Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Lemongrass: Dusty but yummy submarines

I went to Walmart today and probably overbought line paper because they were only 17 cents for a 150 page pack! They're only ever this inexpensive and in stock around this time of year.

Back from shopping at Queensborough Landing we went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant called Green Lemongrass. There's a patio out front which would be ideal on a summer day if not for the noisy and exhaust filled road it faced.

The front door is actually on the side where the parking spots are.

Honestly I think the decor of this restaurant looks better in photographs than in real life. As I was waiting for the food to arrive I couldn't help noticing the smaller details, or maybe I'm just being picky but these things certainly did not help with my appetite. For example, I sat next to a bike decorating piece and it was extremely dusty with some cobwebs. As shown in the photo, this dusty piece was directly above the condiments and utensils area. There were also a few flies swarming around empty tables which is understandable since the doors to the patio were open.

Bike piece which looks less dusty than in real life

Cleanliness aside, I have to say that I liked the food here. We ordered a large house special pho noodle, beef submarine sandwich, and shrimp Viet spring rolls.

The rice paper on the spring rolls were still slightly warm when the dish arrived. Inside were vermicelli noodles wrapped with thin pork slices, lettuce, and shrimp. Hoisin sauce was served on the side for dipping. I liked how appropriate these fresh rolls were for a warmer summer day.

Spring rolls

The large pho bowl was very large indeed but it was mostly filled with noodles. The broth smelled pleasant as it came steaming hot to our table. The house pho had a little bit of everything including beef balls, beef slices, and beef tendons. This wasn't the best pho I've ever had but it still tasted good.

Beef pho noodles

I've tried the chicken sub sandwich from Lemongrass before so this time I opted for beef. I have to say that I prefer chicken better because it is more juicy. However, this beef sub was still solid. It was about the size of a Subway foot long with a crunchy baguette bun and sliced beef, carrot, and cucumber. The sub lacked the sour white radish which I prefer in my Viet subs.