Kong's Kitchen — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Kong’s Kitchen has been on my list to try ever since they opened but I’ve been hesitant because of mixed reviews. Finally I decided to try it. I ordered through UberEats for delivery: special pho combo, raw laab and spring rolls.

If a restaurant is serving spring rolls, it’s hard to miss the mark. I mean it’s just fresh herbs with shrimp and pork rolled up with a sauce that can be a special recipe or just a generic condiment. To me, if a restaurant serves amazing spring rolls, it means they truly understand the tastiness of their food.

I’m not confused about the passion or hard work that the chefs or founders of this place has for food, rather I’m a little conflicted on their after thoughts?

The pho and raw laab were amazing in flavor but not too far off on the opposite end of a spectrum. Pho was wayyy too sweet, I can’t even add hoisin sauce whether if I wanted to or not. To me the perfect pho broth can be consumed on its own just the way it was made, or it can be enjoyed with a little bit of hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce and sriracha is what makes a good authentic pho meal, but only if those condiements can be a complement on the side. This broth was. just way too overpowering because of the sweetness.

The raw laab’s flavor was absolutely divine and one of the best in the twin cities. Its ratio of lean meat to herbs and tripe is perfect. The only issue is the quality and texture of the meat being raw. It looks like and tasted like medium well? I have a feeling if I order the cooked laab it would hands down be my favorite in town, but the raw laab just doesn’t meet the standards to be called raw laab.

In summary, it was my first time ordering some of my favorite southeast Asian form Kong’s Kitchen and it didn’t quite meet my expectations. However, my experience hasn’t deterred me to...

My husband and I went during lunch time on a weekday and wanted to try a new place new we haven’t tried. The place and environment was nice and simple. Beside the leaking ceilings the place seems clean. Why, because our waiter asked if want to move to another table because they didn’t want the ceiling tile to fall again. Again??Overall, food quality was good and portions are reasonable. The services was minimum, only, minimum because I believe our server was very underage and less experienced. But was handling the front plus waiting on tables solo was holding the fort well. We ordered, pho, spring roll, pork belly, shrimp fried rice, sticky rice and coconut boba tea. Pho broth was aromatic and flavorful, but keep in the the size is what I would consider kids or small. Pork belly was just cooked just crispy enough almost like a jerky but still juicy (sweet) comes with sweet spicy sauce. Spring roll was good and the peanut sauce that comes with it is perfect too. Sticky rice is good no dried portion at all and coconut bobo a tea was good too. Shrimp fried was good too, not too oily or mushy at all. Their prices are reasonable, we thought! Please keep in mind, no parking lot, must park on the street or residential parking. This is a mid-size shop, so party of 20 or more might not recommended. Overall experience, I would go back but probably...

Came here today. Was told this place was a good hit. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of it. Would not go out of my way for it. Service did take a little bit for what we ordered. 30minutes. Restaurant didnt seem too busy. Ordered two bowls of pho, spring rolls, garlic beef, egg soda.

Pho: The two bowls came out with different noodles. One was flat and the other was a mix of flat and typical noodles. The broth was closer to hot water than an actual pho broth. Had a mixture of brisket fat, some slices of eye of round, and what I assume, home made meatballs. 6/10.

Garlic beef: pretty typical. Onion and bell pepper with beef. Flavor was surely a mixture of oyster sauce and sirrwcha. Can make at home. 6/10

Spring rolls: 1 shrimp per spring rolls cut in half. Small slice of roast pork. Mostly veggies. Peanut sauce with mote peanuts on top. Sauce carried the spring rolls. 6/10

Egg soda: never had it. But it was different. Wouldnt order it again. 6/10

Over all, if I was in the area, ai would stop by. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here. I would say, that I might have came in with higher expectations, therefore I may have been biased. But I would recommend at least trying it.

This is better than...