Thanks to Asian Sweet Bakery, I no longer need Chicago to get my fix of coconut rolls, BBQ pork bun, custard tarts, or red bean sesame balls. Dare I say it, do I even need donuts anymore? Moreover, their breakfast special and value pricing make me feel good about coming back often. I basically ordered everything I wanted to try during my first trip here, things I've been missing and craving, like steamed rice crepe with shrimp, rice porridge with fish and preserved egg. The beef and vermicelli noodle soup was good too, just a tad too much gristle. My hope is that they will expand or refresh the menu as business booms. Space is extremely limited, and it felt crowded by the cash register. We had to hover for a table during the Saturday lunch rush, but it's hard to complain when you see a family-owned business selling the stuff you like, doing well. Service was business-like but pleasant. I was pleased to see a variety of customers from older to younger folks, international students to transplanted locals, blue and white collar workers, with quick turnaround all around. I'm hoping this popularity will translate into a larger space in the future, but it may still be early yet. read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Fried shrimp and rice. Heads on, full flavor, not for the weak. - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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If only this place was closer!:( I took the 4 from downtown and arrived here. The service lady was so polite + sweet and immediately greeted me. She was very helpful with both Chinese and American customers, which is not something you can say about all authentic Chinese restaurants. The restaurant in itself is a small low maintenance joint that serves primarily Cantonese food as well as baked goods. Unlike the Asian restaurants on state street, Asian Sweet Bakery has a low key, authentic charm with very good pricing (large quantity noodle soups for $6ish and breads for $2). To note, Cantonese food is unlike the Americanized Chinese + Szechuanese food you will find on state street. Asian sweet bakery does not serve stir fry; they have noodle soups, "crepes" (aka chow fun nothing like French sweet crepes), fried rice, and baked goods The soup broths have a bitter savory flavor accompanied with whatever assortment you choose. The baked goods vary from savory to sweet and are often much lighter in density compared to American baked goods, meaning they feel like clouds in your mouth and do not sit like rocks in your tummy. I ordered the BBQ chow fun and the beef shank wonton noodle soup and then got a coconut bun and "Chinese tamale";) to go. Both dishes really hit the spot because it was such a cold winter day. The noodle soup broth was hot + filling and came with lots of noodle, vegetable, and beef as well. In terms of the BBQ chow fun, the taste is wonderful. I only wish they would add just a little more BBQ pork. Overall- Authentic off site Cantonese with all the good quality and service money can buy read more

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Asian Sweet Bakery is a nice little Asian cafe and bake shop in maybe a not-so-well-known area of Madison, but is worth the trip if only for their buns! Everything in their glass showcase seems to be housemade and tastes exactly like the type of buns you would get in Asia or in any major China-town area in any big city like NYC. They're big, fluffy, subtle (but delicious) in flavor, and incredibly inexpensive. The couple who runs the Bakery is also very sweet so it only adds to the positivity of their already awesome goods. For actual real savory food when you don't have a sweet tooth - their broths are fantastic. I would definitely suggest grabbing one of the noodle bowls if you head by this way! The one time I went, my friend and I ordered the Beef Brisket Noodle Soup and the Salt and Pepper Shrimp and man oh man, I could've drank all of the soup in one gulp. The individual components were fine on their own, but the broth brought them to a whole new level. It was beefy and seasoned, and just tasted of what real Chinese food should be. The Salt and Pepper Shrimp on the other hand was unfortunately not as OK. I was so thrilled to see they kept the prawns with their heads on, but unfortunately they tasted old, as if they had been cooked earlier or on another day, and then reheated up in a microwave for the meal. As a result, the flesh was very tough, and not pleasant to eat at all. This is also one dish where the salt content was just a few levels too high. I could feel my blood pressure climbing even just from one bite. That said, you can't go wrong with their baked goods or soups, so dig into those! read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Salt and pepper shrimp, only like 6$! - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Love this place for a quick and very affordable lunch. No frills authentic Chinese food can be found here. I have had some great soups here, sampled most of the baked goods, but my favorite is the fresh rice noodles with sliced beef and peppers. I love the wide, chewy noodles in tasty gravy, they keep me coming back. CiCi, the owner, is so nice and if you are seeking to try new new baked goods she will even throw one to try on the house. Also, if you are looking for a warm brothy wonton soup or congee for breakfast there is basically no other place in the area! read more

