Rice Paper - Taste of Vietnam — Restaurant in Falls Church

As the ultimate connoisseur of Vietnamese and Thai food, I have been asked to begin a review of all my Vietnam and Thai restaurant experiences.. Today I kick off with the highly recommended Rice Paper in Eden Center. I have been on a lifelong mission to find the world's perfect Spring Roll....I have come close, but not found it yet. My mission will continue after striking out at Rice Paper.

The 6. Ch Giò Rice Paper 3. Ch Giò spring rolls I would rate both 2 out of 5 stars. The texture is good on the Cha Gio rice paper (#6), but there is a taste of something close to potatoes which makes it have an odd flavor. The flavor of the Cha Gio (#3) is better, but the texture is more like an egg roll than a Vietnamese spring roll. Nothing special at all with the spring rolls unfortunately.....my mission shall continue.

Where this place bumps up to 3 - 4 stars over all is that the broth in the Pho is spectacular! The broth had a very flavorful beef taste that makes it extremely enjoyable. I ordered the 62. Ph Tái Chín [Rice Noodle Soup with Eye Round Steak and Well Done Brisket], the noodles are a bit thin, closer in texture to cellophane noodles but without the overall awesomeness of cellophane. The steak and Brisket were all good additions as well as the overall level of veggies like the onions and shallots.

As many other posters have stated, the service is extremely slow, and it's a very very busy place. Go early if you don't want to wait for a seat.

My life long mission to find the perfect Spring Roll comes from having eaten thousands of the perfect Spring Roll at a long defunct eatery called Pizza (technically called "Les Trois Continents." ) in Burke, Va owned by the Late General Nguyn Ngc (he would be the General in one of the most famous pictures of all time executing a Viet Cong member during the war). His Spring Rolls were longer, lighter and cut into many smaller pieces than what I have been able to find at the over 50 Vietnamese places I've tried over the years. If anyone knows of a place that may have these magical spring rolls, please let me know, this is the greatest food hunt around.

Dr Pho....My mission is simple, finding the perfect Spring...

An absolute gem! With the number of incredible Vietnamese restaurants crowded into the cultural hub of Eden Center, it can be tough for any one spot to stand out, but Rice Paper is a cut above the rest. It features an incredibly diverse menu ranging from salad to congee to rice and noodle dishes, and even hot pots and banh xeo (Vietnamese crepes)!!

I tried young lotus salad for the first time and it was genuinely one of the best things I've ever had. The texture of the young lotus was refreshing and crunchy, and it paired perfectly with their dressing, which had a phenomenal balance of sweet, salty, and umami flavors. The shrimp was also the perfect texture and delightfully sweet, which was perfect with the lotus salad. I omitted the pork (as I'm a pescatarian) and peanuts (as I'm allergic), but I'm sure that the fattiness of the pork and salt of the peanuts would have gone wonderfully with the rest of the salad, although they likely would have made the entire dish a bit heavier and less refreshing. I did appreciate how accommodating the Rice Paper staff was with my myriad dietary restrictions and questions, though!

I visited on a Saturday evening for a late dinner after doing my weekly grocery run at Good Fortune with my parents, and both of them also decided to venture past their usual pho to try out something new. My mother tried their beef congee, which she thought was fairly average -- she loved the depth of flavor in the congee itself, but the texture of the beef meatballs threw her off a bit. My father tried out their shrimp bun (rice vermicelli noodles) without soup and was thoroughly impressed, devouring their light, springy noodles with the succulent, sweet, and juicy shrimp, crushed peanuts, and delightful sauce. It was all paired with fresh vegetables, making the entire dish light, yet satisfying. I'll absolutely be making another stop here the next time I'm in Eden Center (if nothing else, to have the young lotus salad again), and I can't wait to explore the rest of...

UPDATE: Service and restaurant itself is really barely 2 stars but for the food - will keep it at a 3. We were surprised at the start of our meal by being advised they no longer give out water, we have to BUY bottled water. What the heck? I know you have a sink back there to turn on some tap water! So be aware of that. Food flavor wise is still quite good. Lettuce on every plate seemed unwashed (bugs) - be aware. Probably some of the best cha gio and lotus salad around. The Thai iced tea was all sweetener, no iced tea. Overall, drinks are a pass..and I guess bring your own h2o.

We have eaten here probably a handful of times a year for numerous years now. Food is pretty consistently good and solid every time. On this particular instance, we went on a Friday night before Chinese New Year. We only went because our favorite BBH spot Kien Giang was closed (as were most other restaurants). The restaurant was super busy, we waited about 15 minutes before we were seated, line out the door. The young lady who took our order was very nice and courteous as were any other staff we came in contact with. We ordered a couple new items this time - including the House Special Crispy Spring Rolls (mixture of seafood) and BBH. The rolls were not bad, but not great either, not worth the $9 price tag at all, would not order again. The BBH broth tasted like pho with added spice and lemongrass - also wouldn't order again. The one thing that really disrupted our dinner was that the restaurant started burning incense halfway through. We were sitting right by the bar and it was extremely pungent - I felt a headache incoming and it was tough to swallow our food. We asked if they could stop burning the incense, but were told it was bad luck to do so. Completely understand and respect beliefs, but why would you start burning incense in the...