An Update on DaLat - Soft Opening

Over the weekend, I went with a large group of friends to go check out DaLat, since they started their soft opening on April 18th. Initially they were only open from 10PM - 2AM, but due to the positive responses, they have recently increased their hours. You can find their weekly hours on their facebook page.

Dalat Restaurant and Bar
2537 N. Fitzhugh Ave.
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 827-3200
www.DALATdallas.com
Price: $

The restaurant is all finished and clean and I loved the massive Asian style dragon painted on the wall. Luckily it wasn't too busy then since we had a group of 14-15 people. Khanh, the owner, came by to greet us and chat with us throughout the meal. I'm so glad to hear that business is already doing well!

Since it's a soft opening, the food choices were somewhat limited and the final menus haven't been printed yet.

I got to take pictures of pretty much everything since we had such a big group. YAY! :)

To start... my friend ordered Tang $2~

Yes, Tang. The orange juice drink. If you know what I'm talking about, then I'm sure you're pretty excited. My friend said it brought back memories. haha. (And just a side note, I think they now serve something called a TangMosa.... Intrigued?? Go try it out for yourself!)

DaLat Rolls (egg roll inside a spring roll, served with house-made peanut sauce) $4~

 Interesting concept. I haven't seen it done like this before, but it didn't work for me. The eggroll kind of got soggy inside the spring roll wrapper. But don't worry, I gave some suggestions. Hopefully they are making some tweaks and changes to make it better! The eggroll flavor was good though. And the star was the peanut sauce. Homemade peanut sauce... soooo good! Khanh makes it himself!

They have a condiments/garnish bar, where you can get your own bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, onions, etc. Everyone does their pho differently. I personally love TONS of bean sprouts and basil. This way you can have it exactly how you want!

Chicken Pho $8~

I didn't try this but my friend (who was Vietnamese) said the broth was really good. There were also large pieces of chicken breast in there. You also see some pork meatballs...it's optional.

Pork Meatballs Pho $8~

They were actually running behind and was still cooking the beef pho, so the rest of the group got the meatball pho. Homemade pork meatballs. YUM! I don't think I've ever had it in other Vietnamese restaurants before. It was so tender and full of flavor. It's their newest addition... and it's a good one.

They also have KhanhWICHES (Vietnamese Banh Mi, but different...and better) $5.50~ each.

Italian (Genoa salami and peppered turkey).

This was like a regular Banh Mi with the traditional toppings but with a little Italian flair. Packed with meat and lots of flavor, I'd say this was my favorite sandwich of the night. The bread was great. It was crusty and buttery but not overly hard like some baguettes can get. They also hollow out the middle a bit to make room for more stuff and so it's not too thick to bite into. And yes, that is Doritos on the side. Not sure if that's a permanent thing or not. haha.

Albacore Tuna.

This is kinda like tuna salad with Banh Mi toppings. I liked the flavor and texture of the tuna but there wasn't enough. I made sure to let them know that as well so they can work on the portioning of the dishes. I dipped it in sriracha...double delish!

SPAM. Yes, SPAM. Out of the can.

They slice it and put it in a sandwich for ya. My friends actually asked them to grill it so it's just not straight out of the can. Look for more potential revisions to this dish in the future.

Beef Pho $8~

Khanh came over after the meal and told me that the beef pho is ready and if I wanted to try some. "It's good today," he said. I was super full but I had half a bowl. The broth is really flavorful and noodles cooked perfectly. But man, I was stuffed!!

Keep in mind it's still their soft opening so they will be working out some kinks here and there. And they definitely appreciate constructive criticism and feedback. It's definitely a cool hang out spot and I'll be going back soon to see what changes they have made and any new additions to the menu. In the mean time, they are still BYOB until they get their liquor license. :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~