- April 27th, 2007
O.k. I found a place that is worthy of a visit. While out looking for a place to live, my fiance and I stumbled upon a cute little restaurant called Royal Pearl Vietnamese Restaurant. Skimming the menu I noticed the prices were about 2-3 dollars cheaper, per item, than the Vietnamese restaurant that I went to the night before in Waikiki. I ordered the beef salad for $6.75. If your idea of an Asian salad is the typical Chinese chicken salad I highly suggest you venture out of your realm, especially if your one of those people that just don’t do salads, like Ray. Vegetables are good for you. My salad consisted of finely sliced beef strips, roman lettuce, finely sliced onions, sweet and sour radishes and carrots and fresh herbs like mint and basil with toasted onions and peanuts atop. I don’t know what type of dressing that was used, but it tasted like somewhat of a vinaigrette, without any oil. I think the most fattening item was the toasted onions, as there was no visible fat on my beef. I ate ever last bit of it because it was too good to go to waste and too little to pack up. Although I took in more than I should of, it didn’t give me that nasty, heavy feeling; no food coma what so ever.
Ray, he’s not a huge fan of Vietnamese or Thai. He says it smells like skanky hooker pussy. He’s referring to the fish sauce of course and how he even knows what skank hooker pussy smells like, I really don’t want to know. If your not familiar with fish sauce, it’s used in many Asian dishes especially Vietnamese and Thai. I’m not sure what it actually consists of or if it even has any fish in it at all, but it’s really salty and rarely used alone. Usually sugar, vinegar and other spices are added to balance out the salty flavor. Now about the smell, it only has a strong pungent scent if it gets on your clothes or skin. Next time your at a restaurant with fish sauce go ahead and take a whiff. Sure, it’ll smell a little, but that’s only because your all up in it’s business. Now take a little drop of it and rub it on the back of your palm. Now smell, mmm, there’s nothing like skank hooker pussy that makes your taste buds dance. Take a napkin and wipe your face because your drooling and embarrassing your family and friends.
Ray ordered the summer rolls. There’s two per order for $4.25. There’s only one in the picture because the other one was in his mouth. His only complaint was that there wasn’t any crab meat in it. Sometime back he order spring rolls that came with crab meat and shrimp. I told him it was a fluke because they don’t usually come with crab meat, just shrimp, rice noodles, basil, and lettuce with peanut sauce as dip. However, this apparently traumatized him as he is still is not over it and mentions every time he eats a summer roll that he likes the kind with crab in it. Whatever, if you know of any places please leave me a comment.
As for the ambiance, it was quaint and humble. There were even a few tables separated by bamboo screens, giving a very private and exotic dinning experience. The chairs were of Asian decor and not the typical cheesy 1980’s hotel freebees. The only thing cheesy about this place was the Christmas lights that hung inside above the window in mid April. This wasn’t a super cheap place but definitely affordable. Within the menu I found some low budget meals : Vietnamese sandwich - $5.50, Tofu salad - $5.95, Curry beef or chicken - $6.50, and Banana tapioca - $2.50. I think this place is worth a try and if you do, please don’t steal the fish sauce as a souvenir. Karma will bite you in the ass and it will spill all over your suit case and everyone will know what you did in on vacation in Hawaii.
