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| - We were looking for a Vietnamese restaurant and the raving reviews led us to this establishment for lunch. The interior could use better lighting. There was a small local following, but the ambiance was still sparse except for the large TV facing the tables horizontally arranged.
For appetizer, the Pork Spring Roll ($3) was outright delicious on the inside, but the wrapper was extremely gummy and hard to chew. Not recommended.
The Grilled Chicken Rice ($5.95) came with a good amount of chicken with tender, albeit greasy, crispy edges nicely seasoned. The rice plate also came with a fried fish cake, bowl of soup, and broken rice. The large piece of fish cake was delicious, but also crispy to the point that tasted refried at least several times.
The disappointing aspect of this meal was the Grilled Chicken turned out deep-fried after Santi had inquired about it. The server confirmed that it was initially grilled, but then deep-fried to reheat the chicken. I was particularly disappointed because I had good reasons for not wanting it fried. Even if I had wanted it, the chicken was not phenomenal. Therefore, I walked away extremely unhappy for the misleading information on the menu. The restaurant also didn't do much to respond to our displeasure, which led me to write this review to warn the public about these misleading practices, especially for those with health or dietary restrictions.
Santi ordered the Hu Tieu Mi Dac Biet ($6.50) that came with egg noodles on the side, squid, shrimp, quail egg, pork, pork rinds, chives, and soup on the side. The pork-based soup was solid with a tinge of sweetness to accentuate the pork flavor. The pork rind again, tasted refried and old. The egg noodles carried a decent amount of texture, but the oily sauce did not match the profile of hoisin, shoyu, and oyster sauce described by the server.
Service was friendly and attentive. However, both of us were displeased with the outcome of our dining experience. I don't think the restaurant was trying to purposely deceive us, but as customers, we also deserve to know if we were really getting what we asked for. The food was not memorable. We will not be coming back.
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