Jenny Little Vietnam Cafe — Restaurant in Borneo

September Update: To my dismay, I experienced a bad incident during my latest visit. Long story short, they keyed in the wrong order and served me the wrong item. Instead of dealing it nicely and professionally, the young boys (probably in primary school) were trying to solve the mystery without consulting me, probably intimidated or afraid by me although I did not show signs of aggression or violence. I ordered drinks but what came out was food. I tried to explain and settle nicely but they seemed adamant to do things on their own without giving me a chance to talk or request for anything. I went ahead and eat the wrong food which was skewered prawns that costed RM25 anyway. I cancelled my drink order because it was too long to wait, but after a long time, they still send my drinks order to me. Speechless. Requested for an empty plate to eat the prawns and to throw the prawn shells but our request got dismissed and we did not get the empty plate. Luckily they understood ‘tapau’ when I needed to take away some of the prawns. They should let the adults handle any conflicts if the young kids cannot clean their own mess and made it worse. I do not expect top tier service from kids but if you cannot train them well, then please handle with conflicts by having an adult listening to the customers. Also met my friend who were dining in and surprise surprise, she got her order wrong as well. Communication barrier is not an excuse. Your service needs to be improved. You are making customers leaving angry and it leaves a terrible impression. I hope you read this and improve on your service. Otherwise, you will lose more regular customers who genuinely like your food.

Old review before they expanded the store: My go-to Vietnamese restaurant in Kuching. They serve authentic Vietnamese food with Vietnamese staff and chef. It tastes as good as the ones I had in Vietnam. Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (Grilled Pork and Spring Rolls with Noodles) which is in the photo is very recommended. It has tons of vegetables (hidden underneath), rice vermicelli as carbs and pork meat + pork spring roll for meat. The tamarind juice is very special and sour as they have seedless tamarind pieces and peanuts. I also recommend Bánh hỏi (woven rice vermicelli with crispy pork) and bò kho (beef stew with rice noodles). The noodle soups here have a huge portion. The curry tastes a bit funny and unique, I wouldn’t recommend the curry soup. They offer free fruits which is much appreciated. Different days have different fruits. They also sell Vietnamese products...

I called one day prior (1st June) to make a reservation but nobody picked up. I assumed it was probably after business hours so nobody was in service, in which that was understandable. So, I called twice the next morning at late 10am and 11am (2nd June) but to no avail as well. I Whatsapped the restaurant in the afternoon for a reservation and was given a patronizing reply of "Ok thanks" only. When we arrived for dinner that night, we were given a cold reception from the assumingly "lady boss". Our table was dirty and one of the decorations were on our table. Whilst dining, one of the display Vietnamese hat fell onto one of us. The food was considered alright but were served terribly slow, first dish was served about 45 mins after our order. Second and third dish came 30 mins after the first order and we had to cancel our final dish. Also, there were 2 customers who walked in and were eventually ignored by the lady boss, to which they eventually left the restaurant. The lady boss was very unprofessional as she yelled at her new staff in front of me while I was trying to pay the bill. Overall bad experience and would not recommend...

I've only eaten the Ho Chi Minh City pho, in the 90s. Perhaps it was more pure then, for the passing of time, taste change, rapid expansion etc, does tend to dilute or detract it further from the original? Furthermore, there's a HCMC/ Hanoi debate of pho origin? Following that, a similar to the HCMC pho in Melbourne was just as good in the noughties. Since then, I have not experienced the feeling that takes me back to those beginnings.

My pho lunch today is most likely of a Vietnamese regional taste? My taste might be somewhat foggy too? Shame it wasn't served with the Vietnamese pho accompaniments to jog my taste memory. The coffee has bean aroma but wishing they had kept the sugary syrup as a side request. The spring rolls were nicely crispy. Not a technically difficult plate. The flan is sadly tastelessly dull. It could not have been home-made. A cash only place.

Oh, a nice touch is the inclusion of Vietnamese larder stuff for purchase in the eatery should there be an urge to try making a Vietnamese dish at home. Caveat - I didn't have a good browse tho; no idea how extensive or how appropriate...