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Not good. Food not cooked and service is bad!!! The waiter tried nothing to correct it or offered to take it back and cook it. That's really bad service!! Don't waste ur time. Soup was not good either - stingy on meat. Gave u a bunch of noodles but no meat or veggies!!! read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Uncooked food from this place looks like this. - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Small Cantonese pastry shop that has quite a variety of pastries and dim sum. The quality is not amazing but it's not bad either. read more

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Just happened upon this little gem last week. All that I can say is "FABULOUS"!!! I had NO IDEA Madison had a very authentic Chinese bakery. We LOVED absolutely everything that we purchased. read more

More than just a bakery, Asian Sweet Market is also an authentic Cantonese dishes featuring wallet-friendly prices in a no frills setting (the food is served on paper plates with plastic utensils). Service could also be described as no frills - my interactions with staff could best be described as transactions. The beef with udon noodles is excellent, the lighted seared beef packed plenty of flavor and the vegetables were perfectly prepared. There are only a handful of tables and very limited parking. No WiFi. read more

I came here with my parents for lunch (they are super picky about Chinese food) and we all enjoyed everything we ordered (esp the mini moon cake and dumplings). Super authentic, and the service was friendly and brisk. Will definitely come back! read more

One of the best bakeries in the area. Everything is fresh and delicious, and the staff are very kind (and patient with me despite the language barrier). Some of my favorite items are the beef steamed crepe, the steamed egg custard bun, and the coconut sweet top bun. Honestly, I haven't had anything here I didn't like. Absolutely recommend! read more

Brought my sister and my son here to try the sweets they have. We were excited to see all the goodies , I think we got almost one of everything !? Next time we'll go for lunch. I'm also recommending the Oriental Shop a couple doors down, they are just as cute!! read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Our goodies for the morning - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

One of my favorite bakeries! I love the tiny space - makes it feel warm and comfy. The baked goods are amazing. The food items from the menu are better than most local Asian restaurants at decent prices. The mango sponge cake slices are delicious! A must try if you have never had Asian baked goods or want to try some food that's on the same level as home cooked meals. Come around 10:30-11am when the taro bread is fresh out of the oven. read more

One of our favorite little shops in Madison. A great place for some baked goodies at an affordable price. I like the coconut bread and the egg tarts as well as a couple of others that I'm forgetting at the moment but will update after our next visit. A big part of the positive review is that there are not really any comparable options nearby for Asian baked goodies. However, we also often come here to have lunch as they have some delicious options. I particularly like their fish and eel dishes. If it is a cold day their congee is definitely the way to go. The place itself is pretty simple and no-frills. There are a handful of tables inside if you want to eat in. For those driving parking is a little bit awkward at the place but there is plenty of street parking nearby. read more

Ventured off the beaten path for something other than the usual breakfast fare.. definitely weren't disappointed in doing so! The small quaint shop opens at 9am but if you don't mind waiting the plethora of delicious smelling baked breads/asian pastries come piping hot out of the oven and onto the trays about 9:30am.. so we waited we dabbled into a few different options..bbq pork bun..red bean paste bun..asian tamale..coconut twist..fried donut..all this for only two mouthsbut hey..sharing is caring right!? Come early as we learned the locals who walk to the shop come and buy out in the blink of an eye.. who can blame them! Authentic asian pastries at phenomenal prices.. $1.00-$1.35.. the staff are extremely friendly and more than patient explaining the items and how they're made..they also offer their own personal recommendations of their faves as well.. all in all an enjoyable experience! They also offer hot soups and noodle dishes...maybe next time! CHEERS.. Keep YELPING! read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

