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Cuulong Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
3911 Knight StVancouver, BC V5N 3L8
Neighbourhood: Kensington-Cedar Cottage
(604) 873-6926
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
5 reviews for Cuulong Restaurant
5 reviews in English
-
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
I was really thrown off by this place during my dining experience here. The question running through my mind was..... what was this place before this Vietnamese Restaurant first opened its' doors? The layout of the place is very strange. They wash their dishes in a double sink that's fit for a home and it's right out in the open next to the cash register. As I read through some of the other reviews, I found this from Claudia L. - "you might be turned off by the decor as it looks a tad like a gutted office space." That would make sense lol!
The first time my GF and I came here, we couldn't find it! We must have walked up and down a few times and got lost! "I know it's somewhere around here," she said. We passed right by it and a few times too I think. It honestly wasn't hard to find, its was cause we were looking through the windows to look for a restaurant, but they had their blinds and restaurant was closed :(
Second time around, we got it this time! Yah! Now, from the my first few lines you know already not to expect much from the decor. This place is a little divey, but not all that bad. The tables and chair seem clean and that's good enough for me. They have nice fancy photos of items they served under the glass on the tables. They even have a "Daily Special" under that glass..... really? You change that every day on every table???
I ordered the Lemon Grass Chicken on rice and my GF had the Grilled pork with shredded pork. The marinade on the chicken was really good. Very tastey, pungent with flavour, and well cooked. The grilled pork didn't quite live up to the chicken. There was 2 kinds of grilled pork on the menu that were very similar. Grilled pork with shredded pork or the Grilled pork chop with shredded pork. My GF got the non pork chop one and it was thinly sliced pork meat. The meat had good flavour from the marinade, however it was a tad salty and dry. I'm thinking the pork chop probably would have been the better choice!
Seems like a family ran business and they were very nice people. I'm was going to give this place a 3 star for the meh dish my GF had, but that's not my call to judge her dish. I give 4 on my dish and also for the fact that the portions were just right and the prices is very good! -
Review from Simon K.
5/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
I wanted to give you 4, but maybe next time when I return as you were only OK on this visit. I was introduced to this place many years ago from a good friend, and whenever he stops in town he makes me take him here for his 'go-to' lemongrass chicken dish. A small family run place located on Knight street, when you go in, you realize this place is tiny. They have pictures under the glass of the tables to show you some of their signature dishes. Also mentioned in Michael C's review, they have a picture of the "Special of the Day", and how it is placed under the table, I do believe that they do change this, if not everyday, every so often!
A turn-off for some, is not for me, when I see restaurant's like this, to know that they have been in busines for quite some time, and yet have not had any sort of facelift tells you that they are doing something right. The tables look like stuff you would find in the late 80's, the lights are dim, the place looks worn, and in need of new furniture, and a new coat of paint.
I came with my partner, and we ordered two things on this rainy day, Bun Bo Hue, and their "Special of the Day" which was grilled pork. I'll start with the BBH, a little spicy, missing the pork blood cube, didn't see the knuckle swimming in the soup, but tasty nonetheless. Steaming hot when it came to our table, the noodles where thick and plump, and the amount of meat in here was generous. You could see the chili oil hovering on the top of the soup, and there was a hint of spicyness, just enough to start a light sweat.
The grilled pork came later, and before that, the waitress (young girl, probably the daughter of the family business) brought out two big dipping dishes of the house made fish sauce! Sometimes you run out at restaurants, I can tell you, unless your drinking this stuff, your not running out here! Each thinly sliced peace of pork had a good layer of fat attached to it, grilled just right, where it actually looked like beef, the pieces were easy to cut, yet a little over marinated. The dish came with a good amount of rice, and some salad (if that is what you call it, some vegetables, raw on the side).
After the meal, while we were driving, me and my partner felt the sleepiness of the food affecting us, with a little too much sodium used, I drank quite a bit of water while I was there. I would come back again to try their other things, as I know how it was before, but on this day the sodium really got to us. -
Review from Amy H.
