Road Trip – S Vietnamese Fine Dining – Westminster(OC)

*** S Vietnamese has closed

On our recent quick trip to Marukai in Gardena, we thought that perhaps a stop in Westminster would be in order…and maybe we'd try something different. So after hearing about S Vietnamese Fine Dining, and noticing it was right off the 405 freeway, we thought it would be an interesting alternative to the Brodard's, Quan Hy, etc……..

S Vietnamese is located right at the edge of Westminster Mall, in what looks like a highly retrofitted chain restaurant facade.

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'S' bills itself as a higher end modern and stylish Vietnamese restaurant, and when you enter and notice all the wood paneling, the grand piano, and the art work lining the walls, it sure does look like the right place.

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Strangely enough the restaurant was totally empty, at 1230 on a Saturday! The complete stark lack of customers made us feel a bit uncomfortable, and made the large, airy, spaciousness of the restaurant seem a bit "cold".

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Sviet05 This was all remedied by our wonderful, warm, and friendly Server, Linda. As we were seated and handed our menus, we were asked, "have you ever eaten Vietnamese food before?" The Missus and I traded puzzled looks, and the thought "uh-oh, was this a mistake" entered our minds. We managed to choke out, "yes, we've had Vietnamese food before…..", and ended up having a nice conversation regarding the various dishes, and got some recommendations.

Based on the recommendations we started with the 'S' Skewers($12):

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6 skewers arrivedSviet07 accompanied with 3 dipping sauces. The skewers were a mixed bag, the Garlic Shrimp Skewers barely had any garlic flavor, though the shrimp were of good quality and cooked perfectly. The Soy and Sesame Beef skewers had the most flavor, and mild sweet-soy flavor, but the meat was on the tough and chewy side. The Curry Infused Chicken was the best overall, with moist dark meat chicken. But again, the flavors were really muted; there was barely any curry flavor, in fact, the chicken tasted like a very mild lemongrass chicken. The sauces were so-so, the supposed "peanut sauce" tasted almost like 100% coconut milk, the sweet chili sauce tasted like bottled stuff, the best of the group was the soy-scallion sauce, which we ended up using on everything.

We wanted something with a little "punch" so we ordered the Bun Rieu($8) as our soup:

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Supposedly the most "savory" soup on the menu, we thought of it as Bun Rieu Shadow soup…a mere shadow of the pungent Bun Rieu. Sviet09 It didn't help that the soup was served lukewarm, and that the vermicelli noodles were overcooked and mushy. On the positive side, the crab-shrimp "cake" was the absolute best I've ever tasted, sweet and so very soft. The fried tofu was fine, but the soup was very mild in flavor. The garnishes were on the skimpy side, but I must admit that the julienned banana blossom served was the freshest I've ever tasted, slightly tangy and refreshing. Requesting extra garnishes is a must.

The Missus ordered the Banh Mi Ca($8):

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This was a breaded catfish Banh Mi. First off the baguette was excellent, perfectly crusty without being hard and dry. The panko breaded fish did not fare as well. The fish strips were dry and flavorless, and we thought that the use of Honey Panko was not the best choice, making the fish too sweet.

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I ordered the Bun Cha($10), a dish of grilled pork and pork meatballs that are meant to be wrapped in lettuce leaves with various herbs and eaten:

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Sviet13 This was by far the best dish of the day; the pork meatballs had great flavor and the grilled pork served in a sweet-garlic-soy sauce was very soft and tender. In keeping with the use of  high quality ingredients butter lettuce was served for wrapping, along with a very large portion of vermicelli, which I ended up pouring sauce over to finish up….we also dipped the leftover baguette in the sauce, it was that good.

For us S Vietnamese Fine Dining was a real mixed bag; on one end many of the ingredients were of good quality, the restaurant decor is very stylish, and the service was excellent. On the other end, we thought that some of the dishes were not prepared well, the presentation of the dishes are not quite at that "fine dining" level, and that many of the flavors that we consider to be the heart and soul of Vietnamese cuisine were severely muted. We didn't think the prices were really too bad; our entire meal cost $45. It seems that S Vietnamese Fine Dining would be a great pick for someone who is perhaps a bit intimidated by Vietnamese food. The dinner menu is much larger with many interesting almost fusion style dishes like Lamb Nuong Xa, a lemongrass and peppercorn crusted lamb dish.

I think the Missus had a very interesting observation; as we were leaving She turned to me and said, "Why do I get the feeling that we just ate at Vietnamese PF Chang's?"

