Hai Ky Vietnamese Cafe on Bee Caves Road—Who's Tried It?

[MPH]

I've nearly been run into twice by folks on their way to Hai Ky who don't know how to navigate this already-overly-crowded parking lot. Last week during the evening, I noticed a good crowd at the restaurant; customers seemed fewer at the same time this week. Yet there were still more evening customers at Hai Ky than there ever were at Cafe Brix.

Has anyone been there yet? What's on the menu? Is the food the same quality as that served at Hai Ky's other locations? What's the word from the chowhound community?

[shan]

We went there last Thursday. They were holding an art gallery opening/exhibition that night. They had free appetizers for the people attending the exhibition, so every moocher on the planet was there for mediocre art. They should have shut the restaurant down, but instead were serving customers who didn't realize what they were walking into. When we arrived, there were only a couple people there, but it quickly filled up with people standing around. The art gallery types were crashing at tables (I particularly enjoyed the ones who thought backing their posteriors practically over my food was acceptable) and one paying couple actually stood up and moved to another section in the front.

I had the dumplings as an appetizer. They were unmemorable. Not bad, but not wonderful either. My husband had a noodle bowl with pork. It was okay, but there wasn't much depth of flavor and he got bored with it pretty quick.

I had the pad thai with pork. I thought it was excellent and one of the better pad thai dishes I've had in Austin.

So, while I enjoyed the pad thai, I was less than impressed with the place. I was unhappy having to pay to eat while mooching art types glared at me for taking up a table they could crash. I may go back there again, but it won't be anytime soon.

[rudeboy]

Pad Thai at a Vietnamese place? Do they have some sort of a fusion menu?

Sorry about the art opening. The chronicle used to list all of the art openings under a banner that said "free wine and cheese." I know the type that you are referring to!

[chucklesmcfarland]

For a Viet place they do have a varied menu, which I welcome. They also have a Singaporean noodle dish.

[voodo]

I work off Bee Caves and was so happy to see the new Hai Ky had open. Lunch crowd on a Thursday wasn't bad at all, but not nearly empty like Cafe Brix often was. They have a long, bar-style table in the middle, perfect for lone lunchers like me. The menu is exactly the same as the Oltorf location menu (are there other Hai Kys out there?). I have a favorite, the spicy garlic tofu bowel, that I love and get often. Great sauce, fried tofu, fresh broccoli and veggies, and of course lots of it. Practically identical to the Oltorf version, except the tofu was cut a little smaller, making it a little tougher (maybe it was a firmer type of tofu as well), but beyond that it was just how I like it.

I was so excited about this new location (lunch was getting boring) and it's all I can want - and without having to wade through crack-heads to get there! (No dig on E. Oltorf, I lived there 2 years, but it can get pretty shady.)

[chucklesmcfarland]

So, where is it? Anyone have an address?

[MPH]

Hai Ky Cafe is in the old Cafe Brix location at 3736 Bee Caves Road. See also:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/444518

You'll find this address on the Reveille end of the Walgreen's shopping center that's located on the north side of the intersection with Westbank Drive.

I recently tried a tofu vermicelli bowl at Hai Ky. As voodo described, it came with broccoli and other vegetables. I ordered mine with "lemongrass sauce"—which tasted mostly like soy sauce. The fried tofu was tough and dry. Nonetheless, the tofu bowl was a great option compared to the Vietnamese sandwich with BBQ pork (appetizer), the vermicelli bowl with grilled pork, and the fried Vietnamese rolls (appetizer), listed in order of increasing offensiveness. To me, nothing that I sampled was truly delicious. I didn't try their pad thai.

Post-opening, the scene was much more mellow that what Shan described. I didn't love the food, though, so this probably won't be one of my regular spots. I might give the tofu bowls another try at some point in the very distant future.

[tokyomonamour]

I love the lemongrass tofu bowl. Get it at Oltorf location all the time (and I currently live in that dump of a neighborhood) so I welcome the chance to get my fix near work. Also love a dish with fresh flat rice noodles, veggies, and shrimp (the name of which I can't remember) and I use that dark brown sauce and sriracha as a dip for it. I think it's a healthy fresh alternative for lunch in Westlake (those who work around there can relate, I'm sure).

[MPH]

The tofu bowl may be vegetarian, but it contains an awful lot of soy sauce to be considered "healthy." But that's just my take. I also work around Westlake, at least some of the time. I still want something delicious for lunch. On this visit, Hai Ky's lemongrass tofu bowl (and everything else sampled) was not delicious. Amongst the nearby options, currently I'm enjoying the grilled cheese with fried tomato and bacon at Bountiful Bakery that Brian Lindauer told me about. I also like several dishes at Thai Kitchen. Plus, from Bee Caves Road, it's an easy drive to south, central, and even east Austin.

After you've tried the lemongrass tofu bowl at Cafe Hai Ky's Westlake location, perhaps you can compare it to the version offered at the East Oltorf original? If the tofu at the East Oltorf branch is much better, maybe I'll make a special trip to check it out. Otherwise I'll just assume that Hai Ky's chow is just not my bowl of tea, so to speak.

[chucklesmcfarland]

I consider it one of those every now and again places, they are very heavy with the sauce, subtle it is not, nor really healthy.
Their other offerings like pad thai or singaporean noodles would probably be better if you prefer something not so extreme.

On my scale of tofu noodle bowl ferocity, I'd score Hay Ki and Kim Phung at 10, Tan Tan about a 7, Le Soleiel around 5, Dong Nai about 4, Sea Dragon a 3. Tam and Sunflower score a 0 meaning that they actually moved beyond subtlety into bland and we don't order tofu there anymore.

Note that this is not a scale of preference but of intensity as I at different times crave different flavors.

That reminds me, there is a Sea Dragon up near the Lakeline area and their menu and food is identical to the mothership as far as I can tell.

[tokyomonamour]

ok, I had the favored lemongrass tofu there yesterday with vermicelli noodles. Ugh, so salty and over-sauced. Inedible. Truly. My mouth hurt after a few bites. It was pitched. I would normally complain to the manager about such a crappy waste of $7, but was late going back to work.

Here it is... wait for it... You were right!