Final Thoughts: 4.21/5
My friends and I wanted a really simple dinner today and we were in the same plaza for a matcha drink, so we decided to stop by and this try place today. We honestly didn't want anything too heavy, so a lot of the food items that we got were just light foods. No entrees today and just a flight of appetizers. Kind of a fun thing to do since we were able to get a taste a little bit of everything. Overall, quite satisfied with this dining experience. It's really nothing extravagant, but it was just a simple dinner day.
Food:
Nem Cuốn: 4.3/5
This was personally my favorite dish here today. It's one of my go-to dishes because it's simple and refreshing, especially for a hot summer day. Their meat isn't the best that I have had, but it'll do. Perhaps it's missing another component to it, so it seemed kind of one dimensional on the seasoning. Not super oily, but didn't feel dry at the same time, which I appreciate. Ratio of protein to veggies is alright here. Definitely filling, which I really like. Works nicely with their fish sauce. They don't have the specific sauce for this roll though, which is a little disappointing, but their fish sauce did it just fine.
Bánh Bột Lọc: 4.2/5
Second favorite on the table today. The ones provided seem to be the ones that are steamed in little bowls or pre-peeled because they didn't have the leaves present and was just in the little dish. The dough was a little too chewy for my liking. Not too much bite to it. Smelled quite nice and fresh. Meat was nicely seasoned and there was this nice layer of oil brushed on top and garnished with green onions and the fried pork fat (tép mỡ). It is exactly what it sounds like. Not the best for the arteries, but amazing for the soul. Super crispy and adds a nice texture component.
Bánh Nậm: 4.2/5
This item was inside of the banana leaf today and what it is is a flat dough with minced meat and protein inside. Flavor profile is similar to bánh bèo. The dough has more of the bite here and the finish is an opaque dough versus a translucent one.
Gỏi Cuốn Tôm: 4.0/5
This dish was also quite average for me. The shrimps were pretty plump, which is nice. What made this dish was the dipping sauce. Their peanut sauce is quite good. Something I like is the consistency of it. Very thick and very peanuty. Leans on being almost too peanuty for me actually. I would have liked more of the hoisin sauce, but that is a personal preference.
Bánh Bèo: 4.0/5
There's really nothing too special about this dish. It's essentially steamed dough. The dough also doesn't have much chew to it either. This one cut really easily. I think what makes this dish is the fish sauce. Super simple, but quite the good appetizer. I appreciate the hefty amount of the finely minced shrimps for that umami flavor. This one is also topped off with the fried pork fat for that texture component. That combined with the fish sauce is really nice.
Bì Cuốn: 3.8/5
This was my least favorite of the flight. Something about just the bì standing alone as the protein for this dish seemed really off. Seems to be just a preference thing for me. The sauce is really what tried to save it, but it still wasn't my favorite for today. Filling, veggies, and vermicelli are all added into this roll. The size is a fair size too, so at least that's satisfying.
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Quality: Fair
Their vegetables inside of the rolls appeared nice and green. Love the crunch from the lettuce inside. The rice paper was still nice and hydrated, so they seem to be made to order, which I appreciate. Other items are probably steamed and made in advance and then just reheated. Makes sense since these may take a while. The food came out quickly though, so I don't imagine that being the case.
Price: Average perhaps
For the items that we got today, I believe the price is quite average. I say average because their rolls do seem slightly smaller than what I have gotten from other restaurants. They appear longer, but significantly skinnier. Perhaps I prefer this though because the ratio is better. For appetizers, the range is within $6 to $8. Entrees will currently range from $16 to $19.
Service: Sweet
They were very nice. Nothing too significant to note. Took our order, brought out the foods, and then we paid at the front at the end. I appreciate our waitress repeating our order back to us though since we did get a flight of items like that.
Ambiance: Small and homey
The interior is your average Vietnamese restaurant. Quite the small area, but it seems to work for them. Just three columns of tables and very simple interior.
Location/Parking: Paloma Plaza
This plaza is not my favorite plaza to be at. Yes, they do have a lot of restaurants and little boba shops here, which is nice. Highly saturated with Asian foods. For parking, the spaces can be small and finding parking can sometimes be a task. Drivers here are interesting too. Kind of just never know what you're going to see around here. read more