This place got rave reviews from some members of my community so I thought I'd try it out. I stopped there late one night about 15 min before closing and asked if it was too late to get take out, they said sure. The entry way was blocked by a huge yellow mop bucket and there was cardboard on the floor. I took a few minutes to look at the menu and was then told they had already shut down the grill. I didn't know what dishes required the grill, and they seemed very anxious to get out of there so I said I'd come back another day. I could understand if I was just slidding into a booth but getting a quick take out shouldn't be an issue, and if it was, they should have said, "we're closed" when I asked. Tried them again tonight and ordered the lemongrass tofu over rice vermicelli with veggie eggroll. The food came out quick but there was no dipping sauce included with the eggroll, which was tasteless and not crispy, even though I only live 5 min away. it seemed more like it was baked. This is not a complicated dish. the tofu was tasteless. The rice noodles were overcooked, several pieces of lettuce were wilted and slimy and ALL of the bean sprouts were either brown and withered or slimy! This would not have passed quality control in any eating establishment I would work at. The prices are really cheap for Seattle in 2019, but they add on a 75 cent charge for take out container. I've never been anywhere else in Seattle that does that. They said it's b/c Seattle requires compostable containers, so that got me curious as to how much those containers cost. Quick google search popped up at only 19 cents for sugarcane compostable, the same size and type, so that's quite the upcharge. I'm not going to quibble about 75 cents and tbh, if they had just charged $10 for the dish, I wouldn't have blinked, but I really hate nickel and diming. Esp. when I'm sure they spend 19 cents on eat in diners, if you combine paying the waitress, the dishwasher, the water, soap, napkins, electricity, rent, etc...I bet it's a lot more than that.
Bottom line, the food, while edible was sub-par. I was esp. disappointed after the raves I heard from neighbors....guess I ordered the wrong dish. Oh and the cardboard was still lining the long corridor to the front. The place itself looks kinda down in the dumps, the type of enviro I wouldn't want to linger in. I doubt I'll give them a 3rd shot. Gotta say, I've lived in Seattle for 2 years and I have not had decent strip mall or slightly more upscale Asian cuisine since I got here. I'm really surprised given the large Asian population. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I lived in Portland for over 17 years and never had a bad meal at any Vietnamese, Thai, Korean or Indian restaurant the entire time, from food trucks on up it was succulent. I could honestly make better food than I've had here in restaurants here. read more