Idk how this place has more than three stars when the only dish we ordered that was remotely edible here was their bot chien. Another review said that if someone is going to give a rating of less than four stars, they should explain why. I'm giving a star to the fact that the bot chief was actually decent and if I only ordered that and nothing else, my review would probably be higher because the service was also pretty stellar. The staff was very friendly, attentive, and accommodating. The reality was just that we didn't have a positive experience with the other dishes we ordered, and that's just our subjective experience.
You can't even say we didn't order the right dishes because we damn near ordered half their menu. I'm talking canh bun, bun rieu, bot chien, pho dac biet, goi du du kho bo, and com tam, and the only dish that didn't smell and taste absolutely rancid was their bot chien. I'm not even trying to be mean here -- this was the overall feedback the entire party felt across multiple generations.
I genuinely don't know why the the broth tasted the way it did for these soup dishes. Something about it tasted incredibly fishy, and not in a fresh seafood kind of way. Like the broth had been left out in unsafe food handling conditions kind of way. Kinda makes me shudder just thinking about it, lol. Even the rice for the com tam tasted questionable, and it's literally rice.
Also, when the canh bun and bun rieu dishes came out of the kitchen, the noodles were already stained in the orange broth color, which was very odd and concerning. Color soaking that quickly isn't normal due to the density of the noodle. The only way that would be physically possible is if the noodles were old and had been physically sitting in the pot for hours on end and then were later reheated by the kitchen to be eaten by customers that just came in. Maybe if they used fresh noodles and broth, the experience would be different. There's a lot of potential here, I can just tell.
I should also mention that it seems like we were the only ones there all afternoon, so that probably goes to show that all their high ratings and rave reviews on this restaurant are probably fabricated, lol...... so take them with a grain of salt! They're also attacking everyone else that's sharing constructive feedback, so that's certainly a choice.
We ended up leaving without finishing our meal and didn't even ask for takeout containers, which is very telling. As a courtesy, we still left a cash tip. I don't see us returning here in the future, but I do wish this restaurant well and hope they can improve their recipe/practices because there aren't enough bun rieu and canh bun spots in the world, and I want to see their small business thrive. read more