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| - It's exciting to see @namvietkitchen open. NAM is a Vietnamese Kitchen that values a complete dining experience. Calgary is saturated with Vietnamese restaurants that have decent food but incongruent decor, staff that don't care, bad service and dirty restrooms.
Enter Nam Vietnamese Kitchen. I'm guessing the proprietors saw the void and wanted to fill it with their great design details, coherent branding, contemporary dining room and great Vietnamese food. My wife and I decided to try it out last night and we were impressed with our experience. You order at a counter with a well laid out menu and even a few LCD screens above to view what you want. Once you order you are given a number and you can have a seat. Meanwhile, while you wait you can stop by their condiment and water station to prep for your meal. The dining room is well laid out with a bunch of bench seats and tables for two which can be joined to accommodate larger parties. The decor is contemporary with a lot of natural light. There are a few interesting details scattered about showcasing Vietnamese coffee cans, bottles of Sriracha (fact: Sriracha originated in Thailand) and Maggi fish sauce.
We shared an order of the spring rolls (deep fried) and it came out with a very nice 4-roll presentation. The fish sauce was flavourful and had the right amount of spice, the rolls were a perfect size and crunchy on the outside, hot and soft on the inside. What we really liked is the pickled carrot spirals on the side to accompany the spring rolls. Most places leave a bunch of wilted lettuce leaves. This was a nice touch.
We both ordered bowls of the beef and meatballs pho. My wife has a severe nut allergy (including peanuts) and when we mentioned it they said they would take extra precautions not to have any cross-contamination. BONUS POINTS for that! My bowl was rightly sized and came with an individual side of bean sprouts, herbs, red chili and lime wedge (most places pile them onto one large plate for the table). I really liked the thought of having one plate for each person. For $11 you usually get an XL bowl of pho at another restaurants but I don't mind paying more for less if you are getting quality ingredients. NAM delivered on the quality ingredients part. Their noodles were cooked to the right consistency, not too soft and not too hard, just right, as Little Red Riding Hood would say. Their thinly sliced beef was also cooked to perfection and was soft to bite into as it slowly cooked in the broth in front of me. The meatballs I'd have to say are the best I've ever had at a Vietnamese restaurant. Usually you get a rubbery ball of meat, not here; their meatballs tasted fresh, had the right consistency and were spiced with the perfect amount of pepper. Bravo!
The only thing I think they could improve upon is the beef broth. Although it was flavoured right, the soup base seemed a tad bit too salty for my taste. I mentioned it to them and they happily said they would look into it. I could hear that it was communicated to the kitchen which I'd have to say is a welcome and refreshing thing to see. Most Asian restaurants will scowl at you for giving them any type of criticism.
I'm definitely looking forward to trying out their rice bowls the next time I'm in and perhaps upping their review from a 4-star to a 5-star!
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