Pho Kim Long

Las Vegas offers so many good restaurants that it is hard to keep up with the new establishments and still have days to have a meal at old favorites. There are a few places that I return to often. Pho Kim Long began as a small restaurant with Vietnamese noodle dishes in a small space in a strip mall facing Spring Mountain Road on the west side of Valley View. Over the years it has grown and now occupies 3 or 4 times the space it originally did. I have been a fan the entire time. I get there every few weeks and made a stop again last night. I go there because the menu offers a fairly wide variety, the food is fresh and it is served FAST. The fried won ton is my weakness and I start every visit with an order. Maybe someday I'll get another appetizer. For now I am still committed to the generous portion of meat and vegetable, crispy brown dumplings. The dipping sauce is part of the compulsion and I keep it on the table when the waiter clears other dishes and brings entrees. I ordered the pan fried Sea Bass and shrimp with crispy noodles. Only problem was, I ordered using numbers and not the awkward pointing at the menu technique, so I ended up eating chicken with crispy noodles. That's a 57, not a 56 i guess. The bass was lightly breaded and tender. Three nice size pieces. After a quick taste to determine spicy heat I avoided the chili relish that came on the plate. I really wanted to enjoy the flavor of the fish and so I did, only dipping one or two bites in the sweet and sour sauce that came with the wonton and trying a bit of soy sauce on another bite. The bass tasted great. I needed to be a bit careful to avoid some bones, but having been raised by fishermen and a devotee of fresh fish, it was not a problem. The crispy noodles are a treat no matter what is with them, so I finished off the chicken, baby bok choy, carrots and fried noodles without giving my mistaken order a second thought. Now I have an excuse to return; crispy fried noodles with shrimp. Soon.

BjK.