This Vietnamese restaurant is located in Royal Garden Hotel in TST, and in fact is the branch of the award-winning San Francisco restaurant of the same name. On the mezzanine level overlooking the atrium, the environment is a bit of the lobby cafe ambiance but still fairly comfortable. Because it is close to Christmas there are some nice decorations and lighting which made the general mood much more festive and cozy.
On the night we ordered the Deluxe Set Menu, starting with the Appetizers Combination, including Crispy Fried Saigon Spring Roll, Steam Rice Flour Rolls with Minced Pork and Dried Shrimp, Rice Paper Roll with Roasted Pork Fillet, and Pomelo Salad with Seafood. The portion is appropriate, sufficient for one to enjoy while not over-taxing one's stomach for the coming main courses. All of the four appetizers are tasty also, combining a good contrast of texture from the crispy spring roll, soft steam roll, and chewy rice paper roll. The fillings are delicious, full of flavors and overall a great beginning of the meal indeed.
Next comes the Baked US Jumbo Scallop. The scallop is seasoned well, though the sauce is a bit too salty in my opinion. There are some young asparagus shoots accompanying as well, which are tender and delicious. It is a smart garnish as the asparagus gives a nice color to the dish and help to balance the richer flavors of the sauce. For some the scallops may look a bit over-baked, with some blackened surface but I personally did not find it offensive.
The second main course is Grilled King Prawn with Garlic Butter and Stir-Fried Vegetable. I personally like this dish the most among the others in this meal, with the prawn grilled perfectly, well-cooked but not drying up the prawn. It is also seasoned beautifully, with the garlic butter significantly enhancing and highlighting the flavors of the prawn. You can also squeeze in a few drops of lime juice which help to explode the flavors. The Chinese kale is also terrific in taste and very tender. A great dish!
The last main course is Crispy Beef Brisket in Curry Sauce and Garlic Bread. Maybe because it came after the wonderful prawn, I did not find this particularly appealing. The 'skin' of the beef brisket is crispy as expected, and the curry sauce is also decent. But as the beef is not cooked in the curry it could not absorb the flavors so I find the two did not integrate well. Maybe I am just too old-school but I still prefer the traditional way to cook the curry with the meat.
Next came the Seafood Rice Noodle in Tomato Soup. We opted for this instead of the beef pho. The soup is rich, and you can add the condiments provided like chili, onion, basil and bean sprout to create your own favorite taste. The seafood however are not particularly impressive and in a way is a bit of a let-down. Maybe the restaurant believed that the soup itself would be sufficiently satisfying?
There is also a Dessert Platter, which includes a dragon-fruit jelly, a coconut cake and a coffee creme brulee. All of the three are quite nice, refreshing and delicate for the jelly, while having a good bite and intense coconut flavor in the cake. The creme brulee got a crunchy burnt sugar on top of the creamy texture. It is a good wrap up to the meal.
In general the food quality is good, though I think the restaurant can certainly review the speed in which the dishes are served. Not sure why since the restaurant is not exactly full-house on the night, but we have to wait for quite a while between dishes. Considering that I could not stop wondering what would be the experience if we come next week during Christmas?
The bill on the night was $1,123 with the two deluxe set plus a bottle of water and a fresh lime soda. Not cheap for sure but not overly expensive. There are many elements I found the restaurant can further improve, and if those could be changed I am sure it would be at the higher notch in my ranking of top Vietnamese restaurants in town.
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