Thanh Duoc Restaurant

Had a horrible experience here a week ago! We came for lunch to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. It was our first time here and was also the last time. The waiting staff put us in a corner of the restaurant and apparently no one noticed we were there the entire time. After ordering food we did not get any service until we were almost finished; we had to approach the owner at the front reception area to demand service.
The food was scarce for the price they listed. I think they were low on food inventory that day. Every plate was small and not enough to go around. Felt sorry for some people we invited to join us. They were all disappointed!
I’m usually very generous in rating restaurants… but this one really earned the one-​star from me.

Came here to try the Banh Canh Cua. I was sooooo glad that they still served it during dinner time. My girlfriend and I came here during some kind of event so they sectioned it off for the event guest and for regular customers.
The Banh Canh Cua which is a Thick broth soup with thick udon noodles with Crab and other seafood bits inside it.
I generally like the broth to be thick but at this location it was pretty watery. Still flavorful none the less but what really turned me off about my bowl was that its called a Banh Canh Cua but all that was in it was fried fish and 1 crab claw.
Each bowl is $ 8 which is awesome. Very affordable !

I’d really give this place a 3.5 based on the food, but 4 stars for the big space, cleanliness, and service. My sister wanted to try something new so I Unilocaled this place and saw a picture of the salt and pepper crab with tamarind sauce and said let’s go here!
FAIL! cuz we didn’t even try it!
We ended up ordering the spring roll appetizer, Bo loc lac (or however you say beef salad in Vietnamese), tofu curry, steamed sea bass with Ginger and green onion, mixed seafood with mixed vegetable stir fry, with a side of steamed rice.
Some of the stuff here is pricey! Especially the seafood, 18 bucks for our sea bass. It was only a portion of the fish, not whole and it was ok. Not worth the money.
The tofu curry had a good flavor, it’s more like Indian flavored curry, but it only has tofu, onion and bell peppers in it with a little bit of sauce. Ehh I guess they were really literal with the title because usually vegetarian curry comes with other stuff like potatoes and veggies! Don’t order this unless you really love tofu and would like to eat a big plate of tofu by itself.
Beef salad? My sister said it was really good and it looked good. But I don’t eat meat so I didn’t try it :(…
The seafood vegetable stir fry 11 bucks and not worth it. The flavor is good, but it’s like you’re paying 11 bucks for a plate of broccoli, I’d say skip it and order something else. Plus the scallops in it were undercooked! I tasted one and it was cold and literally tasted like hand soap.
Basically this place is a little pricey depending on what you order, and some plates taste good but aren’t worth the price. Id probably come back though just to try the tamarind crab and salted stir fried shrimp though. This place is definitely for family style dining and expect to pay 15+ per person.

I didn’t get a chance to try their tamarind crab here (their signature dish). However, I will be back with a group of friends to try it!
I actually didn’t like the décor at this restaurant at all. I couldn’t get over the purples around the room and the purple chairs. This restaurant does look a bit tacky and the food was ok. I’ll come here again with friends but this is not a good date place.
I ordered the clear noodles seafood broth dish. It was hearty and filled me up for lunch. The service is fast and the restaurant is big. So, it’s a good group place.

Various string instruments hung on the walls to spruce up the plain, though spacey, ambiance. My only impression of Vietnamese cuisine was phở and sandwiches, so I looked forward to trying other dishes. Surprisingly, much of the menu had Chinese-​style dishes, so we decided to go with spring rolls and vermicelli noodles:
Spring rolls – I loved that the skin was translucent and yet strong and chewy. There was a pleasant surprise of mint leaves tucked along with the shrimp, noodles, and lettuce.
Vermicelli with pork and eggrolls
Vermicelli with BBQ beef wrapped around green onions – I was glad I ordered this because the beef and green onions had a zesty flavor.
Each vermicelli bowl also came with a fish sauce.
Although I liked the flavor profile of the food, I wasn’t particularly satisfied with the atmosphere and the service. It’s a good start to trying more Vietnamese dishes, however.

Food is good, service is great, price is a little high.
I ordered the Grilled Chicken with Lemon Grass and it was delicious.
Also loved the salad and the sauce.