3.5-4 stars, rounding up because I want them to do well, as they're a small, probably family owned business. We came here for lunch on a weekend. It is a small, unassuming place, but they definitely sell more than just bakery items. Everything is very reasonably priced ($1-2), but we ended up not getting anything from the bakery section. We ordered the thousand year egg congee, beef noodle soup, rice crepes with shrimp, hot milk tea, and picked up some cold sweet tea and thai tea (both bottled) from the fridge. The prices here are extremely reasonable, I want to start off with (nothing over $7-8) and everything is very simple and authentic. The milk tea was honestly a bit disappointing, so I would stick to the delicious bottled drinks (it is what it sounds like, I think some tea boiled in milk). You can add in sugar to it to make it more like the type you would expect at a tea shop. The beef noodle soup was definitely not what I was expecting but light and tasty. We ordered it with homemade noodles which ended up being like thin egg noodles. There was napa and delicious thin beef strips, but the broth was light in color and thinner, lighter flavor (I just expected a dark beef noodle soup). The thousand year egg congee was delicious, though. I would definitely have that again; simple and sometimes what you need. The rice crepes that came out were huge (think of the dim sum ones but larger if you've never had them). They're homemade so that's nice and the sauce soaked right in. Overall, nothing blew my mind, but everything is nice, homey, and authentic so I'll probably be back soon. read more

This review is (mostly) not for their sweet, but for they savory. We stopped by here for dinner one evening and while the bakery shelf looked nice but a little sparse (presumably since it was near the end of the day), what we were really impressed with was their food menu. The menu lists soup and lunch specials, but they are really served all day. There are real Chinese dishes here, such as Bitter Melon with Beef, and Congee with Pork Liver + Preserved Egg. We got the Bitter Melon, in a pleasantly salty black bean sauce which was nice and tender although the beef was nothing special, and the Beef Tendon Noodle Soup with the wide fresh handmade noodles. They weren't kidding -- the noodles were very wide, very fresh, and very handmade. They do the same thing spaghetti does when you pick it up, except that it's much bigger and made out of rice. Good tendon too. This is about a 3.5, but since the prices are so good (that big bowl of noodle soup was only 7.00), I'm rounding it up to 4. Also of note: the mooncakes, when available, are good (especially the one with egg), although a little pricy. read more

I can't believe this is the first time I found this place after being here for almost a year. The food here is authentic and reminds me of all the ethnic food I've been missing. Their prices are extremely reasonable. I know a lot of people come here solely for the pastries but don't gloss over their lunch food as well. Their thousand egg congee is really great! I also had their beef noodle dish which left me wanting more. I'm definitely going to be coming back here much more to get pastries as well as for a quick bite. I forgot to mention the crepes as well. Just all around really great chinese food! I'm so happy Madison has a place like that. read more

Inexpensive, asian bakery items. I thought all of the sweet bakery items had a similar taste - not that I'm complaining! You can definitely tell they make these sweets from scratch and with love. I may or may not have made myself sick from eating too many different kinds of goods... read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Our take home baked goods (my favorite was the rainbow roll, a little sweet but mostly savory) - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I was pretty excited to learn that there's an Asian bakery right outside of downtown Madison (at the intersection of Park and Fish Hatch) so I went to check it out as soon as I could. There's a decent selection here, although it's not as much as you would be used to seeing if you went to a bakery in a Chinatown. You can also sit down (it has a small amount of seating, maybe 10 people in total...?) and eat, which was kind of strange to me, but probably more ordinary to people who haven't been around Chinese bakeries before. I enjoyed all the food I bought here, but I will say that I would highly suggest eating the food the same day you buy it. If you let it sit for even a day or so, I think it tastes a lot more stale (which is not the bakery's fault in any way). I really liked this place so check it out if you've been looking for some Chinese bakery food! read more

Great place to go for a Chinese breakfast! We also bought two breads to go which only costed two dollars something! read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

There are few times in life when a bun is so masterfully crafted and prepared that it is nothing short of genius. Today I had one of those buns. Entering Sweet's Asian Bakery is like embarking on a culinary journey, it is both exciting and adventurous yet still so familiar. The decor is exquisite: simple but elegant with lots of white and clean lines, and a few scattered purple orchids for a splash of color. I ordered the fish fillet with mustard cabbage my friend the shrimp wonton soup. Both were delicious. But the real star of the show was the desert, the hot dog bun. If you were to tell me yesterday that a white bread bun stuffed with hot dog and cheese would make me weak at the knees, why, I wouldn't believe you! I am a lady of stature, a world traveller, a doctor, you see. Anyways, my point is this hot dog bun may be the most sublime thing I have put in my mouth. Delicious, divine, tasty... Would definitely recommend. read more

