Present Restaurant

Gerri Goh

We had chả giò rế (hand-made rice thread wrapper filled with marinated prawn & pork, fried until crispy and served with fish sauce), bánh bèo chén (steamed rice cake in shallow cup topped with dried shrimp, served with sweet fish sauce), bánh xèo (Saigon-style crepe with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts & green onions, served with fresh lettuce, herbs & fish sauce), cá kho tộ (caramelised fish fillets cooked in a clay pot) and bún riêu (gumbo soup with crab paste shrimp patty & thin rice noodle with fried tofu & tomato wedges). If I go back to Present, it will be for their chả giò rế, which was my favourite dish. I could have eaten 10 on my own. Everything was good but the fish used for the cá kho tộ had that fresh water, somewhat chemical taste I'm not a fan of and was way too sweet for my liking. The bún riêu's soup which I was so looking forward to tasted more like a bland tomato soup than a crab and pork based tomato soup which was disappointing. Its saving grace was its ingredients which were delicious. _______________________________________________ Back at Present because I'm obsessed with their springrolls. Outside of Vietnam, Present really has the best Vietnamese springrolls I've eaten. This time around I also ordered Chả Giò Tôm Cua (shrimp, crabmeat, pork and vegetables in a thin rice wrapper, fried until crispy and served with fish sauce) - actually more delicious than the Chả Giò Rế I'd previously fallen in love with. I really wanted Chả cá Lã Vọng (Hanoi-style marinated fish fillet, served with vermicelli, basil leaves, mint, peanut, dill, Hanoi shrimp paste, and sesame rice cracker), but the fish used for this dish was tilapia and I would never eat tilapia. I ordered the Mì Xào Giòn Dồ Biển (jumbo lump crabmeat, tiger shrimp, scallop and calamari sautéed with fresh vegetables, served over crunchy egg noodles) instead. It was a monster of a serving and omgoodness it was hella tasty! The two issues with this dish were that the calamari used was of the frozen variety and absolutely tasteless, and there was very little jumbo lump crabmeat. I was told the Phở Tái "Filet Mignon" Nạm Bò Viên (sliced filet mignon and beef meatballs, with rice noodle in a delicate beef broth) was rather meh. We did a takeaway of Bún bò Huế (spicy beef noodle soup with rice noodle, sliced beef shank and pork pastries) and the feedback given was that it was punchier and tasted better than the Phở Tái "Fillet Mignon" Nạm Bò Viên. My conclusion after dining twice at Present is to order anything aside from soupy noodles. I NEED more Present springrolls!!!

Steve Breedlove

Wow, what a great restaurant! Great service, incredible menu, and great food. I took my staff team of 7 there for dinner on a special trip to the FC area, and we had a terrific time. Loved it. Cannot recommend it more highly.

Ly Vuong

Vietnamese cuisine with a little twist, pleasantly surprised. Nice service.

John Velarde

I ate here recently by random chance. I'm glad I did. The food here is really good. I had a spring roll appetizer, and a vermicelli dish with pork. I enjoyed my food. Good ambiance, friendly staff. It appears small from the outside, but it is actually a good size when you get inside as it goes far back in a small strip center location. My only disappointment was the beverage options - it seems to be common in this area that many small restaurants do not have a soda fountain, if you want a soft drink they will hand you a can of coke - I am not a fan of this business model. I had a hot tea and that was actually an excellent accompaniment with this meal. I very much look forward to going back to try some other dishes! They are also not closing at 8 PM at night, unlike many other restaurants in the area!