Adventure 47: Vientiane Palace

Vientiane Palace-Regent (no website)
1441 Regent St.
3 Adjectives: Flavorful, soupy, Americanized
Price: entree (5-13)
Authenticity:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
Other Opinions: dailypageforum, ...
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After my trip to Campus Biryani, I noticed a new restaurant had opened next door after Trapani's disappearance. I was very excited about the opening of a new Vietnamese/Thai/Lao restaurant near my apartment and had to go quickly investigate with a friend.

The inside of the restaurant had a similar layout to that of the neighboring Campus Biryani. However, the quality of the furniture and decorations seemed to be slightly nicer.

For an appetizer, we decided to be adventurous and try the deep fried calamari wrapped sausage. The idea sounded appealing, but the result and the execution of the dish (above left) was mediocre. The sausage turned out to be wrapped in a dried and hardened layer of calamari and did not look especially appetizing. The dish turned out to taste okay minus the fact that it was a bit dry, even after dipping it into a ginger soy sauce.

For our entrees, I decided to go more standard and order the curry squash (above) while my friend ordered a spicy beef dish. I had pretty high expectations for the curry squash as I routinely order it at Lao Laan Xang, so I was greatly disappointed when out came a soupy curry with about five bite-size chunks of chicken. In addition, I really could not identify any distinct pieces of squash, but there was a great overabundance of onion. Luckily, all the favors seemed to go well and I had plenty of it left over. The spicy beef dish was also pretty average (but had more meat) and though it did not contain curry, had similar Americanized-Asian flavors as the curry (so much so that I was able to mix the two leftovers into a pan the next day and cook it with pasta and it still tasted fine).

I did not leave Vientinane Palace very satisfied. The over souped- little curry bothered me to the extent that I would apply the "less is more" standard where the restaurant should have simply reduced the amount of sauce and onion in the food. If you are looking for cheap Southeast Asian food, I would wholeheartedly recommend Rising Son's on State instead.