DOB 111

After combing the streets searching for a new fun adventure I decided to give DOB 111 a try. I am not sure if this place has improved since some of the last reviews but I thought it was fantastic! The décor was rustic Vietnamese style that almost gave off a «Bombay» feel because of the leaves. It was comfortable and casual but the dim lights made it a bit romantic.
They allow you to BYOB which I am so so about… I understand why some ppl like it but I personally am not a fan. They didn’t offer any other drinks besides water and Diet Coke. I thought this was a little strange but not so bad that I would take away a star for it… I came for the food not the drinks.
I had the Flank Steak over Vermicelli which is very popular in Vietnamese sections of Paris. This was very dead on as a French/​Vietnamese dish.
My friend had the Duck over Rice which he enjoyed. The waitress told him that the portion would be small but was actually pretty decent.
We chose the Pandan Flan for dessert which was made with, Ginko Nut, Lotus Seed, Red Date, and Coconut Sauce… absolutely delicious!!! I could have ate a whole pan of this stuff!
We were very happy that Chef Michael Bao Huynh came and talked with us at our table. He was not stuck up or conceded in any way like some chefs I have known. He was out in the restaurant being friendly and helping his wait staff. He seems to treat his employees very well. After looking at his website I learned he is actually «one of the most celebrated Vietnamese Chefs in the world». I really can’t wait to try all of his restaurants in the city. Take a look at the website if you are looking for his other locations.

BBE 30% off, what could go wrong. Just about everything. What a crap meal. My expectations were somewhat elevated understanding the owner was a known chef with a few other joints open around town. What a disappointment.
I ordered the duck «KAFFIR LIME DUCK BREAST, Taro Sausage Mash, Fried Egg, Duck Jus», what a shitty dish. Let me count the ways:
1. Duck way over cooked.
2. Duck skin was soft and flabby.
3. Fried egg was oily and overcooked.
4. Eggshell in the egg — BONUS deduction points.
5. Taro cubes of mushy lack of flavor horrible consistency.
6. Would it kill to serve it warm, not even hot, but at least warm.
7. Where was the «jus» hiding?
My dining buddy went with the shrimp curry. The man is from the «islands» and knows curry, like I know white like rice. He was not impressed to say the least.
To make up for the eggshell in my meal, the waitress was nice enough to offer up a free dessert. Too bad it sucked and made me think even less of the place. How do you mess up a chocolate puff pastry with ice cream. Not sure. The ice cream was great, the puff pastry tasted like baking powder? Something went insanely wrong with this dessert. Maybe double the baking powder instead of a pinch of baking soda. I can only guess.
The chef here really needs to start eating the food, as I doubt they would then keep slinging it out from the kitchen.
P. S. This was my second attempt to go here. First time I called and they said they were pretty booked (whoever answered sounded completely clueless) and would have to call me back. Thank goodness I did not hold my breath for that call back, as I would have died. In retrospect, not calling me back was a favor. If they don’t have room for you or don’t call you back, it is simply a blessing in disguise. The world works in mysterious ways.

Michael Bao Huynh has gone on a rampage … opening a multitude of restaurants, with no relative connection to each other or rather uninspiring food categorized not by its own rite, but whatever the hell he wants to slap on it. DOB 111 is no exception. There is nothing French or Vietnamese about the menu at all. Let’s extrapolate the contents of the food and call it like it is… Asian Fusion. Can you tell I’m in love yet?
the beet salad was pickled, which left a tang that was not so tasteful. The beef carpaccio was slightly seared… definitely not raw… and too tropical for my taste, though I loved the smell and taste of the drizzled lemon oil around the dish.
i opted for the cod… to my slightly pleasant palate, had many interesting spices. More Tunisian/​Indian than French or Vietnamese really.
Should have checked… and it’s BYOB! damnit. the experience, be fumbled as it was, could have been 10x more enhanced with a nice bottle of red. if you really asked me if i wanted new silverware… you are amateur at best.
this can’t be Michael Bao Huynh’s latest and greatest. surely, it won’t be his last. why with his empire multiplying like fleas… who needs to keep it clean?

