Viet Crystal

I’d seen the comments that Viet Crystal had closed. But I had not been in for a few months, due to the special diet I’ve been on for the last few months.
I drove by today to check, sure enough the place is no longer in business. I’m pretty bummed about this. Regardless of some of the reviews posted by others who had bad experiences, I never had a bad bowl of Phở Ga here (which is what I always ordered.)
In fact, Viet Crystal made the tastiest, most delicious Phở Ga broth I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating! It was consistently good! And I’ve probably eaten there more times over the years than most folks.
I am bummed that they are now out-​of-​business! I will miss that broth!

Viet Crystal SHUT DOWN?
WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED… …
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… Cool thanks. Let me know if you ever need help with anything.

I need help painting my house. Can you help?
(Oookaaay? Weirdass.)Sure.I’ll bring my man to help get the job done faster.
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\ NO! Don’t bring him! I want just you there.
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\. /​
wtf? /​
O _​_​O _[_]____
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/​\ /​\ |
ME OWNER
Can I say FUCKING CREEPY? (brownie points on the slick game, ninja)
…Mind you my partner and I have been his customers for years: owner’s fully aware of the circumstances. Bluballs syndrome is one helluva disorder I tell ya.
Backtrack… I’m not too sure if he’s the owner considering it’s his older brother (Gordon Ramsey lookalike) who runs the place more often than anyone else.

CLOSED! NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. Our phở adventure part 1. My wife was sick and she was craving phở so we decided to stop by here for lunch but the place was closed for business.

I went a couple of times and was disappointed because they burnt the pork and service left something to be desired. From tips below it appears this place may have gone out of business.

I didn’t expect much from this restaurant, which was exactly what I got. As other Unilocalers have noted, the waiter is probably also chef, maitre’d, cashier, etc. As such on a Saturday afternoon there was only one table of two patrons — a bad sign. We stood at the door for about 5 minutes, until we finally seated ourselves. About 5 minutes later the waiter noticed us. Maybe it was because the restaurant was so poorly lit, he didn’t notice.
We ordered the egg rolls (fried very crispy with the rice paper wrapping — a plus), but it was really bland tasting. I ordered the My Nam Vang and a companion ordered the My with pork and shrimp, to which I was told by the waiter «there’s no difference between the two except you get an egg.» To my shock (and true to his word), both were exactly the same bland soups and mine had a very small quail egg in it. No difference in price. Overall, i was not at all impressed with the broth, or the shrimp, or few pieces of meat in my soup. I didn’t even see pork belly bits in the soup (a must for any authentic Vietnamese noodle). There was just too much MSG for being that bland.
With drinks, it worked out to be over 40 $ and not worth it for a lunch. Trust me, use that money to burn some gas by driving somewhere else for your Vietnamese food.

Came here for lunch during work. I got the grilled pork with vermicelli noodles, and the boyfriend got the beef with rice. I’ve actually never ordered vermicelli at a Vietnamese restaurant before, so I have nothing to compare it to. The noodles were cooked well and the pork was marinated nicely. The beef with rice was okay. it didn’t have as much flavor as it should. Also, I know it was the lunch special but the meat portions were small, and while my boyfriend was no longer hungry, it wasn’t enough to be satisfying.
We also got crispy spring rolls and a summer roll. The spring rolls were yummy, although the batter was very thick. I thought the summer roll was a sad little thing. It was the skinniest summer roll I’ve ever seen.
There are better Vietnamese restaurants in the area. I’m not sure if I’ll be back.

I saw Neal’s face as the poster boy for Viet Crystal under their reviews while I was searching for Phở and that led me to come here. I trust his reviews. Its true– they have great Phở Ga (Chicken Noodle here) I HIGHLY recommend this soup (and make sure to add some spicy sauce and all the jalapenos too!) to clear the sinuses if you are sick or have Bronchitis. Talking from experience here folks