Came here yesterday evening to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday. I don’t think my family made reservations because the restaurant is pretty big and 1 large round table can hold 10 of us.
We did not order any of the items family-​style but there is a revolving table like in most Asian restaurants. we placed our teas and condiments on it.
The menu ranges from: beef noodle soup, vermicelli dishes, broken rice plates, Chinese dishes (beef chow fun, fried rice, chow mein), rice dishes (shaken beef, lemongrass chicken, etc.) to so many others. I was not able to memorize the different selections.
My Grandma, 2 of my Aunts, my Aunt’s partner all raved about #8 so that is what I ordered. dry egg noodles (sauteed of course but no soup/​broth) w/​Thai peanut sauce along w/​cilantro and deep fried butterfly shrimps. I admit I never ordered anything like this before but it tasted really good otherwise I wouldn’t have finished the entire thing! I added chili/​garlic sauce to my dish in heaping amounts which added excellency to the taste! My Daughter ordered the beef ball soup which was also good, the broth was very flavorful. The rest of the family ordered broken rice plates and their regular rice entrees and finished them so that is clearly a good sign.
The service was very quick and the server was attentive– probably cause my Aunt and Grandma frequents the place. I brought in desserts: whoopie pies and they brought out extra napkins for us which was nice. I’ve heard of some restaurants charging for plate/​cake service but in this case it wasn’t a cake and we only needed napkins.
Prices are very reasonable. I think the most expensive dish on the menu from what I can view quickly was the rice w/​shaken beef for $ 13.95 otherwise the rest are below the $ 10 mark.
Would I check this place out again? Of course. I want to try their vermicelli and broken rice plates. the portion seem just right and not skimpy-​looking like most broken rice plates joints.

We celebrated my fiancé’s aunt and uncle’s 35^th anniversary at this location. I think this is a popular venue for such occasions as well as for wedding receptions. The food here is fantastic! Much better than any Chinese banquet food I have ever tasted.
Crab: we devoured it! Very tasty!
Quail: this was just ok, not much meat, but the heart shaped glutinous rice thing was good and very unhealthy.
Crab Soup: Good
Tamarind shrimp: my favorite dish that night! A tad tangy.
There were other dishes but I don’t remember them… food coma. But seriously almost everything I ate was yummy. Oh and we saw the male host from Paris by Night and took a picture with him!

This is more like 3.5 stars.
I was in the mood for tomato rice, and this place popped up when I ran a Unilocal search for tomato rice. So off the mister and I went for lunch on a Saturday (today). The décor looked pretty much the way it looks in the Unilocal photos – kinda strange with the purple chairs and neon lights next to Chinese lanterns.
So I was pleasantly surprised with everything else. Service was very quick for most of our time there; we just never got the server back to pick up our bill, but otherwise, the tea and food came out pretty quickly. It was very clean inside and reminded me more of a Chinese restaurant than a Vietnamese restaurant.
The food was pretty good. I ordered the Bo Luc Lac (shaking beef) which is «cubed beef» on their menu, and it comes with tomato rice. Really good! The beef was cooked medium well and was very sweet and tender. The tomato rice hit the spot. Cost $ 10.25.
Boyfriend ordered the Mi Tom Cua (shrimp crab egg noodle soup) which had a decent broth and noodles, but just 1 crab claw and 2 shrimp, lol. We admired the craftsmanship in which they trimmed the crab shell from the crab meat though.
You can use your Visa or Mastercard here, but there’s a $ 10 minimum.
I would come back here for the Bo Luc Lac.

The quality of dinner here really depends on what you order. Last time I ate here was much better, so here are some specific recommendations:
–Goi gan bo kho (blackened beef liver & green papaya salad)
–Xoi chien phong voi ga quay (fried sweet rice & roasted chicken)
–Cha ca thang long (grilled fish fillet)
–Canh chua thai lan (sour seafood soup)
–Ca sea bass chien don (fried sea bass)
–Ca kho to (catfish in claypot)
Sharing the dishes family style is good when you have a big group; you also get to try a little bit of everything. Some things to note:
–We ordered this much food for 8 people and were all pretty stuffed, with some leftovers to take home
–The roasted chicken is quite oily, but still pretty tasty
–The cha ca (grilled fish) tastes good but is made differently than what my family is used to (& prefers). No tumeric, less dill, no ca cuong, and the fish is a fillet. Our family is pretty picky about this dish cuz my mom makes really bomb cha ca at home… so we may be a bit biased. Still good though.
–Canh chua is more spicy than sweet (but not overly spicy)
–The sea bass and catfish in claypot are good but taste more on the fishy side; probably best for people who like the taste of fish

I thought this place was OK, but my dinner party seemed to think otherwise. We had a large party of about 15 people or so for our grandparents birthday.
The service was very accommodating. They were quick with the wait, and also quick with orders and bringing out food. No complaints there, its hard to find good service in Asian restaurants sometimes.
The food was okay for me. I had simple hu tieu, which I imagine isn’t hard to mess up. My sister had hu tieu, but the clear glass noodle kind. We also had pineapple fried rice. That was good. All of it was standard, and nothing blew me away, but it was good enough for me.

