Cheap Authentic Vietnamese Food for the Hungry: Nha Trang One

Nha Trang One
87 Baxter St (near Canal St)
New York, NY
(212) 233-5948

Of the three Vietnamese restaurants on this block, I think this by far is the better tasting one.

When I came here with my boyfriend and his friends, we were really reluctant to come here, but his friends reassured us that this is the place to be. And inside, the decor of the restaurant looked pretty plain, plus there were a lot of tourists in there which pretty much is a turn off for me. I usually avoid this restaurant because of the tourists the reason being that I think touristy food = junk/fast food. Plus the decor in the other two restaurants looks better than this one, but I’ll soon learn that image isn’t always everything.

Beef cube with Rice
$5.75

This beef cube is the very tender and oh so juicy, unlike the other Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown. Usually the beef would be rolled up and then grilled ’til charred. I really hate that. But the way they make it here is right on the money and it’s cut into small piece, which I really enjoy.

My rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommended!

Next came the Grilled pork chop w/tomatoes and cucumbers over rice.
$5.75

Pretty soon, you’ll see the same consistency with the way their meats are cooked. This lovely young pork chop is tender, juicy, and oh so succulent, and not at all dried as you will see in the other vietnamese restaurants due to over grilling. It would be nice if there’s a little more sauce with this dish, but it’s still pretty good. For the price, you really can’t go wrong.

Recommended!
My Rating: 4/5

Steak w/Fried Rice
$6.50

I really can’t give much credit to this dish, I can’t. The downfall of this dish is the fried rice. It is probably the blandest fried rice I have ever have, and it does not look fried at all. Not to say that it is a failure, but I’m saying that it’s pretty much some soy sauce and probably subtle hints of oyster sauce. Honestly, I think they would make it with and least some green peas and carrots and maybe, just maybe some pineapple. But hey, at least the steak was not disappointing. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was tender and juicy. I did needed more salt for this.

Not recommended
Rating: 2/5

House Special Rice Noodles in soup with beef brisket, tendon, eye round and omoza
$5.50

Having a good soup really sets the mood for this bowl. When you have a really pretty brown color that’s not too light and not too dark, you have yourself a delicious bowl of noodles. The reason why this dish is so popular is because the rice noodles complements the soup so well. All the rich flavor from the soup is absorbed in the noodles as well as the raw beef brisket, which you’ll have to dip in your soup. Usually when I have this signature dish at other Vietnamese restaurants, the beef is usually flavorless due to a bland soup. But here, they do it very well.

Highly recommended!
Rating: 4/5

Of course there are so many dishes here to try since the menu seems to be absolutely endless, but definitely try their house special rice noodle soup, spring rolls, rice vermicelli

NHA TRANG REST.
87 BAXTER STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-233-5948

Current violation points: 7

Inspection Date: 03/05/2007

Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.

1.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.

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