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Sviet14 S Vietnamese Fine Dining
545 Westminster Mall Drive
Westminster, CA 92683

Open Sun-Thurs 11am-9pm
     Fri-Sat 11am-10pm

17 comments

  1. Hi Kirk,
    Those meatballs look interesting and I can see how you would be disappointed with some of the food. That bun rieu doesn’t look too hot.

  2. hahaha… Vietnamese PF Changs! classic! I’ve alwasy wanted to try this joint, ever since it was reviewed in the LA Times.
    Was this similar to Brodard? Or did you mean Brodard Chateau?

  3. Hi Reid – Inconsistency made this a bit of a frustrating meal at times. Too bad…..
    Hi Andy – Nothing even close to Brodard…maybe Brodard Chateau. I just kinda noted the places we’ve eaten at in the area, I didn’t really mean any similiarities.

  4. Hey Kirk!
    I like that phrase you coined there, “shadow soup”…I think it should be used henceforth to note any weak reincarnations of a dish! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Hello Kirk! Is it too late to greet you a Happy New Year?
    Happy New Year! (^-^)
    just a quick pass by, ‘will try to swing by later on to catch up.
    have a fine day, bro.

  6. What an astute comment the Missus made. You beat me in trying this place. I’d been meaning to for quite a while, but from the sound of it, it’s nothing special. Perhaps I’ll try it just because it’s there.

  7. Empty at 12:30 on a Saturday is not a good sign. And it’s not that far from the heart of Little Saigon…Ah well, I’ve yet to be tempted by this restaurant and your review makes me even less so.

  8. A Vietnamese PF Chang’s? Frightening indeed. BTW, Kirk, did you get your ethnomusicologist cookbook yet?

  9. I too laughed when I read “Vietnamese PF Changs”. OK, that tells me all I need to know! :):) And “Shadow Soup” will now be a term I use. Great post!

  10. Viet. PF Chang – ROFLOL
    Thanks for taking a hit for the team, and not to mention Asian town is about 5 minutes away from the mall. I love Bun Cha Ha Noi – I think it’s the nuoc mam ngot is what gives it the taste plus the charbroil meats make it even better.
    -bill

  11. “Have you ever eaten Vietnamese food before?”
    That’s like asking Michael Jordan if can play basketball.
    I think we need to put a stop to very concept of the $8 banh mi. Nip that one right in the bud.

  12. I don’t know if you and the Missus had puzzled looks on your faces, but yikes!…That’s a risky question to ask to people. I bet she’ll stop asking that question when a regular comes in and takes offense. haha
    I’ve been here once and I only saw 4 other occupied tables. It looked really empty because the restaurant is so huge. They also do wedding receptions and parties, so I guess the size comes in handy sometimes. It’s an alternative to holding receptions at one of those seafood restaurants.

  13. Kirk,
    Their presentation look too good to be “real” VNmese food. I have never paid 8 bucks for any VNmese “banh mi” of any type. Yes, I am cheap. Catfish “banh mi” does not appeal to me at all. I would not mind if they put mackerel sauteed with garlic, onions and fresh tomato with a strong hint of freshly ground pepper. I will give this a miss. When are you actually going to join some of us OC food bloggers for an outing? Too good for us?

  14. Hi Kathy – LOL! Shadow soup it is….
    Hi Mizducky – I believe they have a niche…it’s just not our “niche”.
    Hi Thess – A most Happy New Year to you as well!
    Hi Elmo – The dinner menu looks much more promising…..it’s got alot of interesting “fusion-y” stuff on it.
    Hi WC – Well on the positive side the service was wonderful…and the decor is very nice, the place is pretty huge for a Vietnamese restaurant.
    Hi Ed – Actually, it’s on my list…I’m waiting until the end of Feb to place a large book order.
    Hi Sher – The Missus has a way of getting right to the point. ;o)
    Hi Billy – Actually the Bun Cha was the best item we had during the whole meal.
    Hi GC – There is a place here that is not even close to ‘S’ that has Banh Mi (lousy Banh Mi) for $7….now that is heresy.
    Hi Christine – Overall it’s very, very safe and restrained pseudo-Vietnamese.
    Hi Beach – And here I thought it was you who was too good for me! LOL! Kubota Manju? I don’t think you’re cheap at all….

  15. Hahahahaha! Perfect! Freakin’ fantastic! This post is a great encapsulation of the style/substance dynamic you get at most Asian restaurants. The more style the less substance.
    I still can’t get over $8 for banh mi. Fois gras banh mi? Hmmm…

  16. Hi CP – So let’s skip the pate, and go straight for the Foie Gras? That Banh Mi would certainly set youy back a few $$$

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