831 Vietnamese website
The huge fish tank is gone, but the chirping birds and flowers are still there when you walk in.
Actually, if you didn't know, you'd think this was still Thai Orchid. Same dining layout inside. But was the food just as good? You know, that's why I'm here. Let's find out.
Each table had various condiments and utensils. Hoisin and Sriracha, but no soy sauce. Hmm... interesting. I liked the little bowls for dipping. And chopsticks. My co-worker Jim and I checked out the menu. I asked if there was lunch specials and the waitress said everything was a special. Huh?
Well, I was hungry, so I got the Grilled Chicken and Prawn dish ($10.25). It came with soup, eggroll, rice and salad. And one prawn. Don't squint too hard at the picture - there was only one. The salad was just lettuce, mint, cucumbers and carrots without dressing. Comparing this to a Chinese restaurant lunch special (like Tam's), you get soup, rice, wonton and a decent-sized entree. It would be more filling than this.
Soup is a generous word for what they served us. This is more like cilantro water. Really? Some green onion pieces and black pepper do not make a soup. This was a disappointment.
Jim got just the Grilled Chicken plate ($9.25) and it came with two pieces of chicken. He was happy. I was not. I paid more and got less food! I did try to make lemonade out of lemons by using the cucumbers has a taco shell for some rice and sauce. When you are hungry, you make do...
The last thing I want to mention was the awkwardness when we asked for the check. The waitress said we should pay at the front counter. That's all well and good, but we didn't have a check for our meal. We went up and the lady asked what we had. This doesn't seem like a good way run a business. I could have said "just a bowl of rice"! But I am a man of honor. We paid and quickly departed.
Scores out of 10:
Food: 5 (nothing special, but fresh)
Service: 2 (long wait for the non-existent check)
Atmosphere: 5
Value for price: 2 (I'm still hungry)
Overall: 3
This place gets my lowest score ever for a restaurant. I think it's mostly because of the recent opening. Hopefully, they will improve and be more generous with their food.
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