From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Saigon City / Lauderdale Lakes

May 22 2009

4301 N. State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes

954-731-6488

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Cost: inexpensive

Hours: lunch, dinner Monday-Saturday, lunch only Sundays

Reservations: not necessary

Credit cards: AE, MC, V

Bar: beer, wine

Sound level: quiet

Outside smoking: no

For kids: boosters, highchairs

Wheelchair accessible: yes

First impression: This quiet, friendly spot offers a menu brimming with authenticity.

Ambience: Linen-covered tables set with glass overlays reflect glowing bamboo lanterns.

Starters: Slightly tart lotus root shrimp salad ($9.95) features chilled shrimp tossed with slightly crunchy sliced lotus root sparked by lime, cilantro, mint, carrots, peanuts and a sprinkling of fried shallots. Or, $4.50 buys you a try at wrapping fresh herbs and shredded pork or shrimp in rice paper. The thin, fragile sheets of translucent rice paper are paired with small bowls of warm water for softening. In less than a minute they're pliable enough to fill.

Entree excellence: If you like meal-making soups, order a big bowl of steaming traditional pho ($7.50-$9.95), loaded with spoonfuls of yummy beef, poultry or seafood in lovely light broths. We chose a similar-style bamboo shoot rice noodle soup with hunks of bone-in duck ($8.95). Soups come with side plates of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, limes and hot pepper slices to use at your discretion. The grilled pork platter ($8.95) is a feast of shredded pork mixed with rubbery, but likable, julienne pork skins sprinkled with ground rice powder. Also on the plate is a big pile of thinly sliced, fork-tender, char-grilled boneless pork and a delicious egg cake made with beaten eggs and diced pork. Or, go less exotic with seafood over crunchy egg noodles ($14.95), similar to Chinese pan-fried noodles. The dish is full of shrimp, scallops, squid and veggies in a gentle clear sauce that softens the noodles nicely wherever they touch the sauce.

Service: If you know a lot about Vietnamese cooking, servers will take your order and serve you without explanation. Novices, on the other hand, can educate their culinary transactions just by asking.

Sweet!: Try the rainbow-hued and totally addictive three bean color drink ($3.50), with cubes and strings of colored gelatin, red and yellow mung beans, and coconut milk. Equally enjoyable is the vanilla-tasting taro bubble tea shake ($4.95), with big tapioca pearls you suck through wide straws.

— Judith Stocks