This place is named after the owner, Thanh Duoc, whom was a popular opera singer. and when you look at the wall décor, you can see the varieties of instruments he used to play, as well as old photographs.
They have fresh orchids thriving at each table. with a special florist that comes by as well… so the ambiance is great.
And for the food is even better.
— The hieu tieu is pretty good.
— bo luc lac is great.
— Bun thit nuong is par for the course.
— eggrolls are addicting as well.
— Phở is decent, but not the best i’ve had by any means.
Worth going to for lunch or dinner, although I’ve only been for lunch, and heard about dinner banquets here.

Just took my S.O. here for an early birthday lunch because we were craving crabs and this was the closest thing around his place that had some good reviews on crab (that wasn’t boiling crab or crab in sushi)
We ordered Pan Stirred and Salted Crab, Steamed Rice, Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce, and Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce and pan fried garlic.
So the star of the show was the crab. It was so yummy in my tummy. The batter was thin, crispy, and had a lot of flavor! They gave us crab crackers but we didn’t even need it because the crab broke so easily. I would definitely order it again. We must have looked like savages because they gave us extra wipes for when we are done eating. I know I must have had crab all over my face and fingers. Came to be about $ 28 for the crab alone, so be prepared. Its seasonal.
The shrimp was aight. It wasn’t my favorite, and for the price (not cheap), the portion didn’t match.
The Chinese broccoli was okay too. Probably would have preferred it to have less garlic, it was a little overpowering.
We got there at 11:30 and was served and done eating by 12:30. Service was pretty good, granted we got there before the lunch rush though, but didn’t seem too busy when we left.
— 1 star for being more expensive on a lot of dishes that I could have gotten from Jade China for half the price and double the serving.

Banquet-​style dinner here tonight. Had several courses. Here goes:
Crab (?) soup was good. Pineapple salad was delicious and not overpoweringly sweet. Fried sticky rice with quail was pretty good. Shaking beef was excellent.
Butterfly shrimp was alright, but most of the additional flavor was in the tail and shell.
Fried rice was kinda dry. Steamed ginger bass was dry and bland.
Would have given 3 stars. However, nice décor and really lovely purple orchids won me over.

************* REVIEW 112 ****************
My brother had been asking us to come here for months because of the famous dish «Crispy Sticky Rice». So we finally came in this week. The place is big, clean, and the menu is very typical Vietnamese restaurant.
Beside their regular menu, the special menu to serve 6 people or 10 people tables are big hit here. We looked around & it seems as every other tables ordered that so we did.
We ordered the «Crispy Sticky Rice with Chicken» as my brother was so looking forward to it. The crispy rice was golden outside & still sticky inside, he wished it was more golden & crunchier for his taste.
My niece ordered the «Chow Mein with Beef» — it was just OK!
For $ 95 you this many dishes:
1. Pineapple salad w/​shredded daikon, carott, pork, shrimp. This was fresh, sweet & sour at the same time.
2. Crispy Deboned Fried Duck — sit over a bed of brocolli & snap pea — We didn’t care for this dish at all.
3. Vietnamese Salt and Pepper Crab with Tamarind — The sweet tamarind sauce was very nice & tasty.
4. Shaking Beef — they used filet mignon & the meat was tender. However, it was under marinated, so it was just blend. Too much bell-​pepper which overpower the aroma of the beef itself.
5. Vietnamese Cat Fish Simmered in Caramel Sauce — It was OK.
6. Sweet & Sour Shrimp Soup — This combination of shrimp, Bac Ha, bean sprout, pineapple, tomato, Ngo Om, onion, in a gently sweet-​sour tamarind broth. The broth was very tasty & authentic.
7. Cold Sweeten Tofu for dessert.
Service, the place was packed for mother’s day weekend. We had to wait to be served & many times, our server was hardly been found!
For value: 5 stars.
For Food: 3 stars.
For Service: What service?
For location: out of the way!