I live on the same block and had a BBE code. I much prefer a nice fusion restaurant to Australian Ice Cream! We wanted to focus on the food, so didn’t BYOB. I also couldn’t get through to them on the phone to make a reservation, so was a walk-​in. They seemed hesitant, but we got seated since we got there early (I think 6:30) and wasn’t rushed.
They were understaffed. There was one girl covering the table, refilling water, etc. A bus boy came out later to help her out. I’m glad my dining companion was adventurous — I have plenty of friends who refuse to try sweetbreads, or don’t eat pork/​duck/​whatever you call it.
APPETIZERS:
— Sweetbreads with chanterelles, slow poached egg, and soy emulsion. Fried is the only way I like my sweetbreads.
— Seared sea scallops with warm cauliflower almond coulis, chinese bacon, and green curry. It was as good as it sounds. You get two scallops and the bacon was glorious.
— Softshell crab salad. I LOVE softshell crab. Another winner.
MAINS:
— Kaffir lime duck breast with taro sausage mash, fried egg, and duck jus. Um, this was pretty awesome. I was a huge fan of the mash.
— Crispy berkshire pork belly with radish hash and root vegetables. I think the duck was better than the pork belly. It’s sides were similar to the duck — fatty and tasty.
SIDE:
— Mung bean filled rice cakes. Meh. This was definitely a filler, and not really worth the stomach space.
DESSERT:
— Chocolate coffee bread pudding. Not impressed. Taste could use some work.
Note that the dishes are for sharing but are on the smaller side. Some of the other dishes might be smaller and not good for sharing (ask when ordering). We ordered all that for two people and were satisfied. This place hasn’t been open for too long and they are still ironing out the kinks, so be patient, although I don’t know if service will get much better — Baoguette still gets swamped and waiting during the peak times can be excruciating for people who expect amazing service.

I’ll put a plug in here in DOB’s favor as and 2 friends who are all really into our food dined here and really enjoyed it. Super cute little place with great atmosphere and really good service.
We tried the sweetbreads, black cod, caramelized pork and shrimp, oxtail stew, duck hash, duck fried rice, and a couple of other starters. Everything was quite tasty, and not overly heavy given the amount of ingredients and modern preparation. Well worth a visit!

We, armed with a «blackboardeats» passcode for a 30% discount, tried this last evening. We went early, about 7, and only one other table was occupied. By 7:30, the joint was jumpin’. Since we were early, the service was excellent.
When we got our frog legs and sweetbread appetizers, I expected to leave hungry. They were delicious but small.
The portion of the duck breast that I had was totally adequate in size as was the sea bass my partner had.
The duck breast was done extremely rare, which was delightful to me. It was served over cubes of flavorful roasted turnips and some dark meat confit. Overall, I enjoyed it immensely.
The sea bass came with delicious «glass» or «celophane» noodles in a lovely light sauce. The portion was good and fresh.
Both dishes were returned to the kitchen without a scrap of food left on them. The chef had to be pleased.
Our water glasses were kept full through the entire meal and the server was delightful.
It was nice to get away with a zero bar bill too. The place is reasonably priced and, as I mentioned, only the appetizers were stingy, but the entrees were just enough.

Came here for my birthday because the BYOB and Michael Bao aspects made the place seem promising.
a synopsis of everything good, followed by many things bad:
— the waitress was really cute and nice, but generally inexperienced and unhelpful
— I had a 30% village vines deal that made the meal even more affordable, but paying $ 20 pp for a mediocre meal is pretty unnecessary considering I could have walked down the street and gotten a $ 6 banh mi at baoguette. I got the pork belly which was just far too fatty (yes, even for pork belly) for me. I would, however, recommend the duck.
— restaurant is BYOB, but again, mediocre food + wine does not equal a great meal
— restaurant is located on a cute block, but the place was almost empty at 8pm on a warm summer thursday. things were definitely more hoppin’ across the street at bua.
— My friend’s dish was cooked by Michael Bao himself, but because the waitress claimed he is a «perfectionist,» the food came out 15 min later than in should have.
bottom line, you could definitely do better in the e.village.

