In town for a conference and was looking for some good Vietnamese food. I was quite skeptical, since I am from Orange County (the home of some of the best Vietnamese food). With high yelp ratings I decided to give Tea Lite Cafe a chance.
Must admit when I walked in I hesitated a bit. Why? A Caucasian gentleman was taking our orders. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but for a minute I questioned the authenticity of the food. I'm used to a Mom & Pop shop where I have to use my broken Vietnamese to order. But, they are SMART; communication is KEY. They know their customers and cater to them. I was able to place my order w/ ease (no language barriers).
MSG rating: 0.5/5
KID FRIENDLY: yes
AMBIANCE: casual
ORDERING PROCESS:
1) Just like Mickey Ds....you pick which # you want. Easy!
2) Pay at the register
3) Pick your table and food will be brought to you.
*****THE FOOD GIST*********
Rest assure - the cook is Asian. Food was quite authentic and full of flavor.
BEEF PHO (beef noodle soup): Broth was clear and well seasoned. Lots of meats. Not bad...legit!
COM SUONG NUONG (grilled porkchop & rice): kids LOVED it. Porkchop was marinated very well and grilled just right. 2 pieces of porkchop, SCORE!
GOI CUON (spring rolls w/ shrimp/pork): fresh ingredients and a rather decent peanut sauce.
BUN THIT NUONG CHA GIO (vermicelli noodles w/ grilled pork & egg rolls): This truly HIT the SPOT. Happy with marinate & grill marks on the pork and a nice crunch w/ the egg rolls. A rather light dish w/ noodles, meats and lot of veggies.
THAI TEA: consistent w/ Thai restaurants.
In the 2.5 days we stayed in AZ. We went here 2x. That says a LOT. Will definitely return if we are ever in town again.
pssssss.....check out the bathroom. Pretty neat-O!