My partner and I came here relatively late on a Wednesday evening because most other places were either closed or full due to the Lunar New Year. Generally speaking, our opinion of the place is that their BBQ AYCE is very average.
The staff are super nice, accommodating, and attentive on our visit, so no issues there!
Let's start with the bad thing about their BBQ AYCE, which is their Mini Pho (which means I have little hopes about their mini soups). Frankly the broth didn't taste as complex as most good Pho I have had, but hopefully this isn't a reflection of their normal Pho. Definitely would skip the Mini Pho for the AYCE though. Another note is that their Garlic Edamame is just Edamame with some crushed garlic on top, they didn't stir fry it in garlic or really even cook just the garlic itself... the edamame was good, but not really what we expected for garlic edamame.
Another low for our experience was the dipping options offered. The Yakiniku sauce definitely tasted like a mass-produced sauce from a bottle, far too sweet and didn't necessarily go well with the meat either. The Sweet Fish Sauce I was hoping would be a highlight since it's a vietnamese restaurant, but it was far too bland and honestly tasted like it had too much water added, maybe to appeal to a larger crowd? But sadly I would say their fish sauce option is the worst option what we tried. The Mam Nem we opted not to try because I personally don't enjoy it regularly and my partner definitely wouldn't have knowing her tastes. Finally, the spicy powder wasn't great either because it didn't really have a taste other than spicy, so don't expect a Mala Dipping Powder here sadly, though it did enhance the other sauces when you add it to them so it definitely did work as a flavor booster. Personally I just grabbed the Sriracha and Hoisin sauce on the table and enjoyed the meat with a mixture of those (would've been perfect if they had lime wedges offered).
Onto the BBQ itself, the New York steak seems to be their only "steaky" option in that you receive a chunk of meat to sear. Nothing really to write home about here, it was neither bad quality nor outstanding quality.
Filet Mignon Steak was cut into small thin strips which is pretty common for this sort of thing. I personally tasted something a bit off about it when eaten without condiments, my partner however seemed to like it. I will say it was tender like filet mignon, but at the same time slicing it thinly is meant to counteract any chewiness anyways. Again, neither great nor terrible. I do think this was the only cut that you definitely needed a sauce to eat with.
Ribeye Steak/Marinated Ribeye so I'm not sure why they list both of these on the menu because when I ordered them both, they just gave me 2x the marinated ribeye which is cut relatively thinly (like maybe 0.25 Inch?) and marinated in a sweet sauce. Overall tasted good, but ended up eating more of this than intended because I thought I'd be receiving 2 different meats. I will say at least you don't need a dipping sauce o enjoy this cut at least.
Marinated Short Rib is was my favorite cut. Crosswise cut Short Ribs that have been marinated in a sweet sauce. Definitely would recommend and you don't need a dipping sauce to enjoy these at all.
American Wagyu Brisket was enjoyable to me. It definitely looked and tasted marbled. They don't seem to trim the fat cap though so if you don't like having a large chunk of fat on the end, like my partner, you may not like this cut.
American Wagyu Chuck Roll was also enjoyable, nicely marbled and tasted great.
My partner enjoyed the Pineapple although it was cut into small matchsticks strangely.
Their Broccoli was steamed which bother my partner and I felt was ok, but honestly we would have enjoyed just raw Broccoli to eat raw or grill better.
Other than that we tried their Gyoza which I'd say is a bit lower quality than most places we've tried, but still decently good. Difficult to make crispy gyoza skin + a filling that is at least mediocre bad. Not sure I'd recommend this, but I wouldn't recommend against it either.
Overall I think the AYCE BBQ pricing is at least fair considering they're offering American Wagyu options as well as Short Rib, so the price tag feels on par with other places.
Overall, I'd like to see a more vietnamese style BBQ succeed, but as is I think I might end up here every now and then, though I wouldn't necessarily end up here on a craving nor have it be my first choice.
I didn't feel like any of their dipping options was particularly great for the BBQ and is definitely a point they could improve on, I suggest maybe offering Mala Dipping Powder, Lime Wedges, and maybe a more traditional Fish sauce (like make their sweet one less watered down and offer a more savory one like the Jeow Som equivalent). read more