This place has the worst customer service if there is a problem with the food. Typically, you expect your noodle soup to be hot and the chicken to be completely done. This was my first experience with Phở in which neither of those were true.
Now, I realize that mistakes happen and no one is perfect. So, when I tasted my barely luke warm soup (absolutely no steam coming from the bowl which I found strange), I decided to check the meat. At least one piece of chicken was not completely done/​white. It was still pinkish on the end.
Foolishly, I decided to share this observation with the owner/​server in a very polite manner. Seriously, I patiently waited for her to help the other two customers and told her that my soup was not hot. You would have thought I had insulted her child by the reaction. She would not even hear of it. I showed her the piece of chicken and she has said, «the chicken had already been cooked.» WTF does that mean? My chicken is pink and you can see it.
She walked away and return a few seconds later indicating that she would make the soup hotter. Two minutes in microwave and my soup returns nice and hot (with overcooked, soggy rice noodles and bean sprouts).
I ate the soup without any further visits for follow up service from the server/​owner. No questions regarding how the food is. No more water. Nothing at all.
This was by far the greasiest (very oily) Vietnamese noodle soup I’ve ever had. I would not recommend drinking the broth after finishing the solids. Your arteries will thank you. The flavor was not bad, but all of the oil and drama was a distraction for me.
Try a different Phở restaurant.

⁴¹⁄₂ stars for overall great experience and knowledge of the secret to great Phở — it’s all in the broth!
Nicer ambience than most places I’ve eaten phở with attentive service (checked on us multiple times, cleared the table and hand delivered my check!!), and rich, steaming phở ga (my first time to sample the chicken variety of my new favorite cold weather dish!) with beautifully nuanced flavors of fragrant ginger and star anise (and maybe clove and coriander seeds?), just the perfect amount of cilantro and white/​green onions, and lovely umami finish.
I’m not swearing off phở tai by any means, as I can’t abandon my passion for red meat, but phở ga is definitely on my comfort food radar. Many thanks to Neal E for opening my eyes (and olfactory senses) to this fragrant, delicious treat!

I’m not going to lie when it comes to checking off the chicken or beef option on a wedding invitation, I always go for the beef. The same goes when I order phở. But that all changed today when I went to lunch with Northern Virginia’s highest regarded phở master, Neal E.
I had actually ordered my go-​to phở tai (thinly sliced eye-​of-​round steak) i, but as the waiter walked away I quickly changed my mind. «I’ll have what he’s having,» I boldly stated. After all, I’ve been reading Neal’s phở reviews for years, I was sure he knew a thing or to about what to order at his favorite restaurant.
My instinct to go with Neal’s suggestion was right. Viet Crystal’s phở ga (chicken) was a well-​balanced combination of ginger, star anise, cloves, sugar, fish sauce, and bone stock. The meat was cut in thin rounds, perfect for picking up with chopsticks (my chopstick skills are unconventional to say the least so this really came in handy!). This dish was right up there with my pop’s famous after-​Thanksgiving day turkey phở in terms of flavor. It was the perfect pick for a cold, snowy day like yesterday (and tomorrow if the weather channel is right!).
While I slurped my phở, Neal regaled me tales of the Phở Force of Unilocal past. Which got me to thinking… if they can reboot Spiderman, why can’t we reboot the Phở Force? Who’s in with me?
PHO FORCE ASSEMBLE!

In terms of phở flavor and taste, I usually tell people that you can gauge a phở restaurant on these two criteria without ever putting any phở in your mouth. Instead, the aroma of the phở should immediately tempt your sense of smell as soon as you open the door to the restaurant. It is for that reason that some of my favorite phở restaurants (Phở Sate, Phở 50, Super Phở, etc.) are always busy… and it is a reason why some of the lesser phở restaurants (Phở 75 in Herndon, Phở 2000, etc.) are always empty.
Viet Crystal is somewhere in the middle. It’s not the most potent or aromatic phở I’ve ever eaten, but it’s not bland and tasteless either. I suppose it’s one of those things in which if I lived nearby, I’d gladly run over to VC for my phở craving as opposed to driving further out for more flavorful phở. I will say that the service at Viet Crystal was really good. My waiter was friendly, attentive (filling my water often), and he even asked me after the meal how everything was (which almost never happens at Phở restaurants). The restaurant is also clean and nicely decorated, so it’s definitely a place you could go to and enjoy. Just don’t expect the best phở you’ve ever had. It’s just average.

