I was incredibly delighted when I found out about Kim's On the Go and visited on my second full day in Boulder even though I had to hike over a mile through the sprawling UC Boulder campus to get there on a very sunny day. It's tucked away a few doors down from the Walgreens, so I nearly missed it, but I was so happy to be greeted by the owner. I ordered in Vietnamese and she happily took my order down - one bun cha gio/eggroll with noodles - which I love eating on a hot day. I had a small chat with her in Vietnamese. She asked how long I had been here and I told her that I arrived a few days ago and that I was in Boulder for fun because my husband was on a work trip here. She laughed and told me that of course I should be having fun as my husband works and then let me know that my order would be done soon.
I had to wait quite a while -- probably 30 minutes -- for my order to be done. It was 1:30 PM, but the restaurant had so many to-go orders to take care of before they could even start on my dish. The owner apologized to me at one point and I told her it wasn't a worry at all. It was interesting observing the other customers that would come and visit, including a young man that seemed very close to the owner. He had come for a bite to eat but noticed one of the tables was wobbling so he told the owner he was leaving his belongings there but he'd come right back. He did come back, but he came back with a screwdriver and tightened the screw on the loose table and went to fix other tables in the restaurant that were a bit loose. Later, I overheard him thanking the owners in Vietnamese, which I found lovely. It's wonderful that the owners have such a great relationship with their customers that some would even go out of their way to learn to say "Thank you" in their native language.
I didn't get my food until 2 PM, and the owner was incredibly apologetic. She served me my food and said she hoped I was still hungry and wanted to eat. I was very hungry and was happy to eat, and it was delicious. The noodles were still warm after just being cooked and the eggrolls were cut into pieces and steaming hot. They didn't skimp on making the eggrolls -- they were stuffed with meat and noodles instead of mostly veggies the way other restaurants sometimes make them -- and fried so that the wrapper was nice and crispy. I drizzled some of the nuoc mam on, which helped the dish from becoming too dry, but also gave the dish an extra dose of sweet and fishy flavor. I was so full afterward, I wasn't able to eat dinner that night. The whole meal had only cost me less than $15. What a steal!
I enjoyed eating here even if the wait was long. I would have loved taking my husband here because he loves Vietnamese food and the staff was so warm and kind. They seemed to have a good relationship with everyone that visited. As I was leaving, the owner and chef asked how my food was and I assured them it was very delicious. I hope I get to visit again some day! read more