Friend got a 30% coupon and it’s new so we figured we’d check it out. But for the price the 30% doesn’t really save you much. The BYOB is why you come, the food isn’t. We shared the vermicilli noodles with pork belly and the seabass. The noodles were plain and the pork belly was fried or really really dry. I enjoyed the cold watermellon soup. It tasted fresh and inventive, the rest of the menu is eh. In terms of vietnamese food there are much better options in the hood.

I agree with Jack N. that they could handle the phones better. I called on a Thursday night to change the size of my party — not only did they not pick up, but they didn’t return my voicemail.
We came here because I bought a 30% discount on village vines. Net, we saved $ 5 among three of us (aka Village Vines Fail).
The food is not very expensive which is nice, and the décor is certainly fresh and unobjectionable. However, after an app and an entrée I still wasn’t full, and that was a bummer. The food wasn’t _​that_​cheap that I felt ordering two apps and an entrée was reasonable.
The vermicelli noodles were my favorite (the pork was excellent, so a little more of that would have made my day). The gazpacho soup was fine. The sea bass was good but way too little food.
The saving grace of DOB 111 is that it’s BYOB. I haven’t been to many BYOB joints, but I imagine this one stacks up pretty well among them, so if you want to do BYO, this is probably a good place to do it!

Note: This place deserves 2 ½ stars instead of 3 stars.
Thanks to my boyfriend a new restaurant gets added to my list to try. Looking at Jeff C.‘s review I shouldn’t even have doubts about this restaurant up till the day my boyfriend called twice to make the reservation and no one picked up the phone. First time he called was 12:08 p.m. on a weekday and the second time was next day at 7 p.m. so he left a message. After hearing all that I just knew something is not right so I called at 9 something p.m. to see what is the story and the lady said no one starts working before 5 p.m. I also ask for reservation and she said no reservation for less than 4 people. I am ok with the reservation policy. I don’t like the fact that the lady called my boyfriend two days later.
When we got there none of the tables were available so we decided to put one of our names on the waiting list and she said she will call my boyfriend’s cell when the table is availabe and give it 30 mins. I think we waited for our table about 45 mins and we were told we have to be done within an hour. I don’t like restrictions on time when it comes time for dinner. This sounds like my 1 hour lunch break at work. Either you let us make a reservation so that we get our table and enjoy the meal or walk-​in. I pretty much like reservation in this scenario. I could’ve said forget the restaurant and go eat somewhere else but I still give this place a chance and my bf has a 30% coupon that expires on July 7, 2010. That same block has so many different kinds of cuisines so I know I can’t go wrong into anyone the restaurants. My bf mentioned that we can always have bacon hotdogs at Crif.
Lets move on to following dishes:
Spicy Lemongrass Beef Carpaccio — ³⁄₅ stars
Never had it before but I like it. Can’t compare it.
Crayfish Spring Rolls — ²⁄₅ stars
I didn’t really taste much of the shrimps. The deep fried oil and the spice seasoning covered the taste of shrimps. The taste reminds every second I bite into Vietnamese spring rolls.
Wok Grilled Filet Mignon on Keffer Lime Sauce — ²⁄₅ stars
The beef was a little over cooked. I like salsa on the side. I was thinking that I was get sliced beef instead of beef chunk.
Crispy Pork Belly — ⁴⁄₅ stars
This dish tasted better than the other three dishes. Pork belly was very fatty but that is ok. Very soft and greasy. My boyfriend pointed out there are taro in this dish and he gave me three cubes to try and I didn’t believe him that I had taro but instead I told him they are rice cake with taro in them. Taro has a very distinctive taste and texture which I didn’t find in that dish. Maybe the menu didn’t make it clear.
Overall all dishes look presentable but I wish I could see better with more lights in the restaurant. I like to know what I put in my mouth so I request for that if you can do so. If you like chatting and eating away with your friends then this is a good hangout spot. On that day I did feel like I was screaming when I was talking nicely to my boyfriend. He said it didn’t matter to him since he barely hear me with all the conversations going on around us.

