The Lemongrass — Restaurant in Renton

I ordered Rice Vermicelli Bowl Combo | Bun Dac Biet (Combination of grilled pork, deep-fried egg rolls, pork-sausage, and grilled shrimp cake). I was very disappointed with the food I ordered. It looked good, but the meats were a big disappointment. I’ve eaten this dish all of my life. My family have made the grilled pork and pork/shrimp cake many times, so I know what it should be like when you bite into it after it’s cooked. The grilled pork should at least have some fat juice when you bite into it and somewhat soft. The pork/shrimp cake should be a tad firm initially, but soft overall when you bite into it, and a little juicy.

My review is mainly on the grilled pork and pork/shrimp cake. The deep fried rice paper egg rolls were just ok. They were expected to be a little hard and crispy because of the rice paper being deep fried. The grilled pork and pork/shrimp cake were so hard and dry that I didn’t get to enjoy my lunch. My wife’s dish had the same grilled pork and egg roll, and the pork was hard and dry as well. She had the same negative comment. It was like eating pork jerky. I imagined the pork/shrimp cake was like chewing on soft rubber? Especially the outer layer of the cake. The menu looked so good because of the variety of dishes available, but the dish I ordered did not meet my expectations. I would have pulled the waiter aside and let him know about it, but I didn’t get a chance to do it. However, there were no complaints heard from other family members on their different dishes and soups.

My intent here is to make sure the local restaurants that my family and I support do well. That way, we could enjoy our favorite Vietnamese dishes when we are out and about. I was just very, very surprised and disappointed that I had meats like this at...

Had the opportunity to try out some food at the Chinatown Night Market - seems like the website is outdated on their banner, but the address matches up here. Food was pretty good but prices didn't quite align well in my opinion. I feel like they may have increased the prices here due to popularity (hence the $9 on a piece of paper taped over the original price).

These items were mainly appetizer types (skewers, rolls) and $9 for them isn't quite justified. Sure it's a night market and you're one of a few select vendors so people will have to come, but if I'm rating holistically those are my thoughts. However, keeping in mind the vendor setting and that there were definitely expenses included to travel from Renton and set up, I'd like to be easier on rating the value so harshly.

By the time we ordered, a lot was already sold out. We opted for the shrimp salad roll and the chicken satay in the end. Shrimp roll was pretty good and surprisingly fresh as well as being spread out evenly so that each bite was consistent. You wouldn't get like one bite of only lettuce for example. Price again was mediocre. Chicken satay (skewers) had some amazing flavor, juicy, tender, and sweet. I was definitely a big fan of the chicken which carries most of this review . They didn't skimp on the portions here either because the skewer stick itself was hard to find and hold because chicken was just piled on. Definitely on my bookmarks when I'm...

The servers were attentive. We had the rare beef and cucumber salad, which was delicious (although I will ask for more herbs next time I order it). We wanted to try the crispy fried trout but they didn't have it. The server suggested the cod and it turned out to be catfish (which was fine), and we got it with oyster sauce. It was loaded with ginger and quite tasty.

I got the Banh Xeo (in English called Vietnamese Crepe on the menu). The pancake was very crispy, but tasteless. Inside was mostly bean sprouts and onions, also tasteless. When I got home I put some salt and chilis and fish sauce on the leftovers and they were fine.

Bottom line: The food has good ingredients and is cooked well. Just be prepared to ask for condiments and extra flavorings when you order (jalapeños would be nice on the banh xeo).

Peeve: I really hate that everyone has the dipping sauce that's too sweet - I'm guessing it's for American tastes. I prefer the homemade versions that are more salty and have garlic and red chili, not just watered down mae ploy.

Altogether, it was enjoyable. We'll go back and try...