Don't be fooled by the small building. This was our first stop on our trip to Madison this past weekend and it did not disappoint! I was a little shocked at how small their case was BUT, they had so many varieties of buns. Our favorite was the BBQ pork bun. Everything we had tasted fresh. My only disappointment is that there wasn't any cake slices I would've loved to try. We'll definitely make this a stop each time we visit Madison. read more

I love this place. The baked goods are awesome, not-too-sweet Asian bakery classics with some savory options too. My husband especially loves anything with the sweet top. Taro Twists are probably my favorite. Egg Custard Buns and Tarts are also amazing. It's hard to pick, so usually we get a huge box with a mix of things. Everything we've tried has been good, and the prices are great! $1-2 for all the baked goods, which are giant. We also finally ate lunch, which was also really good. Again, the prices were very reasonable. We shared two small items and two entrees, bringing half of one home, and it was about $25. Every time I've gone, the same woman has helped us. She is very friendly and willing to describe items we aren't familiar with and give opinions, which I really appreciate. Definitely give this place a try if you haven't already! read more

This restaurant is to be cherished for it's exotic authenticity. It's as if a hole in the wall lunch counter was airlifted in from the East Coast or from China. The food is simple lunchtime fare. The staff is from Guang Dong. The interior is just the simple fluorescent light, clean, plain decor that you would expect from a low cost bakery and lunch spot. There are three tables and some chairs at a lunch counter. By authentic, I mean that the typical baked good has glittery shredded pork on top or red bean paste. The meals, all five or six dollars, include beef with bitter melon and Fish fillet with black (fermented) beans and pork intestine. I predict this place will meet great success and so I look forward to an expanded menu. Drinks like Pearl Milk Tea and Frozen Green Bean Paste Ice would really make this a snack place to be cherished! Given it's authenticity and student-oriented pricing, this bakery makes a good fast, cheap alternative to the also-excellent, much more deluxe Ichiban Restaurant further up Park Street. It is currently open 9 to 7 six days a week and closed on Mondays, contrary to the info listed on Yelp. read more

First time here and left great impression on me and my husband. Will definitely come back! The lady at cashier was very friendly and took orders carefully. We ordered a bit of everything and I especially love their congee. No tip either. Price was pleasant for me--a bowl of congee for 1 person is 5, pretty cheap in the US. We lived in HK before and I especially miss congee, especially when I am slightly under the weather, or not liking American food that much. The congee here was good enough, and even my husband said it reminded him of HK again. I like the fact everything is not overly seasoned. Congee not too salty, sweet bun not too sweet and seem freshly made, chang fen (rice noodle roll) lightly seasoned. I finally don't need to tell them, less oil please, or if possible. It is pretty carb oriented, but doesn't bother me at all (I love carb!). If you want you have other protein choices as well, even though I didn't really like the fish dish--small broken pieces of frozen fish sautéed with pickles, with rice, 6 USD. I feel so grateful for this place because it reminds me of home and my culture, in an economic way. read more

I've been there more than ten times since the first time I found their tarts overwhelmingly delicious. Tried almost every baked goods and every entree! Can't find a better place to enjoy Cantonese style food anywhere else in Madison. Congee and spicy fish with rice are favorite; boyfriend loves beef noodle, which is very similar with what you can have in Hong Kong, but maybe too light (no flavor) for me. We booked many cakes and tarts and breads to the department meeting, and nobody had any donuts from the beginning to the end. Really love this place! read more

Honestly, this isn't the best Asian bakery I've been to. BUT I'm so happy that we actually have one in Madison, and the food is pretty good. This is a good place to go to if you are craving Asian baked goods or dumplings, but if you're visiting from out of town, this isn't a spot I would recommend. I've tried quite a few items on the menu, and my favorites are the pork buns and the crepe dumplings. The "Chinese tamale", or glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, was probably my least favorite item that I tried. It was pretty bland compared to others I've had elsewhere, and there wasn't much mixed in with the rice. The sesame balls are pretty good, and the chive dumplings are a bit dry, more like potstickers than dumplings. The service is great; on both occasions that I've been here the lady behind the counter was extremely friendly and attentive. She also gave us tips about what times to come for the freshest bakery items. There is a small amount of seating, and this is mainly a take-out place, so there's usually seating available. Be careful if you order the tea, they keep the temperature really high, so it's hard to drink for the first 5 minutes or so. I'll definitely be back when I'm craving some pork buns! read more

