Ernie C.
Yelp
I went on both the Saturday and the Sunday of the grand opening weekend, as I was super excited to have more Vietnamese food options in the south east.
Was a little bit of a zoo, and on Saturday I got the last seating while they were running out of food. Service was super harried, and there was a bit of confusion as three different people checked in on me/asked if I'd ordered/etc, but it eventually got sorted that they were down to one item, mì hoành thánh - "egg noodles in a chicken bone broth. Hoành thành (sic) meat ball(shrimp, ground pork, sesame oil, scallion) covered in wonton wrap. Sliced charsiu pork." Was a little disappointed, as I'd been hoping to have a rice noodle based dish, but the soup was solid. Service was a little more organized towards the end of my meal as the place was emptying out, and I got to ask a few questions about what they'd be featuring on their rotating menu. I was mainly curious if they'd offer bún riêu, which was still up in the air (but I see it on their Wednesday menu now).
Sunday, I went early since I wanted a bit of choice on the menu, and ordered the bánh ít trân - "Poached sticky rice dumplings stuffed with mung beans. Garnished with green onions, fried shallots, dried shrimp, and served with sweet fish sauce", and the bánh canh cha tôm - "beef bone, chayote squash, and carrot broth with tapioca noodles. Shrimp and pork cake."
I wasn't sure what to expect when I had ordered the rice dumplings, and was pleasantly surprised with the pretty presentation in a bowl, the dumplings in a small puddle of the sweet fish sauce, the garnish adding a nice aesthetic touch and some pickled carrots and radish rounding out the appearance. The dumplings reminded me of a Korean rice cake or the Japanese mochi (which I should have realized from the description). I'm the kind of person who doesn't really like overly sweet foods, and a small red bean filled rice cake is usually enough for me to fill my sweet tooth craving, so this was a bit of a surprise for me to have with my soup. That being said, it was good, if dessert like. The sweet fish sauce was a nice compliment to the rice cake and mung bean paste, while the carrot and radish with their bit of acidity were a nice complement to the dish.
The soup was super comforting, making me think it'd be perfect if I felt some sniffles coming on or just a rainy day. The shrimp and pork cakes had a nice skin on them that contrasted their slightly spongy texture. "Tapioca noodles" had scared me, and when I first got the dish they were confusing, as they were too fat and short to comfortably use chopsticks on, before I realized they worked well in the spoon. In the end, the dish ended up reminding me of a rich, clear broth soup, the tapioca noodles being similar to dumplings, and the shrimp and pork cakes adding great flavor and texture.
I tried to go last Friday as well (almost a week after the grand opening), but turned around after I saw a half-dozen or so folks waiting outside. 100% happy for the successful opening, but man, I can't wait for the hype to go down. Not sure how much I'll be able to make it since their hours (9 to 4:30) mean weekends only for me usually.