After our first phở experience earlier this year, Neal E. told me that I should try some phở ga. He even suggested 2 places where he said served a great bowl of it. One was in Manassas, the other was Viet Crystal. Since we live closer to Chantilly, we headed over there on a Sunday a little before 5 p.m.
The place was empty when we arrived. However, very soon a man arrived who appeared to be a regular customer. Even though this was our first time here, the staff didn’t treat us any differently. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Our waiter had a great sense of humor.
I was impressed at the extensive beverage menu. My husband decided to try some Vietnamese beer. Since he never tried it before, he asked the waiter for a recommendation. Our waiter suggested Saigon Lager which my husband ordered. I had something that I’ve never seen on a beverage menu — Jasmine iced tea. The iced tea had great jasmine flavor. It comes unsweetened so I added some sugar. The end result was a very refreshing and tasty iced tea. My husband said that his beer had a sharp flavor to it. For comparison’s sake, he said that he prefers Japanese beers as they have a lighter flavor. Of course, this is his personal preference.
For an appetizer, we decided to try crispy fried rolls (I think that’s the exact name). They consisted of pork, crab and shrimp. The meats were finely ground and the end result was that the flavors melded well together with no one flavor predominating. Although, they were a bit on the greasy side, we enjoyed them.
I ordered a bowl of phở ga. My husband surprised me by ordering a bowl of phở shrimp. The waiter asked if he wanted the one with shrimp only or the seafood one. My husband confirmed that, yes, he wanted the shrimp.
Our phở came out piping hot and attractively presented. I was surprised to see that the phở ga had quite a bit of onion slices in it. Since my husband likes raw onion more than I do, he gladly took mine.
The phở ga had a generous portion of thinly sliced pieces of boneless, skinless white meat. While I was glad that it was thinly sliced, I wished that the pieces were a little smaller in size as it would have made eating them easier. The broth was mild which I liked as it made it easier to add sriracha or hoisin without interfering with the broth flavoring. There was also a generous portion of noodles.
My husband’s shrimp phở had 4 large shrimp in it. His also had a mild broth and a generous portion of noodles. We were impressed with the plate of aromatics that we got. The basil was very fresh as were the bean sprouts and jalapenos. Again, the amount given was generous.
We both really enjoyed our phở. If anything, we could have gone a bit easier on the sriracha as it got our noses running LOL. My husband liked the phở so much that he said today that we should go back again very soon.
Dinner for two, with the 2 bowls of phở, the appetizer and the beverages came to $ 27 before the tip. As we were leaving, our waiter engaged us in conversation. He asked where we lived and was impressed that we drove to Chantilly for phở. My husband told him that we read good things on Unilocal — and the waiter knew about Unilocal.I even told him that a Unilocal friend told me that I should go to Viet Crystal for the phở ga. All the folks working in the restaurant thanked us for coming. We let them know that we would be back!

Dining at Viet Crystal gives off the same vibe and atmosphere as when eating in a Viet family’s home — particularly the feeling of being force-​fed by someone’s mother serving you TOO much food in one sitting. Just kidding, or am I?
Our server, and I think manager of this establishment, was quite nice, yet aggressive.
She walked over to our table while we were skimming through the vast menu and asked what we would like to drink. in Vietnamese. We looked up and gave her the: blank stare: look and then she immediately responds «oh sorry!» and reverts back to asking us what we want to drink in English. (Yeah, I get mistaken for Vietnamese pretty often. I’m Filipino, but it must be the light skin tone that confuses people. That and my Chinese ancestor blood). We order two Vietnamese iced coffees and a side of cha gio (crispy spring rolls).
She promptly comes back with our cha gio and drinks and asks us if we are ready to order. Though feeling a little rushed, we give her our orders because we already had dishes in mind prior to coming and knowing they offer pretty great rice and vermicelli dishes.
I had to go with the combination com suon with pork, chicken, and shrimp with rice with an over-​easy egg on top and the SO went with combination vermicelli bowl with a side of phở.
We munched on the cha gio and sipped on our iced coffees while we waited for our main lunch entrees. There was a perfect ratio of coffee to milk — strong, but not overpowering.
She comes back with our orders neatly presented and ready-​to-​eat with a side of extra utensils.
I liked how each type of meat was served on individual short skewers along with a mound of rice and dipping sauce on the side. My only complaint was the overloaded bed of spring mix underneath the meat and rice which got in the way of me scooping my rice onto my spoon. But overall, it was a perfect lunch portion.
I was a fan of the marinade or seasoning used in the various meat and seafood that came with our dishes. You can tell they took the time to properly grill it and overall authenticity and taste of each dish were definitely present.
The small side of phở seemed a bit too sweet for me, but I think that was the heaping full of hoisin’s fault. Woops, will have to go back and try a full bowl next time.
I love how the lady makes you feel «rushed» (when really she’s just being overly accommodating), yet insists you take your time. LOL, oh Asian moms and their mannerisms.
When she took our plates, she was happy that we enjoyed her cooking, just like any mom would be pleased to hear.
This is definitely a decent go-​to when you want something more than just phở since Viet Crystal offers a full menu.