I haven't tried any of the entrees here because I can't get passed the bakery case every time I come in. Everything is sooo good and the young men who usually work up front are cute and friendly. Dining area is limited, so I always get my bakery goodies to go, and then I hoard them in my car. The parking lot layout is tiny and bizarre, so I bypass it completely and park down a residential street on the side. If you see some weirdo lady in a car hoarding baked goods nearby, don't worry, it's just me having a good time. read more

Verdict? Amaze-balls!!!!! My beef brisket noodle was really fresh and savory. Liver congee with fried donut stick was good- great consistency. Gotta have congee with donut! Sesame ball was super chewy and perfectly fried. Chinese "tamale" in banana leaf has fresh peanuts, shredded meat and sticky rice- very filling. Even milk tea is yummy. Hong loved his sweet top and egg custard bun. They also have my favorite- bun with hotdog. I was so full I couldn't try it but next time. Pay and order first. Go early to get pastries hot out of the oven. Only negative- small space with few tables. read more

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The quality of the food is going down. Steamed crepe does not taste as good as before. And DON'T order noodle for take out! They didn't separate noodle and soup (who does that!!???), so by the time we reached home, the noodle has soaked up all the soup and became a mess. Also, take-out portion of rice plate shrinks by the week. I also advice open your box and check the content of your food before leaving when ordering take-out, cuz they have messed up our order twice already. read more

This place is so great. I love the egg tarts and BBQ pork buns here. The sesame balls can be a little oily but it's not too bad in my opinion. The other day I came here the lady at the counter told me they have two types of egg tarts: Macau-style and regular. I don't know if this is a new addition to the menu or just a limited time kinda thing. Macau egg tarts are better because they're creamier in taste whereas regular ones are eggier, but this is a personal preference. They also have meals that are homey in flavor and good in portion. They're not super greasy and MSG laden like some of the other Asian restaurants in town. They're served on styrofoam plates and you take your own silverware and have a shared bottle of Sriracha on a side table, which I don't mind at all since the price is so reasonable. I like that this place isn't too far away from campus so I don't have to travel that far to get good Asian bake goods. Definitely check it out. read more

There is no other place like this in Madison. I've been to some amazing Asian bakeries. There's a whole slew of them in LA with lines out the door, not to mention having spent time in Taiwan where bakeries sell freshly baked custard filled breads at 33 cents. It would be unfair to compare this place to those places. When I say there's no other place like this in Madison, I mean that in a complimentary way because I'm so happy that such a place exists in Madison. I love that there's a place I can order a bowl of thousand year egg congee with pork and it also comes with a bread for less than $5! Seriously? This place could mark up their prices by another 50%, and still retain business because they're the only place in Madison that sells Asian bakery items. Their breakfast combos also comes with choice of coffee or milk tea. Since I don't drink coffee, I ordered the milk tea, which was not very good. But I really didn't care because the combo was only $4.50 for plenty of food. I also got what they call "Chinese tamales," which is glutinous rice steam with peanuts and pork in a banana leaf. It was tasty and brought back memories of what my grandma would make. They were out of the bbq pork bun and what I call the pineapple bun when I got there at 4pm on a Sunday. I was disappointed as those are my favorite, but the ones we did get were very good. The buns themselves are fluffy and mildly sweet as any good Asian bun ought to be. Come early as they're popular enough that they run out of variety by the late afternoon. read more

