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2022-04-17
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Always on the look out for new Vietnamese restaurants in the city as we love pho, I noticed a new listing on Openrice. Called Lil'Saigon, the photo also had the added words "Los Angeles". Being raised in Canada and boyfriend from the US, this peaked our interest. Was this going to be like the pho we had back home?? Because the pho back home is mind blowingly good. Better than any pho here.The place was a bit hard to find as the address on Openrice didn't have an exact building name. But it's ac
The place was a bit hard to find as the address on Openrice didn't have an exact building name. But it's actually located inside The Center where there is a floor of other eateries we never noticed before. The place was big and rather spacious. There was a large tv screen on one side. Very reminiscient of the the Vietnamese restaurants we ate at in Vietnamaese area of our respective cities. There were also a few drawings of Los Angeles as well. Sitting down we realized this place isn't from LA at all but from the popular Lee Kum Kee Vietnamese restaurant in Yau Ma Tei that was known for classic authentic Vietnamese dishes. I guess this is a little sister branch of theirs for the Central crowd.
Menu is in English and Chinese. There is no 10% service charge. Ordering is done by scanning a QR code that is also in English and Chinese. It worked very smoothly and easy to understand. They also had some items on there that were no on the paper menu. They offer various pho, cold vermicelli and curry with rice dishes along with snacks and drinks. There is a discount on drinks if you order a main.
I had the Fermented Salty Lemon with Soda Water ($35, on the left) and boyfriend had the ice Vietnamese coffee ($35, on the right). For the soda water, you get a choice of 7 Up or plain soda water. I wanted plain soda water so then you get the added syrup. It was pretty good. The salty lemon was already pulverized so you didn't need to break it down yourself. The Vietnamese coffee was strong and sweet.
We shared a snack of Lemongrass Fried Chicken Wings ($36). There were four of them. Crispy skin with a heavy taste of lemongrass and other seasonings. The meat was juicy. It came with a nuoc cham which was a bit more on the sweet side and not as spicy as some places. Something I prefer.
The other snack was a Curry Potato ($36). This was not listed on the paper menu but was found on the QR code menu. Something boyfriend wondered about so we ordered it out of curiosity. Why didn't it come with rice?? Why is this a snack? But boyfriend loved it. It smelled fantastic as it was placed in front of us. A very rich coconut scent, the curry was rich and with layers of flavour. It was quite spicy as well. The potates were soft and fluffy, soaking up the curry sauce. Boyfriend loved this dish as he felt ... sometimes he wants a curry and wants pho but having rice is just too much. This gave him the best of both worlds.
Boyfriend ordered the Special Beef Combination Noodle ($88), At first glance, we noticed the beef broth was more clear than most places. It did remind me of the broth we had in Vietnam and the ones I had in Canada. Taking a sip, it was rich in beef flavour without being too heavy. It reminded me a lot of the ones we had in Vietnam where the broth was cooked for long time using a lot of beef bones to create flavour. The beef slices were soft and melt in your mouth with a strong beef taste. The brisket was so tender it fell apart easily and there was lots of soft gelatinous tendon. The beef balls were good as well. Firm and a decent amount of beef taste. The noodles were chewy and not over cooked. They were also the thin rice noodle, the ones that are correctly used for pho.
I had the Vietnamese Ham Vermicelli ($65). A very generous portion. The rice vermicelli was springy and not clumped together. There was a lot of Vietnamese ham that was very good. Not doused in pepper like so many served here. It was like the ones my best friend's mother who was Vietnames made. The nuco cham was sweet and not spicy. There was plenty of crisp fresh lettuce, carrots and cucumbers.
Very good pho with an excellent broth. The other items were also delicious and very much like the ones we had in Vietnam. Definitely a place to return when we need food in Central.
张贴
