Blu Bambu / Boca Raton
Important: This article was last updated on August 7, 2009. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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Royal Palm Place, 291 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton
561-393-0096
blubambuboca.com
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Cost: inexpensive-moderate
Hours: lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday (longer hours starting in
October)
Reservations: recommended
Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V
Bar: beer, wine
Sound level: moderate
Outside smoking: yes
Wheelchair accessible: yes
First impression: Like all good Vietnamese restaurants, there are touches of elegance in every dish. Call it the French influence on the cuisine.
Ambience: Just 18 diners fit into the tiny dining room decorated in shades of blue. Despite its size and casualness, there are cloth napkins and tablecloths and details like glassware and serving plates get great attention.
Background: John and Yen Tran owned Le Jardin, a French/Vietnamese restaurant in DeLand, for 12 years. They sold it a year ago to be closer to family in Boca. Blu Bambu opened in April.
Starters: Classic, cold rice-paper wrapped goi cuon ($5) are filled with chicken, shrimp and mint. Two-to-an-order, they're served with an almost sweet bean sauce. The Trans also prepare cold mango/shrimp rolls ($6) and crispy Imperial rolls ($4.50). Braised baby back ribs or suon nuong ($7) were chewy-tender and accompanied by a spicy sauce decorated with diced cucumber. Pho Bo or beef noodle soup ($8) comes loaded with onions, basil and bean sprouts.
Entree excellence: Shrimp curry ($16) in the hands of a Vietnamese chef is a delicate, almost sweet creation and John Tran does it very well. Grouper Mekong ($17) is similarly light, served with an aromatic sauce of sesame, soy, ginger and scallions. Shaking Beef ($13) veers toward French with cubes of filet mignon sauteed with garlic and tomatoes. There's also a section of the menu devoted to bun: rice noodles topped with a choice of lemon grass pork ($9), lemon grass chicken ($8) lemon grass shrimp ($12) or a combination of pork and chicken ($10).
Side issues: All meals come with a simple, refreshing sesame-dressed salad.
Sweet!: Classic sweetened Vietnamese coffee ($3.50) — iced or hot — is served. But the real surprises are the home-made desserts. Moist lemon pound cake ($8) is plenty for two to share. Look too for mango pie ($6), a real South Florida treat.
Service: Yen Tran is clearly a seasoned pro. She was the only server when we dined here, but she juggled tables with grace. — John Tanasychuk
Contact dining correspondent John Tanasychuk at jtanasychuk@sunsentinel.com or write to him in care of Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.