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| - Yet another brave attempt at a Vietnamese restaurant in Cleveland - but still not good enough. I'm still very frustrated that I cannot recommend a Vietnamese restaurant for my friends to try. I know, its tough, but being Vietnamese myself, I can't just send them anywhere. I guess I need to continue cooking at home instead of going out for Vietnamese!
I have only had the pho (and in my opinion, if you can't get this right, then forget it). Wow, the pho lacked flavor. I actually questioned if they had even used meat/bones in the stock. Ginger? Cinnamon? Anise? Reminded me of instant pho!! I got the large for $8.95, whoa pricey and average sized (not large). Good news is that they weren't skimpy on the sides, basil and bean sprouts were plentiful (unlike Pho 99). The type of bowl that the pho was served in was wide and shallow, which if you know about pho, you are looking for deep (keeps the soup warmer longer).
My brother and family have tried the bun bo hue (spicy noodle soup), bun (cold noodle dish) and com (broken rice) and have commented how the portions are so small. The flavor is lacking excitement, seems like someone who learned how to cook this food secondhand instead of making it their passion. I was there on a Sunday for lunch, and if you are Asian, you know if it's a good restaurant, it would be packed. We were one of 3 other tables - not so good.
I did give them a star for at least trying - I think there is promise but they have to work on their spices and depth of flavor. Vietnamese food has so much more to offer than this.
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