"In the evening of the New Year of the Moon, I was invited to a free event in Phong Dinh, a Vietnamese restaurant known for its exotic meat dishes. When the opportunity came up to try a 12 course menu at the place for free, I jumped on the occasion. The first dish they served us were the Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. It is very similar to Filipino fresh lumps. But here you have to assemble it yourself. They give you a dish of mixed herbs. Another plate with dice carrots, slices of cucumber, bean sprouts. Then a bowl of a sweet sauce that could have tamarind and fish sauce in it. Last but not least you will get a bowl of warm water and a stack of rice paper shaped like tortillas. It requires a dexterity test where you quickly turn the rice paper around the water to moisten it. Then use it to wrap the vegetables and sauce. Personally, I found that I had to dip the rice paper into the water to be a little chore. I'm not in the self-packing thing. Overall, the fresh spring roll tasted like fresh lumps – which I don't really like. I prefer the fried version better. There was much leftover rice paper when everything was said and done. The second dish that arrived was Quail Eggs Wrapped in Shrimp Paste and Battered with Sweet Rice Flake. I liked this court, and also the rest of the people in my group. The shrimp paste was not as strong as Bagoong. It was more like a little egg covered with crab cake. The texture of the egg together with the dough complicated itself perfectly. This dish was completely eaten. The 3rd court to come was the house special baked catfish. This requires a pre-order as it takes at least 30 minutes to bake the fish. You can order it 3 sizes – small, medium and large. I think we were served a medium-sized cat and a little smaller one. When I say medium – this fish was at least 10 lbs. Fish can be very large. You could definitely taste the earthy taste of catfish that puts on some people, but I grew up eating catfish. The best part of the catfish bowl was the lower half that softened the sauce where it was served. The upper half was moist, but rather bland in taste. The group ended both catfishes. The 4th court was Shrimp Pork with Lotus Root Sour Salad. I took a bite and almost spit out. It has Cilantro and some other foul herbs that are not with most people on my table. It also had jellyfish. Maybe only 2 or 3 people in my group (of 12) liked the court. Of course, the court was not ready. The 5th court was Charbroiled Ground Snake rolled into “Lot Leaves”. Visually, it reminded me of sushi, but most sushi I can tolerate – this was just rough. Again, there was a kind of herb or season that most people in my group did not like. The 6th dish was Manila Clams with Bell Pepper, Garlic and Chili. How can you go wrong with Manila mussels? The group liked this dish – it was almost like eating clams in lobster sauce. The 7th court was Sauteed Boar in Curry Sauce. It was accompanied by Whole black Sesame Rice Crackers. I guess the meat and the sauce should be eaten with the crackers. The crackers looked beautiful, but their taste was very dirty. It really needed the sauce to give it taste. The wild boar had a very gamous taste – almost like lamb or goats. The curry was mild, very similar to Thai curry. The 8th dish was Diced Venison Sauteed with onions. Do you know how Kung pao tastes beef? Okay, now set this up with venison and this is basically what it is – kung pao venison. We liked it, but did not find preparation to be exotic. The Venison was moist and delicate. Before serving us the 9th dish, they gave us a break and cleaned our palates with two veggie dishes – water spinach and bushchoy with garlic. The Bok Choy was good, but not distinctive. But the water spinach, also known as Kangkong – it was perfectly served. Not overhauled and seasoned exactly right – this is a rareness in most Chinese restaurants serving water spinach. I had to visit the rest room and the fiery presentation of the 10. Plate, Kgaroo Sauteed missed with wine flame. Basically, they put wine on the kangaroo dish on a hot plate that leads to a fiery volcanic spectacle. I still came back in time to see the bowl. The 11th court was Alligator with lemongrass. Have you ever been a frog or an event rabbit? Alligator reminded me of this meat. The taste of the dish was okay, but the meat did nothing for me. The 12th dish was chicken with lemongrass and chili. The chicken was better than the alligator. Overall, the best I liked was the meat that was most familiar. I would recommend if you try this place, call in advance to order the baked catfish in advance. You have a small private parking lot. Otherwise, his street parking."