Go on, get something besides Phở Ga or Phở Thai. You can do it. Go for the Pork and Shrimp with Clear Noodles. Guarantee you’ll like it.
Flavorful broth and I prefer the clear to rice noodles. Lean pork slices and ground pork with plenty of veggies. Doesn’t need as much sauce as their phở, imho.
And of course, don’t forget the crispy noodles. Watch out for the grease of joy oozing out of the crispy skin upon arrival. Count to 20 before diving in.

At Neal E’s hosting, several of us had gathered at this establishment to bid a fond farewell to fellow Unilocaler JonathanH’s relocation to San Diego.
Of all the phở spots in the DC area that I have ever known (and I know MANY) none of them have ever made a proper vietnamese cha gio. But here. snuggled behind Sully Plaza, here be treasure. Wonderful, crispy cha gio wrapped in proper rice paper cooked to golden brown goodness. These are certainly not the chinese replicas often served everywhere else.
The beef phở is heavy in anise with a good firm savory beef flavor. There are generous portions and cuts of lean beef mixed with cuts of tender fatty flank. The only shortcoming I could spot was the sparsity of expected vietnamese herbs with the sprouts. A minor detail and does not detract from the overall deliciousness of the phở. I used very little hoisin sauce or sriracha so as to not substantially alter the wonderful flavors of the broth.
I can see why this place is NealE’s goto spot for phở, and if I’m in the area, it shall become my goto spot as well.

Neal at the helm, an alpha male across the table, a lefty to my right, eye candy and more eye candy to my left, witty blogger to my side and meat-​three-​way in my bowl of phở. Glory, glory, what a way to breakfast on a wind-​tunnel day!
Thanks to my mikdik, I made it to this cheery farewell for Jonathan H. Kudos to Neal for arranging a table that stretched the width of the restaurant. The staff was friendly and knew Neal and Seab’s orders by heart (plus they knew not to bring forks — except for Jonathan!). Food was good. It was possible to ask for the number 19 without tendon. I just ate my way around it, letting the fat melt into my soup (TMI momentito: I only had one scary~funny moment later when a piece of it landed in my napkin and I looked down… wondering for a blink if THAT came out of my nose! Ah, good times.)
I followed Seab’s MO and ordered a fried rice to go. When I ordered, I wanted a combination chicken, egg and shrimp. An enjoyable (for me) episode ensued:
Me: I’d like a fried rice to go.
Waiter: Fried rice? What kind?
Me: A combination please. With shrimp.
Waiter: Combination doesn’t have shrimp.
Me: What’s in it? Does it have chicken?
Waiter: Yes, but no shrimp. Pork.
Me: I would like a combination of chicken and shrimp. No pork.
Waiter: That’s not combination. You want Viet Fried Rice. Chicken and shrimp.
Me: A what? Okay, yes, I want that (silently in my head, «a combination of chicken and shrimp»).
When I got home, I discovered that the Viet Fried Rice has chicken and shrimp PLUS squid and fish balls.
I like this restaurant. It’s in a mall with all sorts of fun looking stores (Lotte)… but mostly I liked the familiarity of going to a Unilocal-​erized establishment… and when I paid, the lady called me «sweetie» and not «ma’am.» Respect is nice and all, but it don’t sho make a gal feel A.N.C.I.E.N.T.
Jonathan, you will be missed!

