what we ordered, even though she wrote it down. When she brought out our food, she was confused where to place the dish because she didn't remember who ordered what. LIttle details like this really takes away from a comfortable dining experience.
The WORST part was, when our checks were brought out to us, the bill was printed in the most UNPROFESSIONAL manner. It was printed on a slip of tiny manual print out. There was NOTHING on that slip of paper except for how much we owe the restaurant. No name of the restaurant, no server, no time, no date, most importantly the item we ordered was NOT on there listed beside the price! I was not so pissed off until I realized that they over-charged me for my spring roll vermicelli. Whoever printed our bills out attempted to write on the check in VIETNAMESE the name of the dish we ordered!!?? Seriously, why did you write it in Vietnamese, this is America! I was so furious at this point that I did not bother to ask them about the over-charge and just tipped the waiter less with the difference they over-charged me. Plus to be honest, she really did not deserve a good tip.
My advice for this place? Only come here for drinks. They have HUUGE jack fruit or avocado smoothie for $3.75. They give it to you in a to go plastic cup that is the size of a regular smooth king cup. If you know anything about Smoothie King, their drink portions are huuge!
Don't come here expecting superb service, you won't get it. I cannot speak on the hot pot, but if you order anything noodle on this menu, it will be a disappointment.
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