V1 BBQ & Cafe

We’ve been here in the past for BBQ and enjoyed it until Ming’s opened up in Duluth and we started going there instead. About a month ago we decided to try V1 again after hearing good things about the Hainanese Chicken. Well, the chicken was incredible — so moist and tender. Someone took great care in making that dish. We also had the beef chow fun and it was a solid dish — comparable to Ming’s and Lin’s. We got some BBQ to go and really enjoyed eating that for a few days.
We went to V1 yesterday (5÷22÷11) and it was closed. A sign on the door indicated that the locks had been changed by the bank. I don’t know if this means the end of V1 BBQ but it is definitely not a good sign. Too bad — just when we decided to frequent this place more often!

Did you know? They have dinner specials for $ 6.95! Yes!
Can I say dinner special??? What happened to their prices? You can get amazing dinner specials for $ 6.95 & $ 7.95! My ½ order of eyhaianese chicken was only $ 7.95. It’s really good for what you can get compared to other cantonese restaurants like bo bo garden or canton cooks. It was silky and flavored well. It comes with soy sauce and sweet and sour/​duck? sauce and I’d definitely order it again.
Everything is good, but not the best in the city. I stopped by this place on the way home from work just because I wanted to try the Haianese chicken. I’ve had their BBQ dishes a while back, and they’re pretty good.
I also picked up salt and pepper squid because that’s a very traditional cantonese dish. However, I’d have to say this one is ok. They cut them into rings instead of using a picket fence cut which gives the squid more texture and flavor. The portion was kinda small, but that’s ok bc its again, only $ 7.95. However, the flavor just wasn’t all there. I’d stick to the haianese chicken or even the BBQ places.
I also got the green onion fish which was also ok. They batter the fish in some breading, fry it up, add a white sauce to it, and its just ok. Nothing too spectacular and nothing to die for. Actually, it kinda reminds me of the frozen dinners you heat up and serve. The fish wasn’t as fresh and the flavors weren’t there. Go for the other stuff instead.
Overall, would i come back? Only for the haianese chicken and only for the BBQ dishes. I’d also love to try the pork jerky. If you’ve never had it, its about 10x better than beef. The ratio of fat is much higher in pork so it’s able to retain much better moisture, and in result, it’s less dry and more tender than beef jerky. If you haven’t had it, I’d give it a try.

took home green beans and pork from v1 at the h-​mort in duluth. It was very fresh and hit the spot. Also had a side of roast pork. Be sure they give you some soy sauce. dinner and leftovers for lunch tomorrow was 11 dollars. Not 5 stars because i got it to go. would have been much better had i eaten it there. Love to eat in my pjs.

My parents and church friends love this place. I think it’s like malaysian/​cantonese bbq
I haven’t had any of their bbq meats before so I can’t really give any ratings. But from the two times that I’ve eaten there I have been really really satisfied! The food is really tasty and decent portions, especially for family style sharing.
Favorite dishes:
1) curry laksa — a chicken curry noodle soup with tofu and beansprouts. I’m not sure if the noodles are handmade? The curry soup is very savory, moderate spice, but not too salty or sweet. It’s just the right balance. There is plenty of leftover soup to take home to add your own noodles hahahaha according to my friend.
2) deep fried tofu dish: served with peanuts, deep fried mini anchovies, diced peppers and onions. perhaps one of my other favorite dishes there either. The tofu is still very soft on the inside, but the outer has been dipped in some sort of starch coating and deep fried. I think they do sprinkle some salt over the dish to give it some flavor but the deep-​fried anchovies give it its own
3) beef tendon hot pot: so savory, easy to share. i would only give this maybe 3.5 stars because the sauce is a little too salty for my taste. Decent portions of the beef tendon though, and it is cooked pretty well (not under, some pieces a little over cooked).
Not so favorite dishes:
1) Beef rendang: texture is good, portion is good, but the sauce is too sweet.
2) char kway teow: maybe it is missing the chinese sausage or not enough of the black sauce that they use in Singapore and Malaysia, but it needs to be BLACK! But this is decent if you are just looking for fried flat rice noodles (which you can get anywhere)
Service: good, very attentive staff
Place: kind of small, may be somewhat hard to find since it’s in a v. small strip mall off Buford Hwy
Price: decently priced for chinese/​malaysian food
We definitely will go again.

