We were mtg w/a friend who lives in Tracy. There was nothing open on a Sunday in Atwater (the 1/2 way point for all of us), so we decided on Modesto. This place had good reviews so I was excited since I haven't had great Vietnamese food in Fresno. Was hoping this would be a treat. But it wasn't. Service wasn't great. No one ever checked on us to see if we needed anything. It wasn't crazy busy in there either since we there at off hours. Ambiance is standard for this kinda place. Whatever. Pretty big menu tho. Decided to do appetizers for dinner. ORDER: Crispy Crab Cakes: There was no discernible crab in them. Not even fake crab. No real flavor inside. It just tasted of overly greasy crust. But it was crispy I'll say. Choked down 1 & gave up. Fried Rolls: Normally the thing I love most at Vietnamese restaurants. This was mushy inside & bland. Pork & Shrimp Spring Roll: Wasn't filled very much. Like barely there noodles. One section I ate had none but had white radish strips, so I thought it was just lettuce, pork, shrimp & radish. I don't like a ton ton of noodles but it needed triple the amt to be an avg amt of noodle. The best thing about this was the peanut sauce. I give them high marks for their peanut sauce. Fried got pork vermicelli & shrimp spring rolls. Her high praise was "they gave a lot of meat." But otherwise her reaction was "it's ok." Other friend got garlic butter chicken wings. I had one. There was no garlic flavor on the wings but there was a bit of garlic & onion on the plate w/them. Otherwise, they tasted like naked wings. I like naked wings & admit they were cooked well. She also got brisket & flank pho w/out noodles. She said meat was tender & delicious. I really really wanted to like them more than I did. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I've ever reviewed something where I gave less than 4 stars. Not my cup of tea, but glad they seem to have found their audience since they don't have poor reviews overall. Happy for them. Still on the quest for good Central Valley Vietnamese! read more