A college friend had a 30% blackboard coupon for DOB 111 and suggested a get together with BYOB. As I got to DOB 111, I saw the sign on the door written in highlighter that it was Cash only. Crap, I had like 12 bucks in my wallet and definitely didn’t have time to run to the ATM since I was late already. So i quickly texted a friend to grab some cash and cover for me. Aside from the cash only issue, the restaurant was also really small and dark. The decorations are pretty cool… tall bookshelves against the wall with random books and other items. There’s also a large antique looking mirror on the wall.
There’s a bar that seats a few people and then there were maybe 7 tables in the entire place. That’s why when we called to push back our reservation they told us we only had an hour to eat before another party was coming in. Another catch was the 30% coupon requires each person to order either an entrée or 2 appetizers. I wasn’t too hungry but I still ordered 2 appetizers to fulfill the requirement.
Vietnamese spring rolls (4) — I pretty much always order spring rolls whenever i get vietnamese food and these were really delicious. They were also larger than normal. Very crunchy and fresh. However, these dont have the lettuce for you to wrap the spring rolls in. Still awesome.
Scallops (2) — our waitress suggested this as the second appetizer and apparently is the crowd favorite. She definitely didn’t lie! The sauce that comes with the scallops sealed the deal for me.
The total came out to about $ 18 a person. Not too bad. The reason I didn’t give them a 5 star is because of the cash only option, 1 waitress = slow service (I never got a refill on my water) and tight space in the restaurant.

They need to handle phone reservations better… (wouldn’t hurt to have OT resy either).
7÷5÷10 12:08 PM — «Thank you for calling DOB 111. If you would like to make a reservation, Please leave your name and number…»
(left msg to reserve for 7÷7÷10 at 7 PM)
7÷6÷10 Day Time — No call back
7÷6÷10 5:13 PM — Ring, Ring… Ring Ring… Ring Ring… (I hung up after a minute and a half or ringing)
At that point, I decided to give me up on the restaurant, as it was damn near impossible to get a reservation. But my gf tried one last time, around 7:30 PM. She got through and was told that they only accept reservation for party of 4 or more. We decide to go try our luck getting a table tomorrow.
7÷7÷10 5:01 PM — left me a v/​m to tell me that I didn’t tell them how many people I have in my party (I didn’t, but since I already found out from my gf that we don’t qualify for resy, no point picking up or calling back).
So we headed out there and got there around 7:30 PM. M. Huynh (owner) was sitting out in the front chatting up on his iPhone. Apparently, he is still doing some touch ups on the restaurant and was talking to a couple of electricians. When we went inside to a full house, the waitress asked if we had a reservation, which of course we didn’t, since we couldn’t, for a party of 2. She said the wait would be a while, but we put down my name and number so that she can call me when there is a table available.
In this unrelenting heat, there’s not many place to go. But good thing my gf saw a sign for Shaved Ice from Dumpling Man while we walked here. So we enjoyed a Mango shaved ice while inside the cool AC in DM while we waited.
We headed back to DOB afterwards and waited til 8 PM before they finally sat us (w/​condition that we had to be done by 9 PM for the next group that’s waiting for our table).
Here’s what we ordered:
Spicy Lemongrass Beef Carpaccio — Delicious. My second favorite dish. Thinly sliced beef spiced up and topped with tiny cubes of mango, pineapple, cucumber, mint, and almond slices. The spice had a nice mild kick up front but the cucumber and mint cools you off. The beef is probably the same as the type use in Phở, but it is even better raw.
Crayfish Spring Rolls — Eh, either crayfish tastes like pork, or I just don’t even taste crayfish at all. This new take on the Asian deep-​fried treat failed to impress.
Wok grilled Filet Mignon on Keffir Lime sauce (?) — Made medium rare, as how they normally cook the beef, but the fatal flaw is the lime sauce also cooks the beef, so by the time it got to the table, it was well done, with no red center to be seen on any of the pieces. To be fair, the lime also breaks down the beef so it wasn’t chewy at all, just a bit overwhelmed by the sauce.
Crispy Pork Belly — Melt in your mouth goodness! Even knowing full well that I’m really putting gobs of fat in my mouth, I still have to say it was damn good. I also really like the taro cubes. It was down right a Jedi Mind Trick as you think you know what you are having, but its so much softer than traditional taro cake that you can’t say its taro cake. It actually reminded me of the Asian style white carrot cake more. But after discussing with my gf, it is a trick. There isn’t really any taro in there. It might be taro extracts, but she didn’t taste any taro at all. And my taste buds, being all confused and can’t tell if it is taro cake, turnip cake, or white carrot cake, have to agree.
Overall. I enjoyed the food, although it was a little pricey. It came out to close to $ 60 after tax but we had a 30% off coupon which brought it down to $ 40. Wish it was a tad cheaper, but BYOB makes up for it.
Oh, I didn’t forget about the décor. It was dark. It was 2 notches above eating in the dark. They try to create a romantic vibe but the volume is like a crowded bar. I like the minimalistic approach to the design, a small bar area for people waiting (they don’t serve food at the bar, minus the bar seats, this place seats 24), the super dim, elongated light bulbs, and comfortable spaced seats makes it a pleasant experience. It would be nice if this place isn’t so loud but they can’t do much about that. BTW, the bathroom has a metal tub made for washing mops. Never saw that in a restaurant before. Part of restroom is also tiled with a prints from pages of a book written in Viet (P. 73, someone let me know what the page says and what book it is from).
It seems like the menu for this place changes constantly, w/​some staples. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try other items, but they need to fix the reservation system and allow resy of 2 ppl.
Décor: 3 out of 5
Service 3 out of 5 (minus one for poor phone resy)
Food: 3.5 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5