I was pretty disappointed in trying out this restaurant based on reviews on Unilocal.Personally, for much better quality and tastier Malaysian fare, on buford hwy, Little Malaysia is the much better choice. Entrees come with one small bowl of rice here whereas other authentic restaurants provide a tubful and refills without any additional charge for rice as the staple. For the price, portions were ample and mediocre. In addition, the customer service in this restaurant will have to be worked on as no smiles or acknowledgement really when you walk in. I didnt feel like the restaurant was being very accommodating or care if you ate there or not. If they would like repeat customers, they would need to work on this customer service skill a lot more. In my opinion, this place is overrated and I would not go back here. In fact, it wasnt crowded at all on a weekend night. I do have to admit that the place is new and clean but better roast pork could be purchased elsewhere. Try HK BBQs inside SuperH mart on pleasant hill.

The food is good and I go mainly because it is the only restaurant that offers Chinese food that’s close and inexpensive. Besides I like the Hainanese chicken and the rice milky drink and the flat noodles in soup. I don’t know which part of that is HK though, besides the duck/​chicken/​pork hanging in front of the store.

Pork Jerky anyone?
One of my friends said I had to try this restaurant b/​c the Chinese food is very authentic & good here. Apparently this is the favorite new spot for Chinese folks living in the Gwinnett area. The restaurant calls itself Malaysian & Cantonese, and it’s located in a new strip mall w/​other Chinese businesses. I asked the manager why it’s called «V1» and she said b/​c «we #1» :)
They have lunch specials from 11 – 2:30 Mon-​Fri, ranging from $ 5.95−6.95. However, we ordered from the dinner menu so we could do family-​style (see photos) …
«Salted Chili Pepper Tofu» — fried tofu w/​onion, scallion, & chili peppers for $ 8.45. The menu forgets to mention that the dish also includes anchovies & peanuts. Every ingredient really made that dish work — probably my favorite.
«Spicy Garlic Eggplant» — sauteed eggplant w/​special spicy garlic sauce for $ 8.45. I thought the sauce tasted more like sweet-​n-​sour. The eggplant was cooked perfectly though.
«Hokkien Fried Noodle» — homemade noodle w/​shrimp, pork, & squid in a special chef sauce for $ 7.95. My friends had ordered this before, raved about it, and said they’d order it again. I thought it was just ok — liked that the noodles were homemade but overall, it tasted no different than lo-​mein to me.
«Sesame Chicken» — we ordered the lunch portion for this one. Tasted good but really not all that special.
I’d come back — but next time I’d order the BBQ roasted duck which is what they’re most known for.
So what about the pork jerky? As we were leaving the restaurant, we stopped to look at the BBQ roasted duck, chicken, & pig hanging in the window … and couldn’t quite figure out the flat square pieces of meat sitting in a pan. We asked the cook who happened to be watching us, and he responded by taking one of the squares & cutting slices for us to sample. And wow — I did not expect to taste something so sweet & delicious, and like a meaty bacon w/​o the fat. This tasted better than any of the dishes we paid for! The cook told us it’s «pork jerky», and explained that the meat is great for sandwiches. However for fancy sandwiches apparently — we saw a sign that said the pork jerky is $ 16/​lb!

The menu has a strange combination– HK BBQ along with Malaysian dishes. Nevertheless, the bbq is ok. I like Ming’s better. If you get there too late for dinner, they sometims run out of bbq meats. I guess it’s a great option for Chinese food if you live in Gwinnett County and can’t get down to Doraville. The place can be packed. I give it 3.5 stars.

I think Hongkong BBQ is still the best in the city. But V1 is a close contender and they make a mean Hainanese Chicken — succulent and flavorful. The roast pork isn’t as crispy as I want to be but delicious, nonetheless.
Stick with the Chinese dishes. The Malaysian dishes seem to be dumbed down versions of the real thing. I had the Roti Canai today and while the crêpe was wonderful (chewy and flaky), the curry sauce didn’t have that simmered-​for-​hours taste and wasn’t as thick.
Still, V1 gets major points for cleanliness and better ambiance.