It was a cold blistery day, just two days before the new year, and I was craving soup. But not just any soup… Phở. I have been working my way through the area around my office in Reston, and for some reason had not tried Viet Crystal. I recently proclaimed Phở 98 as the best soup in that radius. I think I may have a new champion.
Maybe it was the cold day, maybe it was my pregnant woman like craving for Phở, I don’t really know. All I know is that when my lips tasted that soup, it was like heaven. It didn’t taste excessively salty like someone slipped with the MSG box, and it wasn’t flavorless that you thought they dropped veggies into boiling water.
They also have a nice little lunch combo, which gets you a large bowl, a spring roll variety and a can of soda for 9.95 after tax. If you forgot to bring your Benjamins, don’t fret, they take credit cards.
This place may now top my list of Reston soup joints. Oh, and the waiter was extremely friendly and talkative. You can bet your Phở-​king arse I’ll be back here again.

I walked in and was somewhat surprised at the décor: 80’s style over-​the-​top-​chandeliers, and old school tiles. Except none of the lights were on… I’ll pretend this was mood lighting and not to save money on the electric bill.
Was this Vietnamese restaurant different from the others? The last one I went to was Phở 75 and the first thing I wondered was where their certification of restaurant health standards was. As soon as the waiter turned around without any acknowledgement of our presence when I walked in, I knew this place was no different.
Viet Crystal is like your mom and pop Viet place but they have a variety of menu options, from spring rolls to stir frys to phở and bun.
The phở ga was clean, but the noodles were a let down. Not chewy like I’m used to. Props to the owners for actually using white meat instead of the crappy leftover parts of a chickne. The combo pork/​beef/​shrimp Bun was not bad, but the sauce was pretty flavorless. I liked that the ingredients tasted pretty fresh, but I’ve definitely had better. Plus, I dropped $ 19 for a small soup and a combo Bun. That is way too pricey for a Vietnamese restaurant.
This is a good place to go for lunch maybe if you’re looking for a special, or if you’re coming with a group of Vietnamese food n00bs. Plenty of non-​ethnic options available.
Note: Credit cards accepted — no AMEX

Three and a half stars. Our plans for Phở Kobe and 606 boba were foiled by the fact that in less than a month PK had closed down and cleared out without warning. I watched as five other potential customers came and left, dismayed. Signs were still up for poker nights on Friday and happy hour. Just not enough local interest when so much of this stretch of 606 is industrial. If I had known that karma would get us for standing up Neal E. in March, I would’ve brought hankies for everyone. So close to a phở place down the street from work! I debated letting the others find out for themselves, but I chose to try to break it to them gently. We all peered into the windows sadly. Lester K. had an especially hard time taking the news.
So instead we ventured here. I followed them there and back since I’m still geographically handicapped; nothing makes your car feel more inadequate than trying to keep up with a newer car that hits 70 mph three times as fast. Fortunately they also served boba, so we weren’t quite as disappointed at our plans being spoiled. Sadly they were out of taro, so I matched Lester’s avocado. Not a bad flavor, definitely a less fattening version than what I get by home. I regaled them with tales of drunken James L. and we debated the mysteries of durian fruit. Apparently Lester K. deems rancid ass up his nose tolerable, but balls in his mouth were out of the question. No tapioca pearls in his smoothie for him! Though they weren’t heated enough to handle the smoothie chilldown well anyways.
Friendly servers happy to split our check, slightly traditional décor. Bowl and drink sizing ran smaller than I’d like, but the broth was good. I love cilantro and there was plenty of it! I find the repackaging of sriracha and hoisin into spooned jars inconvenient even if it’s more aesthetically pleasing. The grilled pork on rice smelled amazing; I’ll have to try that and the summer rolls next time. This place will fall towards 4 stars once I try more of their menu, I think.
P. S. contrary to popular belief, I did not intentionally wear a Unilocal shirt today, haha.
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2010 update: ended up here again while waiting on my car to be serviced. I’d forgotten that I’d been here before, and the takeout experience yielded about the same food results. Staff members were nice, and I listened to them calmly field calls from angry people wondering why they don’t deliver phở anymore.

Not much to really add here… except pictures. Food here was okay… nothing to complain about… but have since found and prefer Phở 98.
—- edited —–
I think I agree with it’s 4-​star rating but if I’m sticking to Unilocal’s rating system… I’m hard pressed to say «I’m a fan» of this place simply because I live by so many vietnamese places. There is certainly NOTHING wrong with this place at all. Food is good, place is nice and clean, service is friendly.
Suggestions:
— Shiracha sauce and Hoisin sauce in a squirt bottle like everywhere else you go would be more convenient
— Would be nice to have a combination bun with spring roll dish