James
Google
I've been to the U-District location of this chain a few times, and this was my first time at the SLU place
I like the concept of this fast casual type quick service restaurant. I've heard this chain called the Vietnamese Chipotle before, and I can see why as they follow a very similar ordering pattern
What I got here was the half-rice half-salad bowl with pork, egg, green sauce, and a few vegetables
The first thing I have to remark on here is the portions are incredible. My bowl was absolutely stuffed to the brim - practically trying to explode by the end as there wasn't enough space for the sauce on top to even breathe - it was crushed up against the lid. This easily made two full meals worth of food, which makes it a great deal
Unfortunately, the main part of this meal, the pork (which I got a double portion of) was pretty disappointing. The portion was huge, but this pork was pretty dry, and had basically no flavor at all. The food would've been a lot better if this had been improved. My guess is it had been sitting in the tray for a long time, leading to the dryness
However, most of the other parts of this meal were much better. The rice was perfectly cooked - very moist and maintained its shape throughout. The combination of the salad & vegetables were great; especially paired with the green sauce, which is an absolute delight
I also liked the idea of an egg I could mix around with
If I ever come here in the future, I'll get the tofu - as I don't think I can trust this place to serve good meat
The price here is also a little expensive - around $17 for a double protein, but like I mentioned, the amount of food does make up for it
Overall, it's a pretty good lunch spot that'll last you multiple meals, but I would stay away from the meat. 7.5/10