I know Michael Huynh’s restaurants can be a source of derision within the foodie world of NYC and I have to admit that I’ve been a part of the criticism at times. I mean… $ 5 vietnamese sandwiches aren’t too bad, but a burger bar? A pseudo-​hidden only outdoor biergarten? Come on…
So I was a bit skeptical when the hubby suggested we eat at DOB 111, Michael Huynh’s new Vietnamese/​French restaurant in the East Village. But with a 30% blackboard eats coupon AND BYOB, I couldn’t resist. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
The menu has evolved quite a bit from the restaurant’s opening back in April. Back then, I went on a whim with some friends and was disappointed to find only 4 entrée options that was basically some type of protein (pork, duck, beef) piled on top of cut up cubes of daikon radish that Huynh calls «daikon hash.» 2 months after it’s opening, the menu has a lot more variety and the presentation and side dishes are more unique and complimentary.
The soft shell crab appetizer came with a great fennel salad that I couldn’t get enough of. I wish there was more of it on the plate though. The shrimp salad with cucumber and starfruit was very original, sweet and tangy and very refreshing (except that the shrimp was completely overcooked). For entrees, I had the cod with a curry/​soy paste that complimented the creamy and flaky cod very well. Mike C. got the kaffir duck with daikon hash, which was satisfy but not all that original. You didn’t really taste much of kaffir lime and the duck skin was mushy and fatty, not cooked to a nice crisp.
All in all, very good food at a great price point ($ 15 – 17 entrees). If you bring your own bottle of wine, a nice meal can be had for two for $ 50 – 60.
My only criticism is that they need to figure out how to juggle their reservations and walk in customers better. Numerous times during my meal, I saw people being turned away for a table because they were holding a 6-​top for a group coming in an hour later. Seems like a lot of lost revenue for me.

