Eat Great Cheap 2013The Lai family has run this Vietnamese institution for nearly two decades—during which it moved from the Eden Center to bigger, sleeker digs in the Mosaic District. So is it still worth a visit? Absolutely. The quality of the meats and seafood on the voluminous menu shines in the bustling, flower-lined dining room. Recently, we devoured sweet steamed clams in black-bean sauce; crisp, herb-wrapped spring rolls; tender stuffed crepes; and smoky grilled-beef vermicelli. Pay attention to specials—fennel with a bracing lime-pepper dipping sauce and gigantic soft-shell crabs on a tangle of watercress were among the best dishes we’ve had in recent memory. Also good: Egg-noodle soup with shrimp wontons; ginger-scallion rockfish.
