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The Digs: It is located in Winter Garden off
of West Colonial near
The Delivery: My guests and I went for lunch and
were greeted by the servers. Both were hospitable and both had a
friendly, welcoming attitude. Our orders were taken promptly and both showed
good menu knowledge. One minor negative was my silverware came dirty with
complimentary pieces of dried food stuck to it, which was replaced immediately
when mentioned.
The Dish: First the drinks. For those of you who are used to the slow-drip, high-octane Vietnamese iced coffee at all the downtown Orlando joints, the iced coffee ($3) here is just too plain. This also goes for their boba cafe version ($3), the little tapioca balls were rock hard in the middle like mini jawbreakers.
For an appetizer, I had the baked conch ($9.75). Slices of baked conch
were sprinkled with salt, pepper, chili powder, and served with limes. It's a
nice combination; the chewy texture of the conch goes well with the spices and
lime juice.
My entree was the grilled pork chop
($11) served with rice and salad. After just one bite, my nose and my common
sense were telling me the pork had gone bad, but our other server, while
admitting she smelled the same odor, insisted it was due to their wine marinade.
Regardless if it was bad pork or bad marinade, it was not edible. In their
defense, they immediately took it away, and we were not billed for it.
Much
better was the grilled shrimp and spring roll over rice vermicelli ($7.95). The
shrimp were large and fresh plus the slight burn marks and the grilled
aftertaste really hit the spot. Sushi is advertised on the window, on their
menu, and promoted by the server (he was also the sushi chef) so we gave it a
go. The tuna sushi ($4.25) was fresh and pink. Next up was the Vietnamese Roll
($10.75), which was wrapped in soft 'summer roll' skin had a mix of fish and
cream cheese filling. The cream cheese appeared curdled and runny. Although it
didn't smell like it went bad, once again it just was not a good look. The wasabi
had no kick to it, which usually hints that it wasn't made fresh.
Our final item was the Pho Beef
Noodle Soup ($6.95). This was their best item of the lunch. The broth was
steaming hot and hearty plus the noodles had a delicious slippery texture. They
pride themselves in not using MSG and my lack of thirst showed it.
The Damage: Their lunch specials run from $7.95
to $8.95. Dinner specials start at $14.95. The sushi rolls range from $5 to $9
with their special rolls being over $10.
The Deduction: It's a shame. The staff was so nice
that it is hard to be negative, and the Pho Noodle Soup did tempt me for a
return visit. But if my experience is a typical lunch or dinner here, then they
are not ready for primetime. From the bad taste of the marinated pork to the quality of
the sushi rolls, there is plenty of room for tweaking and improvement.
