Vung Tau II Restaurant, Milpitas, CA
     
Vung Tau Website (no info on Milpitas location - only this contact page is useful)
Last Visit: Sep 2007       
   
      

OVERALL

I've always wondered what real vietnamese people eat when they go out - they can't possibly be eating pho noodles or vietnamese sandwiches all the time!  When I asked my Vietnamese friends, I was surprised to learn that they would go to Vung Tau II for a good meal, which is surprising because I thought it's a well-publicized vietnamese place for non-vietnamese people.  I ended there twice and just by its amazing food I'm now convinced this IS one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area.

FOOD

This is NOT a place to have your everyday pho, although they have those too.  You want to come for a dinner with appetizers, salad and some entress, like fish or beef.  The must-have here is the Banh Knot - crispy rice cup with shrimp inside.  Dip it in fish sauce and WOW - it's so great I can eat it for dinner!  Other appetizers are good but nothing can beat Banh Knot.

We LOVED the soup here too!  Get the tamarind catfish soup - not for the faint-of-heart, but it's not that spicy either.  It's got an amazing aroma, right balance of spiciness and sourness, and the catfish is actually quite delicious.  We've tried different salads - last time we had a greed papaya salad that was good, different from the Thai equivalent that it's a bit lighter. 

   

There are no shortage of good entrees either.  For meat, the simple shaken beef is the best - not sure if it's authentic but it's just good.  Finally, the top of this review gave it away - yes they do have noodles too, very good seafood noodles.

 

 

   

  

 

SERVICE

I've heard much about the service of Vung Tau, which should be much like Slanted Door.  Maybe in San Jose or Palo Alto, but unfortunately the Milpitas one is not quite the same.  You come here to down-to-earth solid food, not for great service.  Waiters are slightly better than those at a Vietnamese pho restaurant, they are just there to deliver the food.  They are pretty fast but don't expect white glove type of movement around you (ie watch out when they are serving the soup!)  Well, at least they TRY to smile.

AMBIENCE

Again you come here for good food.  Get it?  There's not much ambience to speak off, but it is a reasonably nice and neat place to have a family meal.  There are some weirdly-positioned paintings and posters around, pretty easy to ignore them though.  One thing is that people are excited about food here - you see and hear lots of people seriously paying attention to their food, which to me is a big plus to the ambience.

VALUE

This is BY NO MEANS an El Cheapo place for big bowls and plates of Vietnamese food.  For that you'd have to go to Story Road or Tully Road.  This is where you find skillfully cooked food at a REASONABLE - not low - price.  In my opinion, however, Vung Tau offers great value because you get solid ingredients, no-cut-corner cooking, and acceptable portion size.

BOTTOMLINE

I have to give some credit to those newspapers and magazines that give this place all sorts of awards and recognition.  I think the family really knows food and wants to deliver the best they can.  Given the fact that the top chefs in the network are probably in San Jose and Palo Alto, Vung Tau in Milpitas is still delivering great examples of outstanding cuisine from a culture that tresures good eating.

BTW

If you've tried Palo Alto or San Jose, be sure to share your experience with us!

    

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