Vietnam Palace

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Although not normally my first choice for Vietnamese, I chose Vietnam Palace this evening mostly because of the softer, more formal (if I can say that) ambiance. A group of us wanted to take my friend Teresa out for her birthday and the setting was perfect for 5 chatty women.

I wanted so badly to order something different than my usual when staring at a Vietnamese menu. But alas, I defaulted to my favourite dishes, rice paper shrimp rolls with peanut sauce and vermicelli with shrimp and spring rolls.

Fresh as the ingredients were, I was slightly disappointed with the rice paper holding everything together. I don't think they soaked it long enough and the result was a tougher than usual roll. The yummy peanut sauce made up for it though. As did the pickled carrot shavings on the side of the plate.


I'm not sure why I can't get bored of vermicelli. I think part of it is an addiction to the act of eating noodles with chopsticks. And this tangle of noodles did not disappoint. Grilled shrimp, crispy spring rolls and strings of raw pickled carrot and julienne cucumber doused in a spicy fish sauce is like a little bit of heaven for me. The last bite as exciting and delicious as the first. Even though the dish was missing the crushed peanuts!

This wasn't my first visit. And most certainly won't be my last. The service was great and we had a wonderful evening. The two minor glitches above aren't a regular occurrence in my experience.

Vietnam Palace