Mekong

Style: Vietnamese
My rating: 3 stars

Website: http://mekongisforbeerlovers.com/

Likes: Great beer selection, easy parking

Dislikes: Food has gone downhill and bland

We easily found parking in the front of the store, but it was visible that there was parking behind the strip of stores the restaurant resides in. Upon walking in, we were seated easily and the waitress brought us menus. No one brought us a beer menu, so we had to ask for it. The waiter brought us only one, so Brad and I had to try and read its small print sideways. That was a little frustrating and I ended up ordering an Allagash White just because it was easier than scouring the list.

We started with steamed pork dumplings and a pork spring roll. The spring roll was a little bland, but the pork dumplings had a great ginger sauce to pair. 

My husband ordered a soup bowl, with seafood and udon noodles in a chicken broth.  He enjoyed it!

I ordered a rice dish with egg, chicken, pork, and shrimp. I immediately had plate envy of my husband’s soup. The rice looked bland and uneventful. However, the flavors were there when I ate it. 

Overall, I feel that food was all right, but I can get better Vietnamese elsewhere in town. Mekong has become more of a place to order a beer, and they are overlooking their food. It’s sad that the service behind the beer service was so poor.

Lemongrass

Style: Vietnamese, Thai
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Website: www.lemongrassrva.com

Likes: Patient Staff, Varied Menu, Comfortable Atmosphere, Crisp and Fresh Vegetables

Dislikes: Rude Clientele, Lack of Hot Pots

Lemongrass Restaurant was another LivingSocial deal that I was intrigued with. What excited me was that it offered both Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, and not in a fusion style. They have lots of traditional dishes, but also some dishes that my husband and I had never tried before.

It is located in a strip mall outside of Short Pump Mall. On the inside, there are paintings and maps on the wall with many wooden tables and chairs. It was clean and decorated, but nothing fancy. It was calm and laid back so I loved it. However, there was a table of 60 something couples that were very rude. They complained that the menu was not in English, and when they ordered, they made so many changes that the dish on the menu was a completely different plate that would be brought out to them.

We ordered appetizers since it was our first time there. Brad ordered the Spring Roll with shrimp. It was the usual tasty shrimp spring roll that you get at decent Asian restaurants.

I ordered and shared steamed pork dumplings, because I love them. The dumpling pastry on these were soft and thick, making it the best feature of the dumpling. They were a little small and the dipping sauce could have had a stronger taste.

The entrees were what made our visit. Brad ordered the Arkhanay noodles. It was something that neither of us had tried before. I am so glad I did because it was delicious. It had rice noodles, stir fried with shrimp, scallops, and squid in a light curry sauce. For all of the seafood that was on this plate, we were pleased that it was only $13.95. The light curry sauce tasted like a mild orange curry and did not overpower the seafood.

I ordered the Pad See Eaw with pork, which is a traditional Thai dish. This was the best version I have had. What made it so special was the vegetables. While steamed, they were soft but also crisp at the same time. There was a freshness to the dish that surprised me because often Asian food tastes older or more processed. 

Brad and I just purchased another Lemongrass LivingSocial, and we are very excited to go back and see them again!

Pho 79

Name: Pho 79
Style: Vietnamese


Likes: Best Pho in Richmond, The Price, Extra Onions, Bountiful Spring Rolls

Dislikes: It’s too far away, limited menu choices, no more cool t-shirt that said “Pho-King Good!” 

I have been eating at Pho 79 since 2005. If a coworker had not introduced me to this restaurant, I would never have gone here on my own. Simply put, it looks very sketchy. It used to be an old McDonald’s that is painted blue and green. There are pink chairs and fake flowers on the wall. There is always a fish tank with one giant fish in it. I always wonder if I am going to end up eating that fish one day…

I come here because the pho is the best in Richmond, and lots of Vietnamese people eat here. I usually get a small number 7 pho. The small is plenty of soup. They also have a large which my husband usually gets. And then, there is THE SUPERBOWL. We saw a man eating the superbowl once and it was larger than you could imagine.

We always order cheap extra onions for our pho. I like to add limes and jalapenos, while Brad likes bean sprouts. He skips the limes, which are really the best part. However, he will use a lime for his water.

The spring rolls also come with two per order. They are very large and come with both pork and shrimp in them. My grandmother has eaten them and she was impressed. They come with peanut sauce and not the icky fish sauce which delights me because I don’t have to smell fishy dirty feet.

If you have never had pho, you should try it one day. It is rather healthy because it is mostly plain noodles and beef broth. Pho is also exceptionally helpful when you have a cold. But beware, on any day you should come with extra tissues. 

Vietnam Garden

Style: Vietnamese
Website: www.vietnamgardenva.com

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Likes: Comprehensive menu with items for many different tastes, prices are reasonable, helpful service, certain dishes are available that are hard to find at similar restaurants

Dislikes: It is too far away for me to visit more often, some more common Vietnamese dishes (such a broken rice and pho) are not the best I have had

Vietnam Garden is about an hour away from my house. My husband and I first went the restaurant because we were prompted by a Groupon about our months ago. Yes, it is the usual case. Since then, we have been back over five times. For an hour long car ride over a painful interstate and often in rush hour traffic, we have been frequently. This is because it is so worth it.

