Friday, July 8, 2016

Thuy’s Vietnamese Restaurant - Garden Grove, CA


Ever since my friends showed me pictures of Vietnamese bar food, I have been begging and moaning about being taken over to those places by them. Sure I could go by myself but the stuff would not be as authentic simply because I wouldn't know what and how to order the off menu items. Finally, we came to Thuy's and ready for some adventure eating.



Hours of operation

Located in the corner of a plaza, the restaurant was not hard to find and parking was pretty easy. I would not recommend this restaurant for group that has kids. It's not like they hate kids there or anything, but put this way, would you bring your kids to a 21 over establishment? If you do, you really shouldn't be parents.

WiFi password, you are welcome

We went in when there was still day light so it took some time for us to adjust our eyes after we walked in, good tint job on the window! Thuy was there greeting customers and serving in between the tables. She was very friendly and welcoming. We went in with a party of 8 and the two tables we got was quiet small. She didn't give too much thought and pulled a table from the other side of the room and extended our table so us fatties can sit comfortably without touching each other's elbows.

Mango salad with dried squid

Grilled quail wings

We started the night with a bucket of beer. Pro tip: if you don't finish the beer in the bucket, you will not get charged for the remaining bottles in the bucket so don't feel obligated to chug everything down. For food, we started with mango salad with dried squid. It was refreshing and very interesting texture mix in between the mango and the squid, the flavor was surprisingly balanced. Next, we got fried quail legs. It was similar to chicken wings but heavier taste than chicken wings. Following by scallop sashimi. It was fresh and chunky which i preferred over the slicing style elsewhere. We also got grilled blood clams. I am not new to blood clam and enjoyed it very much at this location. It was garlicky and seasoned well. Great with the beer we got.

Scallop sashimi

Grilled blood clams

The next thing was salmon and yellowtail sashimi. I am not sure if this was how they usually serve it, but the sashimi was frozen and they also gave us seaweed sheet to wrap the fish. I must say I have never had it served like this and definitely an interesting way to eat them. Then we got flash boiled beef topped with onion and basil. The quality of the beef was good and flavor was mild. Raw shrimp came next. Well, while this was not a bad dish, I was recently spoiled with spot prawns and no other raw shrimps could top that experience, so you will have to be the judge when you go there.

Frozen salmon and yellowtail sashimi

Sashimi kit

Flash boiled beef

Raw shrimp

The following dishes are, fried intestines, shaking beef, shrimp crackers, grilled dried squid, seafood hotpot, grilled lamb chop, grilled chicken wings, and Vietnamese pizza (a sheet of rice with sliced sausage and shredded dry pork on top). All of them were tasty and considered to be good beer mate. I love the flavor and getting full at this point.

Deep fried intestine

Shaking beef

Deep fried shrimp cracker

Grilled dry squid

Seafood hotpot

Seafood hotpot in my bowl

Grilled lamb chop

Grilled chicken wings

Vietnamese pizza

Then here came the star of the night, balut! It's basically a boiled egg with developed duck inside. Me and slave girl never had it before and were totally excited about it. After we ate it, we loved the yolk, hated the white (it was hard and chewy), and got some feathers stuck in our teeth. Eat it again? You bet.

Innocent looking boiled eggs

Top cracked open

Shell removed beautifully

Slave girl's piece, and she loved it

At the end of the night, they also gave us a plate of exotic fruit and chicken soup for free. I wish I had more room to put them in my tummy.... sigh.

Free exotic fruit plate

Free chicken soup

If you ever came to this spot, be sure to stop by the bathroom. They have so many products for your every needs inside (yes, lotion included) and it's a must see.

This is just one side of the wall in Men's room

The damage, for the amount of the food and drinks we got in between 8 people, this is nothing

The food was excellent, the service was quick. Overall we loved it and can't wait for return visit.

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