"This is my go to viet family restaurant in east side San Jose. From birthdays to graduations to different holidays, my family always come here to celebrate. This time, we came on a Monday evening to celebrate a birthday. We arrived at the restaurant at 8pm and there were only 2 other families aside from us. We were seated and they took our order right away. Our food came out soon after, fresh off the stove. Salt and Pepper Fried Fish: this is one of my favorite dishes here. The catfish was battered and fried in a what that made it stay crunchy until the end of the meal. The fish itself was very light and flaky with no distinguishable taste on its own. After coming out of the frier, the fish was tossed in salt and pepper. There was just the right amount of salt and pepper to help flavor the fish and not overpower the entire dish Walnut Shrimp: usually pretty solid but kinda dropped the ball this time. The battered crust from being fried was already kinda soggy by the time the dish got to us. Usually it's crispy and hot, but this time, it was very underwhelming. You can barely tell the difference between the shrimp and the batter. The sauce was still pretty good though, but how can you go wrong with Mayo and condensed milk. The walnuts was still de lightly with the candied coating outside. Sour soup with catfish: I don't know what they put in this but it really is my favorite restaurant for this dish. The soup itself was the right kind of sour that they probably achieved using pineapple juice as broth. The mix of green herbs added a very pleasant flavor that really elevated the taste, but they put a little too much in my opinion. The tomatos, bean sprouts, and other vegetables were cooked throughly, with the flavor of the soup penetrating them. They gave us less fish this time around though, as they would have given us 3 pieces of catfish, but they only gave us 2 this time around. Clams in Black Bean Sauce (not pictured): we always get this as a family as it is a solid appetizer. You really need to eat the clams when they first come out as the longer they sit out, the more they develop a fishy/briny taste. The sauce is very good and I often pour this sauce over my rice. The wait staff has been here for a long time and treat everyone like family... if you speak Vietnamese/Chinese. They will take care of you and make sure that you're enjoying your food though. Overall... a very solid Vietnamese family style restaurant with dishes to share with friends or family."
