Little Saigon — Restaurant in Orlando

My quest continues to visit all the best restaurants in Orlando. This place won best Vietnamese restaurant in Orlando this year, according to the fine readers of Orlando Weekly, so I decided to pick some up on my way home from work one day. I ordered an app, three entrees, and a dessert. So, let's get started.

For my app, I got the Vietnamese Shrimp & Pork Pancake (shrimp, pork, lettuce, bean sprout, basil, fish sauce). This is a magnificent thing. It's large and fun to eat. The meats are very delicious and the plethora of bean sprouts inside add great crunch. It's very good, but it's all very one (good) note, so that fish sauce is very welcome. I found myself dipping a lot.

My main entree was the Stir Fried Garlic Chicken (chicken, garlic, white onion, bell pepper, mushroom). Lots of great flavor with super tender chicken and veggies. It's served with a side of white rice, so I just combined both of them and went to town. There's a juice in the bottom of the bowl of the chicken that tastes like literal heaven. Please, don't leave it behind.

I also got to try the Grilled Beef on Rice Vermicelli. Very good. The beef was cooked great, especially considering how thin the slices were. Little sprinkles of crushed peanuts top for texture, and it was all over the vermicelli noodles. Bean sprouts and other greens nearby maybe this a very fresh, clean, delicious dish. Also, served with the fish sauce!

I also got something called the Shrimp Paste on Tiny Rice Stick. It wasn't on a stick, but the shrimp paste I had never had before. It was like shrimp Spam. And it was good. A very concentrated, pungent flavor. There was very little of it, so enjoy every bite. They were served with little sheets of tiny rice noodles. I used the sheets to make little taquitos. What a great dish. Also with delcious fish sauce!

If you order nothing else from this place that I've recommended, for the love of God, order the Annpie Mango Guava Cheese Cake. I got this for dessert, and it was the best piece of cheesecake I have had in over a year, maybe two years. Just wow. Such a smooth texture that melts with the mango and the guava paste/gel/goo that sits on top.

Overall, I don't know if this is the best Vietnamese restaurant in Orlando, but I think it would take a monumental effort for another Vietnamese place to be better than this place. I guess I'll have to see in the future, if I can resist not just coming back here, for...

I had an appointment nearby and thought to drop in for lunch with my husband. I raved about this restaurant for years to him. As we parked, I became more excited to introduce /share Vietnamese cuisine with him. We came in through the back entrance and every single seat was empty. I was so shocked but convinced myself that it was after 2pm so maybe the lunch crowd went back to work. What was even more shocking was the odor emanating throughout the restaurant. It smelled like the place was mopped with dirty water. Either that or the fish tank was in dire need of a cleaning. Against my better judgement , I sat my behind down because the waitress was very welcoming (at first). I honestly was put off by the eerie empty restaurant and the odor but didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. So I ordered two orders of spring rolls. When the food was bought to the table it looked extremely unappetizing….but as the story goes, I ate it anyway. We consumed rice wraps with rice noodles. They may have divided two shrimps for all four rolls, no hint of basil, and the peanut sauce was thicker than I remembered. I was very embarrassed on their behalf because unbeknownst to them, I was raving about the past. To be fair, I pointed out the awards and accolades framed on the wall to my husband. I told him the restaurant use to be packed, bustling with laughter and sound of non Vietnamese people slurping noodles. Now it’s a empty shell of its former glory. The total cost of 4 spring roll was 10.69? I tipped the waitress $2 for 1 minute of service and her time. As I attempted to give the waitress the receipt, she snatched it out of my hand simultaneously along with the pen. I was taken aback by the display of aggression and anger as she shooed me out of the restaurant. Maybe the empty seats make sense after all. I was dismayed by her behavior. Like, lady…I gave the restaurant a chance and tipped you! Prior to arriving I googled the best Vietnamese restaurants in Orlando and Little Saigon came in strong at #3, reconfirming that they still had it. Well, in my opinion….they don’t. The appetizer wasn’t appetizing at all, the restaurant could use a good clean, and the customer service doesn’t make you feel good as a customer. Time to move on I guess, can’t be loyal to an establishment that isn’t loyal to itself....

My parent used to take me after dentist appts long ago and have been visiting on and off for years. My favorite was the pho and summer rolls. Well today I took my kids. I must say the restaurant is falling off. The soup didn't taste as flavorful / tasty as it always usually does. The summer rolls also were a bit different off tasting and the sauce was a bit thicker. Still decided to give them a Chance, though. I needed to charge my phone and the kind gentleman who's always there allowed it after I Asked him kindly for permission, well the female waitress became extremely IRATE with Me that she kept passing by cussing me out in Vietnamese, calling her friend talking about me in Vietnamese, complaining to her co workers In Vietnamese I was "taking too long" she stood at the corner of the restaurant and gave me the evil eye most of the time then she took her broom and started sweeping under my table almost hitting my feet with the bristles doing All of this extra RUDE stuff because why? She wants to clean a table when Most of the restaurant was empty, there were plenty More open unoccupied tables so WHY was she so hostile towards us? I was Astonished just how Much Anger was Inside of this waitress and little did she know I Am half Vietnamese so I Understood every word she was saying/complaining about me to her people. I tipped 15percent all prior to her hatred towards us and I still am flabbergasted that she was so Pitiful to us. She walked past my daughters behind me and shook her head at me to Them to which they told me. She's a very sorry human and her place has fallen apart. It smells of old fish and old mop water inside, they took out the fish tank and nobody eats in there much anymore. Will be trying New restaurants around to eat pho and summer rolls at. I don't want such negative energy in my space again. Shame on her. Lady I Knew Everything u...