We decided to take my Grandma out on February 15 for a belated Valentine's Day. She had never had Vietnamese food and was excited to try it. However, the husband and I were hesitant to take her because we didn't want to upset her stomach with spicy food. We decided to take her Vietnam Garden because the menu is so extensive and there were a lot of "grandma-friendly" menu items.

The restaurant is located in a strip mall with many other ethnic restaurants. India K. Raja and Teppanyaki Buffet are two of these (which are completely UN-noteworthy).  It appears to be just another random restaurant with old carpet and cheesy Asian decor.

Walking in, the cheesy Asian decor is apparent, but so are the other diners. About six of the the seven other tables are Asians. We always consider this to be an excellent sign of authentic quality! When we are seated, we are served glasses of water and we place our orders. Here is what we had:

We ordered steamed dumplings as an appetizer. These are my favorite Asian dumplings because the pastry around them is very thick and soft. I like to poke a small hole with a chopstick before I dunk it for the first time. The ginger soy sauce that comes with it will flow into the opening and make the first bite a delectable sensation of sausage, spice, and pastry.  It is garnished with a thick cut of carrot and a mystery white vegetable that I have yet to discover what it is. 

My grandma ordered a Pork with Mixed Vegetable with a special house brown sauce, which tasted like an oyster sauce. It was served over white rice. When I sampled a taste of pork, carrot, and mushroom with rice soaked in the sauce, it reminded me of a tasty Chinese food dish. I liked it better than the Chinese I have had recently because everything tasted so fresh. It hadn't been sitting out and it wasn't overly salted. 

Brad and I ordered two different hot pots. A hot pot is a selection of meat served with a broth in a bowl over a bunsen burner. Brad ordered the Volcano On The Sea. This hot pot has prawn, fish filet, squid, enoki mushrooms and scallion in a seafood broth. The pieces of seafood in here are sizable and the portion is very large, especially for the price. My favorite thing about this dish is that or all of the seafood, it is not overly fishy. The broth is hot, buttery, and spicy. When it is spooned over the rice and the fish, it tastes like no other dish I have had before.

I had the Spicy Beef Hot Pot, which has beef, shitake mushrooms, tofu, carrot, Chinese cabbage, and cellophane noodles. When I had my first sip of broth, I coughed. It was spicier than I thought it would be. It wasn't too spicy though. My tastebuds quickly got used to it when I was eating it paired with beef, mushrooms, and rice. It was like eating a spicy beef and rice soup with an Asian zing! The only thing that I didn't like was the amount of tofu. I don't mind tofu, but I don't need really big chunks. This dish was a chunky tofu dish. 

The waiter that was serving us was an expert. He carried both hot pots at the same time without spilling anything. I was impressed. However, the best part about our server was that he asked us if we liked the hot pots. When we told him that we drove from Williamsburg just to have them,  he pointed out a few other menu items that we should try. He said that they are Vietnamese favorites and that he liked them better than the hot pots. We now have a take out menu with four menu items that he circled for us. I think that next time, Brad and I will try some Cripsy Egg Noodle Seafood Delight and Carmelize Fish In A Pot... and yes, that is not a typo :)   . 

Saigon Pearl Vietnamese Restaurant Review

Sides Served with Bowl of Pho

Saigon Pearl Vietnamese Restaurant
Category: Vietnamese
Rating: 4/5 stars
Wesbite: Saigon Pearl on Yelp

Likes: friendly staff, food, cheap prices, friendly manager, easy ordering of hard to say Vietnamese entrees, non-English speaking people eat here a lot, tasty pho! 

Dislikes: the fish sauce stinks, no hot pots on the menu

Brad and I have been going to Saigon Pearl for years now. They recently just had a management change. It used to be a little bit of a dive. Now, they have new dishes, new table tops, new painted walls, and better food. This evening we went out for a date night dinner and had some of the tasty dishes. 

Steamed Dumplings and Spring Rolls

For appetizers, we get fresh spring rolls and steamed dumplings. The spring rolls always have shrimp in them and other vegetables accompanied by Thai basil. One order comes with two spring rolls and a peanut dipping sauce. The dumplings have sausage and shrimp in them. The dumplings come with THE BEST dipping sauce, with a smoky soy ginger taste. I usually put the left over sauce to the side and use it to dip other dishes in.


Brad ordered the large P3 bowl of pho. Pho is a Vietnamese soup that has meat, broth, and noodles. In Vietnam, they eat it for breakfast. Saigon Pearl's P3 has beef flank and skirt steak in with the noodles and broth. To accompany the soup, it comes with basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and limes.  Brad and I believe that it is the second best bowl of pho in the Richmond area (the first goes to Pho 79). For more information on what pho is, check it out at the Steamy Kitchen.

I ordered the vermicelli bowl, V8. The dish features pork, fried egg roll pieces, and a skewer of grilled shrimp. They are placed in a large bowl with noodles, lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber, carrots, and peanuts. It comes with fish sauce, which I do not particularly care for, but I saved my smoky ginger sauce from the dumplings to put on it. You can also use leftover peanut sauce, too. For both dishes, you can also use sauces on the table. They always keep Sriracha, chili garlic sauce, and hoisin sauce at the end of the table.

Pho soup with sides

Vermicelli bowl with egg roll, grilled shrimp, and pork