Well, long story short: Yay appetizers! Mains? Not so much.
Seating is super tight and it’s BYOB, so clearly I didn’t go with my fussy husband, but my dining companions were game (and I had a Blackboard Eats coupon) and so we went. We got there just as the previous table was vacating — you HAVE to make a reservation (at least on the weekends) and there isn’t any place to wait, cause there is no bar. It’s a little bare-​bones, but I guess the focus is supposed to be on the food.
So the food — We all loved our appetizers — I would eat those spring rolls everyday. The main courses, however, were not so great. We waited forever for them and it was obvious they had been ready for some time, wilting under not very hot warming lights.
Thanks to BBE for introducing us, however. I will be back some weeknight to hit DOB up for more apps!

I had a pretty tasty dinner here. This place is small and cozy, and it’s right next to Crif Dogs, which is irrelevant but attractive anyways. Luckily my friend made reservations, something I didn’t even think of doing, because even though when we arrived it was kinda bare, it quickly filled up and I was glad I didn’t have to wait for a table. The servers were friendly and when one of them caught me eyeing the dishes in the next table, she happily told me what they had ordered.
For an appetizer, I ordered the beef carpaccio — great flavors of beef, spices, and fruit made it a fantastic summer dish.
I was sad to find they were out of oxtail stew, but I ordered the pork belly instead and was not disappointed. You really can’t go wrong with pork belly.
I had no complaints, though my friend pointed out there weren’t too many, if any at all, vegetarian dishes to offer. Of course, I would never complain about that because I love meat.
I had a great meal, simple, but at the same time filled with complex flavors that made my tummy very happy.

DOB is like a potential boyfriend that doesn’t deliver.
i didn’t love it.
the sexy/​sensual vibe about DOB enticed me.
i thought i would be engulfed in love and given it some time…
maybe i could be convinced to fall for DOB. didn’t happen.
DOB got too drunk of vino; in the dark…
DOB looks intriguing and sexy– but to get in its pants, it takes a while.
sometimes waiting for something is all worth it in the end. so i waited… and waited. the anticipation was getting me aroused for all the things that might come. the verdict? the experience was flaccid and a even a little offensive.
DOB boasts a great Vietnamese/​French fusion menu and is packed all the time. so, one would only assume this place is amazing and a must try. i figured out why people were so excited about this place… you can bring all the vino you want (i’m sorry… that’s just WTF), no cork fees and get drunk with the possibility of food being offered. literally, 90% of the restaurant hosted guests with vino on their table. i witnessed NO EATING. not even appetizers. i should know… i waited an HOUR to get a table for two. no one was leaving– just drinking and i did not see food being pushed out the kitchen.
my friend and i wanted to try out a few dishes we’ve heard about. we ordered:
Soft Shell Crab — waaaaay too salty, good flavor– though!
Seared Scallops — well cooked, delicious curry sauce and cauliflower purée.
Grouper stew — bad choice of fish, not cooked well. corn chowder was delicious.
Kaffir Lime Duck — not my cup of tea. the turnip hash is revolting/​mushy.
Bershire Pork — more turnip hash. ew. the pork was cooked to utter FAIL. over cooked, dry, too thick of a cut and didn’t melt in the mouth. it was pure squishy fat and no good flavor at all.
maybe i’ll come back, but i’m glad i found out early on that my relationship with DOB wasn’t meant to be. onto the next one!

