46684 Wed Jun 14 02:08:11 -0700 2006 7 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 231965 I was getting a quick lunch at Vietnam 2 at Larkin and Ellis. I ordered your standard Beef Chow Fun. It's very common yes, but most places "F" it up (i.e., too soggy, too much sauce, too salty, too much soy, the meat is like beef jerky, etc.). You get the point. But they did a good job, not too much oil, the noodles were "al dente" haha, beef was fresh, and had a good amount of sprouts, white and green onions, YUMMY! The funny story was this Caucasian couple came in. They looked like they were in their late 30's early 40's, casually dressed in jeans/t shirts. Nothing out of the ordinary. They sat down and was served tea. So the guy was looking at the menu and started asking about whether this place served chinese food. I guess they thought that it was Vietnamese, but the menu also had a good amount of Chinese food. He asked the waiter about the chow mein, fried rice, what kind of stuff the meal contained, etc. This lasted a few minutes and then he ordered the combination fried rice. His gf/wife/lady friend said something like (to the waiter), "i really don't feel comfortable about the food", we were expecting Chinese and not this kind of stuff. She then got up with the man and left. WTF?! Did they expect something like Panda express food, chop suey, won ton soup, and things like that? I guess they were tourist living around the motel near the corner. It's too bad they did not try some of the stuff on the menu. Vietnam 2 is by no means exotic or really "ethnic!" Their loss..... Wed Jun 14 02:08:11 -0700 2006 0 badbatzmaru 1 231969 I guess that could be funny, but it's really kinda sad. Among other things, why would they expect Chinese food in a restaurant named "Vietnam 2." Wed Jun 14 02:50:27 -0700 2006 231965 0 Ruth Lafler 2 232103 This reminds me of an episode of "King of the Hill" when the Laotian neighbors move into the neighborhood. Dale asks the Laotian father, "Are you Chinese or Japanese?" The father replies that he is from Laos. And Dale says, "So are you Chinese or Japanese?" But it is true how we have many choices of Chinese cuisine such as Old Mandarin Islamic, Shanghai Dumpling House, Spices I & II, Dim Sum, as well as the enormous amount of Cantonese, Szechwan, Hunan, and other regional cuisines. Wed Jun 14 16:28:44 -0700 2006 231969 0 Aaron Pierce 3 232249 You know you're spoiled when you have trouble deciding which sichuan place is the right spiciness to suit your palate today. Thu Jun 15 12:36:17 -0700 2006 232103 0 Larry 1 232017 Unless you spend time in middle America, you have no idea how educated our palates have become. This isn't a knock, we're just spoiled for choice. The flyover states go out for Chinese, we have to decide what kind of Chinese we want. Wed Jun 14 12:55:29 -0700 2006 231965 0 Larry 2 232238 Yes...I remember being served BREAD(!) at a "Chinese"(?) restaurant in Columbus, Ohio! But the obvious question here is ....The name of the restaurant is "Vietnam 2" why would a midwesterner (if that is what they really were!) think it was a Chinese Restaurant???! Thu Jun 15 10:51:45 -0700 2006 232017 0 ChowFun (derek) 3 232247 Get the DVD's of "King of the Hill" or google "US Geography Education". A vast ortion of the US population can barely point to their own country on the map, much less differentiate between countries in Asia. My parents are getting older and keep trying to convince me to move to Arkansas to be closer to them. I couldn't imagine being forced to decide between cashew chicken or sweet & sour pork (with pineaple!). I usually tell them I'm not related to anybody down there so who would I date? Thu Jun 15 12:33:52 -0700 2006 232238 0 Larry 4 232272 Larry... THANK YOU!!! That made my day...I'm still smiling....welcome to Chow Nirvana! Here we can also choose between Northern and Southern Vientnamese cuisine....we are blessed...... now if they only had NY pizza, SouthernItalian American...deli....oh well..a good reason to visit the East! Thu Jun 15 13:42:03 -0700 2006 232247 0 ChowFun (derek)