I’ve been going to Vietnam’s Central 1-2 times a week since they opened. I really like or love most of the food. The only things I didn’t were items that I just don’t care for, but everything is very well prepared. I’m not sure which pho I like better the beef broth with beef flank, or the chicken broth with grilled pork chops.
By the way, their pork chops are fantastic. Thin, on the bone, tender, marinated lightly, and grilled up all smokey tasting. Besides having them sliced into the pho, they have them as an entree and I highly recommend them.
Listed under “Starters” the Mango Catfish is really nice. It’s a filleted, young catfish lightly battered and crisply fried. Very crisp batter, very moist, tender, and mild fish. The mango sauce is made from green mangoes, not sweet ripe ones, plus lime juice, and other sauces and vegetables, a hint of cilantro, and a tiny bit of chile pepper. It’s a cool refreshing sauce, not spicy. It’s good as an app to share, or if you order a bowl of rice to go with it, it makes a light meal in itself. perfect for a hot summer day.
The starter Lemon Shrimp are very lightly battered marinated shrimp, very tasty, and with a creamy, tangy, lemon sauce that is most definitely based on the French colonial influence on the cuisine. really nice if you like creamy lemon sauces.
The Lightly Caramelized Pot I had the pork, but they have Catfish, Pork, or Salmon steak and options, is long braised pork belly that had almost all the fat removed before cooking so it isn’t fatty, just luscious and mildly unctuous. All the goodness of pork belly, but with only a small amount of the fat, so while the dish can be on the heavier side, it isn’t the gut bomb of pure pork belly. The meat is dark brown from the tick sauces it is simmered in. It is meant to be eaten with or over the rice, and is a flavor packed dish of pure meaty goodness, lightened by the rice.
The Hot and Sour soup, with either shrimp or tofu, I got with shrimp, is not like Americanized Chinese H&S, but lighter, tangier, and more refreshing. And not gloppy like the Americanized H&S soup.
The entree of Vietnam’s Hot Wings were a bit too plain for me. Nicely crispy, nicely marinated before cooking, but not spicy at all. And I like my wings spicy. But if you don’t then they may be to your taste.
I will report back on other items as I try them. I have had others, but with how many meals I have out these days, since I don’t like to cook much on hot days, everything starts blending together and I can’t remember everything I eat.