A Chau Restaurant — Restaurant in North St. Paul

First time eating here. Stood at the counter for a while, not sure if we were supposed to seat ourselves or wait for someone to seat us. Woman finally noticed us and asked how many people. Got seated close to the door (which I hate because of the cold air every time the door opens; it's winter). Woman was unfriendly and eager to get back to the kitchen or something. But she gave us enough time to look over the menu and brought us water. I was confused if they had bubble tea or not because their menu didn't say anything about it, so I didn't get to try it. But as I went to pay, I saw their written sign of bubble tea. I'll get it next time to try.

Ordered the sweet and sour chicken lunch deal; paid $1 extra for fried rice. I was shocked with the red sauce when it came out. I was expecting a golden sauce that's common with sweet and sour dishes; not red. It just didn't taste right. The pineapple tips used in the dish also had a really weird taste. And I love pineapple too. The red sauce (that was just sweet and not sour) and pineapples was a no-go. The fried rice was not worth the extra $1. I should have stuck to just white rice. The eggroll was good, but I won't be ordering this again.

Also got the seafood delight. The seafood pieces (squid and scallops) were super small bits and pieces. The shrimp were average small size. There was more veggies than meat and it was bland. I love the raw ginger pieces in this dish, but the husband hated the ginger and the water chestnuts. It came with a side of white rice. Comparing this seafood dish that's similar to the one we usually order at China Chef, China Chef's dish is way better with A LOT more seafood.

For dessert, we had the tropical fruits with shaved ice. It didn't come out like I expected. It was more of a coconut milk drink with leeches, jackfruit, Asian green jello (from a can), and these other oval transparent jelly things (from a can), topped off with some crushed ice. I had imagined it would have been more like the type of shaved ice dessert that's served at Quench in Maplewood Mall. But overall, this was a delicious dessert drink.

I love a good banh-mi sandwich. So I ordered two B1 to go. I forgot to take before pictures of the two sandwiches side by side. But one was a good 3 inches smaller than the other. In addition, the smaller sandwich was made with OLD hard stale bread. That was disappointing. It was too dry and the jalapeños were hardly spicy and I'm a person who can't really handle spicy either. I can honestly say I will never order their banh-mi sandwiches again. I'll stick to Ha Tien's BBQ pork banh-mi.

We will definitely be back to try their pho and bubble tea because I love good pho & bubble tea and that's still TBD...

I love coming here all the time to eat pho. Whether its after school, before going out, or just because im hungry and craving pho, this restaurant is one of my go-to. The flavor is very flavorful. Its not too sweet nor too salty. The broth itself doesnt need much seasoning from the condiments provided for us and i love that so much. Noodles to broth proportion: Could use some more noodles but not too much. HOWEVER, this i my preference since I can eat a lot. (I am 5’0 105lbs and Im a skinny asian young adult so I can eat a lot despite my size lol.) Regardless, even for a large, I expect more noodles proportions. Getting a large and an XL, u get more noodles yes but you mainly get MORE broth and i dont really like that. Overall, still love eating pho here.

Other foods: I love the wontons here. They are always a hit and you can count on them to come out fresh and hot. Bahn Mi is also a hit for me. I loved the beef bahn mi. Bread is toasted good so its not stale and all the flavors mix so well.

Environment: Every time i go, its NEVER busy. i prefer it this way too because then the cooks are focused on our meals and arent rushed. There are plenty of seats to sit anywhere. Its a nice and chill environment to stop by and grab a bite whenever you want to.

Service: The workers are always waiting for you at a table. They are humans judt like us so I dont mind them sitting down taking breaks too. Best thing they do is immediately take us to a table, sit us down, give us our menus, and give us water. After are settled down, they take our orders swiftly and the food comes within ten minutes or so. Some people may not like this but I enjoy this, they don’t really check on you and give you your space unless you go ask them for something. Although this is a restaurant and they should tend to us, its never busy for when I go so asking them for something small so it is never a big deal, thankfully.

This was my full review. I am a returning customer and I love coming to eat here for pho! Definitely recommend. But also, always keep an open mind when trying new things. Although I may love this restaurant, you might not and thats okay. Everyone has different preferences and I hope everything goes better next time. Just be kind and...

Wish I would have looked at the reviews before going, my receipt was definitely tampered with or overcharged. Doing the math and looking back at old bank statements from the restaurant. My regular order would consist of pho and spring roll. $22-23 Seems like they charge you a XL if you grab a Large 🤣, they be finessing on the low 👀

My newest order with a friend 2 pho and 1 order of spring rolls. $46

What I ordered •pho •pho •spring rolls

What it seems like I got charged •pho •pho •spring rolls •spring rolls????? Custom tip? Random fee??

Not sure if they are trying to tip themselves or what? They figured a good finesse system. No joke, no trolling. They need to do better with the # and $.

Equivalent of two orders

The math ain’t mathing. They got me…. 👎🏼 I am going to assume they are cool/nice peoples, from the other times going in. But looks can be deceiving so if they are out here finessing . It will catch up to them

But service was 2/10 that day No water refill until my friend had to get up and ask. Only had one another group of 2 people eating in with us. It was definitely not busy lol Just cherry picking off the water part, that is very minimum of customer service…

Overall, the audits are not...