John L.
Yelp
The store is old and dated, but you never know. Sometimes, there's great food in small old shops. They do not have pho, but they have hu tieu. Hu tieu is a South Vietnamese dish that can be served as a noodle dish, a noodle soup, or a noodle dish with soup on the side. The soup contains pork-based broth as opposed to beef-based broth in pho. Hu Tieu also contains fewer spices and seasonings than pho which makes it less flavorful to most people. It is served with pork and/or seafood as opposed to beef in pho.
My wife and I visited twice. We got Hủ Tiếu Mỹ Tho, Bún Bò Huế Chå Cua, Gỏi Sứa Tôm Thịt, Mì Xào Dồ Biển, and Bún Chả Giò - Bi & Thịt Nướng. The Hủ Tiếu Mỹ Tho had tapioca noodles, barbecue pork, ground pork, shrimp, fish balls, squid, pork liver, a quail egg, and spring onions. It came with a side of bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, a wedge of lime, and a crispy shrimp cake. The shrimp cake had a whole piece of headless shrimp with the shell left on. The shrimp was stuck to a square-ish thin rice cake. The whole thing was deep-fried and incredibly oily. If you love the flavor of oil from a deep fryer, then this is for you. The shrimp was mushy with only a little flavor. The shell was very chewy. It was horrible. The ingredients in the Hu Tieu were cooked well. It had a mild broth that tasted like it was made with chicken broth, some pork, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. A nicely balanced flavor, but not much depth. This dish has a good variety of ingredients, but I'll take pho over this any day!!
The Bún Bò Huế Chå Cua had thick rice noodles, chicken roll meat, pig blood, pig's feet, sliced beef, and onions. It came with a side of bean sprouts, basil leaves, sliced jalapeños, and a wedge of lime. Chicken roll meat is a cheap deli meat made from a mixture of chicken meat and seasonings that is pressed into a log shape and baked. The thick slices of chicken roll had a mild chicken flavor seasoned with MSG. It belongs in a sandwich, not this dish! The pig blood was shaped into small cubes. It had the texture of firm tofu. It tasted similar to ground pork liver mixed with the unique flavor of slightly salty human blood with a hint of metallic flavor. Not good! The other ingredients were typical. The broth was a fatty chicken broth that was moderately spicy with an aroma of chicken fat, pork, and a strange pungent smell that I thought was from the blood. We took leftovers of this dish home. When it was reheated, it smelled like rotten meat and fart. Don't get this.
The Gỏi Sứa Tôm Thịt (jellyfish salad) had jellyfish, pickled white radish, white onion, cilantro, carrots, roast pork, shrimp, shrimp chips, cucumbers, and fried onions. There was a small amount of jellyfish. The sauce was sweet, sour, and peppery. It had the taste of anchovy sauce, rice vinegar, red chiles, salt, and sugar. The roast pork was chewy, dry, and bland. The rest was fresh and very good. Despite the pork, we enjoyed the textures, flavors, and uniqueness of this dish.
Bún Chả Giò, Bi & Thịt Nướng had rice vermicelli noodles, shredded pork, grilled pork, mint, basil, lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, and green onions with a spring roll on top. It came with a fish sauce that was sour, sweet, and hot. It was like the sauce in the jellyfish dish with less sugar and chiles. It wasn't good and the portion was small. Adding lime juice and garlic would help. The shredded pork was dry. The grilled pork was crispy, firm, and somewhat moist. The whole dish was rather bland. They need to improve the sauce and then provide more of it. The crispy spring roll was good because the filling had a variety of ingredients instead of just cabbage.
The Mì Xào Dồ Biển (Lacay Seafood crispy noodles) had baby corn, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, bok choy, straw mushroom, shrimp, squid, fish balls, bamboo shoots, and crispy egg noodles. You can get soft noodles instead of crispy. It had a simple thick broth sauce that was a little salty with a slight sweetness. The sauce was weak and lacked depth of flavor. The shrimp was overcooked and quite chewy. The fish balls were somewhat soft with a very mild fish flavor. The squid and vegetables were cooked well and had good natural flavors. The crispy noodles were thick and not oily. They had a good fried flavor. So, if they can fix the sauce and not overcook the shrimp, this dish could be very good.
The service was minimal. A server takes your order, your food is delivered, and no one checks on you. If you need something, you walk up to a server and ask. They don't acknowledge hand waving. You pay for your meal at the cash register. It's cash only! The restrooms were worn and had dirty crevice areas. The dining room was clean. This restaurant has a problem with making good sauces and broth. Some ingredients had poor quality. Eden Center has plenty of better restaurants.