Very traditional Chinese bakery. Just like I used to see in Chinatown growing up in Chicago. Very good sponge cake and other buns. They make almost everything fresh there. So if you go early enough things will still be warm. Sometimes it takes them a while to fill their case though. But I also like to enjoy there hot breakfast food and lunch items. My favorites are the rice noodle crepes with shrimp. I also really enjoyed the tofu and fish. The tofu was slightly fried and super silky on the inside and sauce was perfect. We've also had the pot stickers and stir fried rice noodles with beef. They have a small seating area if you stay. Nothing fancy, they serve on paper plates which is fine with me. The lady at the counter is always very friendly too. read more

PROS: Authentic Chinese pastries, inexpensive, friendly staff CONS: Small selection, limited seating This place will satisfy your Asian pastry cravings with the standard bread with red bean paste, custard buns, egg tarts, mooncakes, etc. Nothing to write home about, but it's a solid spot for a place like Madison. read more

Cute little space with lots of baked goods in the display. Five stars for everything being ridiculously cheap and fairly priced. I got the bbq pork bun, which was yummy but not as much meat filling as I would like. The moon cake was great as well. I also got the red bean bun, but the filling was not very generous and only on one side of the bun so it was mostly bread and not much red bean. Either way, worth the trip. read more

I've been there so many times because their bakery offerings can vary each day- get the cheese twists while they are warm- two different types of small custard pie- one traditionally flan like and the other more of like a quiche (Macao style)- both are great. The BBQ pork buns are great- the dough is flaky and soft. Things are still served on paper plates but its worth it. They can make things without MSG on request if you are allergic (like me). read more

Asian Sweet Bakery - Around 9:45a when the case is full... - Bakeries Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Five stars for authentic food! You won't see any orange chicken on the menu here -- instead, congee, dumplings, and Chinese crepes abound. The whole shop is filled with the aroma of fresh pastries that are common in China. It is a very small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but though the food comes on paper plates with plastic utensils, the flavor of the food always stays true to Chinese cuisine. I definitely reccomend the Taro bun and any of the dumplings. A good way to spend very little money for very delicious returns. read more

Just discovered this place last week and I've already been there twice. The bakery is fresh, with flaky pastry and delicious fillings. Try the lotus bean bun, you won't be disappointed. Their lunch menu is served through closing and you can eat in or take out. The salt and pepper shrimp was amazing - big juicy shrimp, peppers and onions, perfectly seasoned. While it was empty on my first visit, the place was packed tonight - with people waiting for one of the four tables to open up. Go here. Now. read more

Went in to check out this place at about 2pm on a weekday and there was still a good selection. The breads are fresh and yummy. The bakery is located on a corner right off the street with a very odd parking space. Decently priced. I wish they made meat steamed buns! The taro twist bread was to die for! Definitely will be back for more. Reminds me of the Asian bakeries in Seattle, WA. read more

Asian Sweet Bakery is a cute little place that, upon first entering, is nostalgic of home (aka SoCal and Mom's cooking). There's a large display case by the cash register that's full of baked goods I recognize from childhood and jaunts to Santa Ana, and the menu sports a number of things I'm not sure I'd be able to find elsewhere in Madison (without inviting my mother over for a stay). However, I can't say the warm fuzzies extend to the food itself. The best thing there were the BBQ Pork Buns, which taste like Hawaiian bread filled with small diced pork pieces marinated in the pink stuff us Asians call "BBQ". They weren't the steamed buns (i.e. baozi, or bánh bao) I expected, but they were pretty good nonetheless. The BBQ Pork Fried Rice we got was pretty tasteless, mostly off-white rice, and needed a dousing of soy sauce before either I or my bf would eat it. (Likely the worse fried rice I've had in Madison yet, compared to places like Chang Jiang, Happy Wok, and HyVee.) We also got BBQ Pork Crepes and the shrimp crepes, which I wanted to like because I loved these back home. But.... Either the filling was scarce or the rice crepe was too thick, or both, but I couldn't really taste anything other than the crepe (which, by the way, isn't the dish's main attraction). They also came with plain old soy sauce instead of the usual fish sauce.... (Luckily, I had fish sauce at home and we had ordered to go. ) Guess I'll have to stick to Saigon Noodles on the weekends for my rice crepe fix. I'm not sure what my fob parents will think when I take them here next time they're in town--if I take them here. They'll probably be delighted at the variety of things that look like what they're used to, but I'm afraid the taste will be foreign to them. read more