VIETNAM PALACE - Ottawa ON

This is the first part of my #lotwfallcatchup series, getting my reviews from months ago done as soon as possible.

One of my favourite places for chicken wings in Toronto is Pho Hung; I love their wings. Since I moved back to Ottawa a few years ago, I was disappointed to not have access to them anymore. The wings are called "CÁNH GÀ CHIÊN BƠ (CAY)" or special fried chicken wings spicy. At one point I was looking at Vietnamese menu's in Ottawa and some places just had chicken wings, some none, and then I came across Vietnam Palace, and there on the menu was "Fried Chicken Wings • Cánh gà chiên chya cay". Well I knew at some point I was going to have to go.

A year or so went by, and finally I was on my own for dinner, and I had a craving and decided to see if Vietnam Palace (VP) would satisfy the craving I was missing. I left to be there around 4:30 (I wanted to go early and avoid the dinner rush), but it was a crazy thunder, lighting and rain storming downtown and by the time I got there it was just moments before 5. Vietnam Palaces is a huge building located in Chinatown, and I was happy they had parking. As I parked, the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and I could proceed with my wing journey.

Actually, if there had been no storm, I would have been in trouble, because I wouldn't have been late, and as I found out, VP doesn't open until 5pm (they close from 3-5pm). Fate I guess.

VP is large and has multiple dining spaces. It's clean, lightly decorated if not just slightly dated. There's an upstairs, but I never ventured up. I had my pick of seats, and ended up in the back where lighting was decent and I wouldn't be to obvious for photo taking. My waitress was cordial and brought me my menu, and my requested glass of water.

My go-to at Pho Hung is the wings, as well as crispy spring rolls. I did this, but the Hot & Sour soup was speaking to me. The menu was very reasonably priced, so I felt like splurging.

The soup came out first, served in a very tall bowl. I know the Chinese for making Hot & Sour soup, so I didn't know what to expect from a Vietnamese restaurant, although it's basically the same. A small is $3.95 and was full of bamboo, shredded chicken, and tofu. The broth was very light in colour (I'm used to it being darker), and this soup was hot (temperature)! I mean you want something to warm your insides on a cold winter day, this is for you.

It had just a nice flavour. There was a bit of spice, but it was fleeting. The broth was thin, full of toppings, and just was very good. It took me a long time to eat because it was so hot!

Next my spring rolls came out. There are a variety of kinds, but I went with the Cha Gio 2 rolls ($2.50), crispy rolls filled with crab, pork, shrimp, vermicelli and onion. These were really tiny, so one could easily eat the 4 roll order. It's served with mint and fish sauce on the side for dipping.

Now I'm pretty good at handling chopsticks, but I wasn't being careful and while I was trying to dip, I had a slip. The roll went right off my chopsticks, onto the table, and rolled onto the floor before I could catch them.  I was not a happy camper.

When I did bite into it, it was crispy, and hot and fresh. The inside had a nice mixture in it, and went well with the fish sauce. If you haven't have had fish sauce, its slightly sweet, slightly sour and isn't fishy at all. These were good, if not tiny.

While I was eating my apps, my wings came out. They did not look at all what I was expecting (or hoping for) but they did catch my eye.

The wings didn't look ANYTHING like the ones I was used to, so I was a little bit disappointed. But these looked good and I decided I had to judge these on their own merit and couldn't compare them to Pho Hung because I just wouldn't be happy, or fair to VP.


The menu lists the wings as coming by the pound, and in a VP pound you get about 8 wings. They are pretty evenly split drums and flats, but the flats have half of their tips still left on. Not sure why they cut half the tip, but oh well. They are served on a bed of lettuce, which you can take as garnish, or a veggie on the side? They came sprinkled in white sesame seeds too which add not only a nice visual punch, but some texture and flavour as well. They were also served with a fork and a spoon, but I have no idea how to eat them like that, so I just used my fingers.

The wings were small. Ya, I wasn't impressed by the size. They were both short and scrawny pieces of chicken, and I'm pretty sure they are from frozen.

The texture of the skin of the wings were sticky and spongy. They weren't really crispy, but they weren't soggy either. The meat was relatively tender and the bones pulled apart ok.

The wings were coated in the sticky sauce, with every piece and every nook and cranny covered. But there wasn't a surplus of sauce on these wings either.

While the size of the wings were small, the flavour was bigger. The wings were sugary, salty, savory all at the same time. There was just a hint of heat, but it was a hint and not strong enough. Plus you get that little sesame jab in there too.

FINAL SCORE:

I really enjoyed my meal. Soup: good. Spring rolls: good. Wings: good. And for $16 it was nice to get to have a little variety. I was bummed about the size of the wings, but they have a nice sticky, tasty sauce to them. I would definitely go back to Vietnam Palace, but I probably skip the wings and try something else.

I guess I'm still on the hunt for a good cánh gà chiên bơ cay ...

7/14

Vietnam Palace
819 Somerset Street W, Ottawa ON
vietnampalacerestaraunt.ca