Place: Vietnam Palace, 11th Street, Chinatown

I went here on a Thursday evening. This was the last place in Chinatown that I needed to visit. Vietnam House has Pho as well but only Pho Tai, and since I started with Pho Dac Biet... that is what I will eat at every restaurant! A short side anecdote.... I haven't been to Vietnam Palace since I was about 10 years old. This place has completely changed from what I remembered it looking like before.... it kinda reminded me of a Spanish restaurant with the color scheme but on to the Pho!

The broth was pretty good. You could smell the layers of spices, seasonings, and see a little sheen of oil on the top. The broth stayed flavorful throughout each sip and definitely enhanced the flavor of the meat. As I type this, I can still taste the pho.

The meat quality was fair. This was a Pho Dac Biet but in reality definitely wasn't the deluxe Pho. It had the mainstay of tripe, steak, and brisket..... and that's it. Tripe was tripe there isn't really anyway of putting it, but the nice thing about their tripe is that it didn't taste like anything. The steak was sliced thin but there were maybe only three slices without the entire bowl. The brisket, tasted like it was cooked in an entirely different stock. I couldn't put my finger on it. Also the brisket was cut WAY too thick. Look how thick that is..... just..... why?

The vegetables were fresh. It was some of the best bean sprouts I have seen out of all the restaurants. There was not any left over bean sprout casings which was nice. The basil wasn't brown at all and they gave you plenty of jalapeno!

The noodles were strange. They were thicker than normal but not by too much. They also had a different taste that made me think of past phos that I have had.... then it hit me like nostalgia only can.... the noodles weren't fresh. The taste was reconstituted dry pho noodles like this pictured below. The texture of the noodles were softer than usual too not because of over cooking but because it wasn't fresh. I might be a snob when it comes to the noodles but I much prefer fresh noodles over dry ones.

 The pho looked appetizing. It had a nice light tan clear broth. The way they garnished it was very appealing with the green onions cut in that way.

This was not worth the asking price of 8.95. If I'm going to pay that much at least give me an option of a small or large........... AND more meat.

Although the Pho is good. I don't know if I would highly recommend Vietnam Palace strictly for their Pho. They do have other traditional Vietnamese dishes like rice vermicelli, porkchop and broken rice, soups, etc. Perhaps their other food is better. But if you're going to go to Chinatown, your best bet for a good bowl of Pho is Pho 20!

Ratings:
Broth - 4/5
Meat: 2/5 (need all the meats! and all the meats do not need to be cut thick as hell!)
Vegetables: 5/5
Presentation: 5/5
Affordability: 3/5
Return: 3/5
Recommend: 3/5

Overall Raiting: B-

**side note the Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls) they were cut in half already.... Um don't do that shit. It needs to be whole. Cutting them in half doesn't make them fancy. It makes it a mess when you eat it. All my insides are falling out because of that. Let me bite into it to make it messy. Don't do it for me. Sheesh."