I went to VIP Bistro awhile ago and had even completed the review on it but lost it in when my computer crash. (Scroll down for quick review is you're too lazy read everything)
VIP Bistro is in Eden Center in Falls Church, VA. For the people that don't know where or what that is, it's the largest Vietnamese strip mall on the east coast of the US. You can find authentic Southeast Asian cuisine there at reasonable prices but sadly Eden Center is slowing catering to the curious non-Asian crowd. This means watered down food and price hikes but there is a plus side to this! The positives I have seen are better service and most importantly CLEANER establishments.
VIP Bistro is one of the newer restaurants which cater to a younger and Americanized crowd. This can be seen by their great service, colorful and contemporary decor, and higher prices. Fortunately the food is not watered down.
So I suggested this place to my dad and off we went for lunch! Our meal started out with cafe sua da (Vietnamese ice coffee served with sweetened condensed milk). This is a popular drink in Vietnam and is meant to be drank slowly. Think of the strongest coffee you've ever had at Starbucks and multiply it by 5. The strength and flavor of the coffee is obtained by a slow brew using a percolator. I was actually very impressed by their coffee. You might think "How hard is it to brew coffee?". Well, getting the correct water temperature to brew this coffee is very important. It's a chickory blend so if the water is too hot you'll burn the beans AND the chickory which will give the coffee almost a cigarette after taste. If the water is not hot enough you won't get a strong enough blend.
As an appetizer we had cha gio (Vietnamese egg rolls). It's quite different from a Chinese egg roll. The main differences are that it's smaller, doesn't have cabbage, is heavy on peppercorn, much more crispy, and eaten with a nuoc mum (consists of lime, chili peppers, fish sauce, garlic, and other stuff). There isn't much to say about their cha gio. It was good but not amazing. The most notable part of the dish was how fresh the greens were. Greens are a large part of Vietnamese food so the freshness of the greens are very important since they are eaten raw most of the time.
My dad and I inadvertently ordered the same entree. We ordered the beef with rice vermicelli. It was an average dish. The beef was a bit tough and under seasoned and the noun mum wasn't as flavorful as it should be.
Lunch for two ended up costing around $30 with tax and tip I think. I'm not quiet sure as it was awhile ago. $30 isn't too bad for 2 drinks, entrees, and an appetizer but I could of gone to Hai Duong which is across the street and ended up with better food for about $5 less. I would only go there again with someone who is hesitant to try authentic Vietnamese food although it's pretty authentic for the crowd it's targeting.
Run Down
Price: Moderate
Service: Good
Food: Average
Restaurant Decor/Setting: Good
6799 Wilson Boulevard #11
Falls Church, VA 22044
Falls Church, VA 22044
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