Surprisingly GOOD.
Ordered the following:
(1) Tamarind crab — not too sweet, not too salty, Goldilocks just right.
(2) Salted prawns — crunchy, nicely peppered, batter a bit too thick, but quite tasty
(3) Sour soup with the sea bass — piping hot with bean sprouts, tomatoes, and pineapple chunks; flavors infused well
(4) Chinese broccoli — the least appealing of all the dishes, but you need your greens!
You are pretty much set.
Very affordable quality seafood dinner in Milpitas. Dinner for 4 with beer was $ 87.
Just don’t let your eyeballs stray away from the food or else you will be distracted by the 90’s teal horror show of the place.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND the tamarind crab, salted prawns, and the sour sea bass soup.

Looking for a simple Asian style dinner near Great Mall and found this place on Unilocal.I was a bit hesitant because the restaurant was pretty empty during dinner time on a Wednesday. Wise old wisdom will tell you this is not a good sign. I felt lucky and decided to give it a try.
For dinner of 2 I have ordered :
1) Crispy duck boneless duck with vegetables — (⁴⁄₅ stars) — The duck was fried to perfection. (Japanese tonkatsu style) Crispy on the outside yet juicy inside. Even the vegetables were tasty. The gravy went really well with the duck. Highly recommend this dish.
2) Sauteed cube beef with bell pepper — (3.5÷5 stars) — The beef was seasoned with pepper but not spicy at all. The meat was tender and juicy.
3) Shredded pork and grilled pork rice plate — (³⁄₅ stars) — Came with sweet and sour fish sauce. The grilled pork is a bit too dry but still tasty. The rice came out rather cold which is a big minus.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the food. The portion was quite generous so I end up taking half the stuff to go. I am curious how their phos are. I might come here again for lunch.

A great restaurant in a small little mall with plenty of parking spots
The food is quite tasty, and I am amaze it was not too busy on a Sat night! So It’s great for big group of people.
— Beef salad roll — good
–Shaken beef cubes with bell pepper — EXCELLENT
— boneless duck with veggie — GREAT
— Pork and fish clay pot — tasty but not too colorful
— Lemongrass chicken — ok
— fried cat fish — ok
— Avocado shakes — good
They close at 9pm on Sat night, which is a little early…

Came here for lunch on Friday to celebrate my BFF’s b-​day. Since she tends to like food from different walks of life, I wasn’t surprised that she suggested Vietnamese, but I was thankful she chose something different than Thai.
Anyway, I used the power of Unilocal to find a restaurant that was in a location for us to meet and that had decent if not really good reviews. We arrived before the lunch crowd and our service experience was great. I knew Michelle would love the ambiance just from the pictures posted, and if you read her review, I was spot on that read.
Since I have had 1 other Vietnamese food experience in the last 5 years, I defaulted to things I was familiar with. Egg rolls (of sorts) and a lemongrass chicken dish. The egg rolls were tasty and came to what seemed like twice fried. This could be because they were day old, but lucky for them (and us) both Michelle and I like things extra crispy. Her dish was much tastier than mine. My dish was B.L.A.N.D. I could hardly taste the lemongrass and the chicken was thin and overcooked. I think I said something like, «I did not choose wisely» after I took the first bite.
The 3 stars is because the food was fresh. The atmosphere and service were both good and the company was great. I think we will try something else next time… and Michelle, if you are reading, how about going Greek next time (if you know what I mean)…

I only tried one dish and it was very tasty. I had the simmered lemongrass chicken with red pepper rice plate ($ 7.75). It reminded me of claypot chicken — highly flavorful, tender chicken chunks, onions, scallions and short grain rice. It wasn’t too salty. Everyone else liked their food too, though the noodle soups were on the small side. It’s not the cheapest place but moderately priced. They had plaques and awards on one wall (recognition for their food).
This restaurant is spacious enough to accommodate very large groups. The décor is all over the place with classical Asian string instruments on the wall, hanging lanterns, nightclub strobe lights, multiple stages, neon lighting and awful bright magenta chairs. A fresh orchid plant adorns each table. It looks like they’re aiming for the banquet market.
The lunch menu differs from the dinner menu. For lunch they have appetizers, phở, noodle soups, rice plates, and vermicelli bowls. The pineapple fried rice (served in a hollowed out pineapple) seemed popular with other diners. Lots to choose from for both lunch and dinner.
There’s a banh mi shop in the same mini mall (Nhu Lan) that also caught my eye but it isn’t open on Sundays. Their sign said that sandwiches are 20% off on Saturdays. The mini mall is close to the Great Mall and there’s an Indian place called Tirupathi Bhimas that also caught my eye (it was crowded inside and they have Indian-​Chinese items).