This place won’t stay under the radar for long, if it even can be considered to be so at this point. Michael Huynh seems to get always it right… all the Baoguette spots and especially now with DOB, the food is both delicious and affordable. The one problem that remains is small spaces. There simply aren’t enough tables at DOB 11.1 to accommodate everyone who will want to dine here once the press gets wind of this place.
Simplicity is the name of the game here, except with regard to the food itself. The décor is dark and clean, with tea candles providing light and a single, small room with mostly 2-​top & 4-​top tables and space for no more than about 2 dozen people. If your date is into trying interesting food then this would definitely be a good choice. A few seats at the bar would be nice for a drink perhaps, but not a full meal, since the bar space doubles as an area for diners waiting for a table to open up. The bar, like the bathroom, is covered with pages torn from a Vietnamese book — just black text on white paper. Again, very simple.
The whole menu: one page. Desserts: just three of them, in chalk, above a window that looks into the kitchen. Simple. But that’s where the simplicity ends, because each dish has a lot to offer. I would truly say that there wasn’t one item on this menu that we didn’t want to order. The problem was that we all wanted to order the same items. Boring? Yes, but we all agreed that this wouldn’t be our last time at DOB 11.1. Each menu item emanates French preparation, though there certainly are some Vietnamese influences (not quite as much as I expected).
We shared three appetizers, including the spring rolls, which were the clear winner. if I’m hungry and in the neighborhood, I may have to stop in and order just the spring rolls for a snack. Although our other appetizers were okay, none of them knocked us out of our chairs. Entrees consisted of the filet mignon and the duck. Although both were enjoyable, the duck fortunately did not fall into the overcooked-​dryness trap and it stood out as a real success, with the creamy yolk from the fried egg bringing everything on the plate together. Dessert: chocolate coffee bread pudding, and it was a solid end to a very good meal.
The service was fine but it wasn’t incredible — our waitress wasn’t particularly friendly but I think she warmed up by the end of our meal. The real success is that appetizers don’t break $ 13 and entrees don’t even touch $ 20. That means dinner here is NOT expensive, especially considering they don’t yet have a liquor license — BYOB (for now) can’t be beat.
We all agreed this was a restaurant we’d be coming back to, since the menu offers an array of interesting and appetizing options that need to be sampled. Hopefully it won’t be too tough to get a reservation once the news gets out that DOB 11.1 has such great food at such affordable prices.
Overall impression: You can call this food «fusion,» Vietnamese, French, whatever… it’s all delicious and served in a low-​key environment with such reasonable prices that I don’t think I can come up with a reason not to return soon.

NOT a fan. I left the restaurant feeling completely unsatisfied. We had:
— Scallops with cauliflower-​almond coulis: It was fine but not outstanding. The scallops were a nice medium rare, but the flavors weren’t very memorable.
— Sweetbread & Egg: The small pieces of fried sweetbread had a beautiful texture but the egg was a little too soft/​undercooked for my liking (and I like my eggs runny!) and the soy foam was extremely overwhelming in flavor. It completely overpowered everything else, and didn’t even taste good.
— Fish with tom yum corn chowder: The good news was that the fish wasn’t overcooked. But I don’t understand the skin on the fish. Instead of serving it crispy, it came out soggy and unappetizing.
— Crispy pork belly with chinese sausage and yucca: I don’t know how, but they managed to make it look dry and unappetizing. Luckily it was still quite tender, but didn’t have the great texture that you usually get when you eat pork belly. (The duck that the table next to us got also looked dry). Flavorwise, it was nothing special.
One thing I found strange was that they didn’t clear our appetizer plates so when they brought out our main courses, the table was already crowded by the other plates.
A huge disappointment. I wouldn’t recommend it.

What we had:
— Soft shell crab — HIGHLY recommend it! the shell was thin, crispy and very tasty (vs. the kind you have in spider rolls which can tend to be thick and hard and overfried in my opinion)
— Beef carpaccio — I liked the pineapple and cucumber, but the dish itself was over-​seasoned and too salty
— Chilean sea bass — the ginger soy broth was delicious, as the waitress said it’s got the traditional Chinese home cooking taste so I definitely liked that part.
I would definitely go back for the soft shell crab, and to try the pork belly, duck, and head cheese sandwich.

I checked this place out last night on a recommendation from a friend and I definitely enjoyed it. BYO is always fun (they are still waiting on a liquor license) and the food was interesting and inventive. We were the only people in the restaurant for a good hour or so but there were a lot of curious people checking out the menu.
We had the softshell crab, scallops, and carpaccio for apps and the pork belly for an entrée. If I had to pick one it would be the softshell crab, but everything was good. The pork belly is incredibly rich (and delicious) but you have to share it. Even then, it is a bit much.
If you’re looking for something different I would check it out!