Vancouver, BC
I absolutely love this little gem of a restaurant! Granted, I've only tried their pho but seriously, it's good enough for me to not have to try anything else. Although I live on the west side, I'll actually deliberately make the trip all the way to Cuulong just for some quality pho in this cozy, family-run business.
The family that runs the business is always so sweet and welcoming, always willing to help out with smiles on their faces. The little girl who often plays and eats in the restaurant is also extremely cute. The main lady who always greets and serves recognizes my boyfriend and I and from what I can tell, she recognizes a lot of other loyal customers and frequently makes personal small talk with them - very intimate and personal which I like.
The pho is the best I've tried in Vancouver; make that the best I've tried anywhere, ever. Maybe that's not saying much as I haven't frequented a lot of different pho restaurants and I don't know a lot of Vietnamese people (actually come to think of it, I don't know any) from which I can get a genuine Vietnamese opinion on what genuine, quality pho's supposed to taste like, but I've tried a lot of pho from the west side to the east side and nothing compares to Cuulong.
Parking's always easy as I always park in the side street right next to the restaurant. My boyfriend and I, as well as his family, have been coming here for years and we've never been disappointed.
As a previous review stated, the decor can be a little bland and mismatched but who cares if you're getting awesome pho at a cheap price? Just go to Cuulong and order the pho - it's so good. I can't wait until I'm back in town so I can finally satisfy my craving for Cuulong!
Pros: best pho ever, incredibly friendly and nice staff, and convenient parking
Cons: distance from me (i.e. the west side)
Verdict: I don't think I'll be trying any other Vietnamese restaurants any time soon because I want to remain loyal to my favourite pho place in the world. Go to Cuulong! -
Review from Claudia L.
Burnaby, BC
2/16/2009
I was starving after a game of MJ and was looking forward to some Nammer food.
Food: Although they say food tastes better when you're hungry, and I made myself believe that it was true today, I was sadly disappointed :( My good friend introduced me to this local family-run joint but the taste just wasn't there. I had the vermicelli with spring rolls and pork and even the fish sauce was lacking tang.
Atmosphere: The owners are really nice and that is the one thing I would come back for. But you might, just might, be turned off by the decor as it looks a tad like a gutted office space with twinkle lights and pearl coated paintings randomly placed on the wall. -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/9/2008
We passed by this little Vietnamese restaurant and noticed a large crowd on a Sunday evening and figured there must be something good to eat! The specialties of the house seem to be focused heavily around Southern Vietnam with many varieties of hu tieu. Looking around at the various tables some of the popular dishes were the hu tieu bo kho (Rice noodle with beef brisket in broth), and hu tieu mi thap cam (rice, egg noodle with seafood and pork in soup or dry), and banh hoi thi nuong chao tom (grilled pork and charbroiled shrimp paste on sugarcane over vermicelli cakes), and the various fruit shakes (they have a lot of varieties including sinh to bo (creamy avocado), sinh to mit (fresh tropical jack fruit blend), sin to sa-bo-che (fresh tropical sabota blend), sin to mang cau (fresh tropical sour sop blend), sinh to sau rieng (durian blend), and sinh to sau rieng dau xanh (mung bean & durian blend).
I tasted a little bit of several dishes. The thit nuong (grilled pork) was extremely well marinated, tender, and pleasantly smoky from the grill. It got a nice darkened crusting from the grill and marinade. The cha gio (fried spring rolls) were smaller in diameter than at many other restaurants in Vancouver. The skins were nicely crunchy and the inside was bursting with flavour. The bun bo hue (fresh rice noodle in a spicy lemongrass beef broth) had a pleasant lemongrass broth speckled with chili that brought just the right amount of spice. The noodles in the bun bo hue were plentiful and cooked to just the right al dente level I like. They held up throughout the bowl so that they had not fallen apart from the heat by the end of the dish. The various condiments were very fresh (basil, bean sprouts, lime, etc.) - although the type you would expect for pho, not bun bo hue.
On top of the quality of the food, the service staff was all extremely pleasant and friendly.
I will definitely be returning to sample my way through more of their menu.
