We have been on the hunt for amazing Asian food since we moved here, and recently we've been on a bit of a Vietnamese Food kick. A couple of weeks ago, our search landed us at Little Thailand (a hole in the wall off the 71, but that's another story!) and on the way there I spotted this little treasure, Hunan Tiger. It's located off of HWY 71, right before you hit The Colony. It's hidden in a small outdated shopping center, and if it weren't for their bright yellow CHINESE/VIETNAMESE DELIVERY sign I wouldn't have seen it. Anyway, today we were in the mood for some Pho so we thought we'd give it a shot. All I can say is, OH MY are we glad we did.
The first thing I noticed when we walked in was how extremely clean it was. If you know anything about dining in Bastrop, you know that even some of our best restaurants can be dirty and outdated. It looked like the owners took pride in their establishment, and although the walls were adorned with the rolling hills of Tuscany (this used to be a pizza kitchen, I think) the seats were not torn, there was no grungy old carpet, and it was kept up very nicely.
Since this was our first outing at Hunan Tiger, we decided to order as many different types of dishes as we could. We tend to WAY over order, but for us dining is an experience and we really do order to eat just a little bit of everything! We began with two appetizers, the first (unassumingly enough) was their Appetizer platter. This came with beef skewers, crab ragoons, fried shrimp, an egg roll, and chicken wings. It was served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The second (an absolute MUST for the Varn family) Chicken Dumplings...or DUNKLINGS as my four year old daughter calls them. These were also served with a dipping sauce, however I'm not sure what they called it. Right away we were blown away with the presentation of the food. Our platter came to us on this beautiful Vietnamese decorated dish, with a mini fire pit right in the middle. It was quite the sight to see, and we LOVE food that serves as entertainment! Each and every portion of our platter was delicious. Everything perfectly cooked, beautifully displayed, and served steaming hot. The second appetizer, the Dunklings ;]] were nothing to scoff at either. They knew just how to cook them (not just boiled but pan fried), and are on our top list of best Chicken Dumplings ever!
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Appetizer Platter[/caption][caption id="attachment_13" align="alignright" width="225"]
Bun GA Nuong[/caption]
Lastly, came our entrees. I may have forgotten
to mention that we did bring our two children along with us. Some may think we're crazy, walking into a restaurant with a 4 year old and a 2 year old in tow, but they love food as much as we do and it helps keep the house a little cleaner! Anyway, they had Broccoli Beef, and Shrimp and beef which were both delicious and again perfectly cooked...however I want to talk about the ADULT food! The Hubby ordered his Beef Pho that he was dying for, and I ordered the Bun GA Nuong (or vermicelli with grilled chicken). The Pho was served with all the trappings, lemon, thai basil, and bamboo shoots. It was TO DIE FOR!! Don't EVER drive to Austin for PHO again! Seriously, it was amazing!! Mine, the Bun GA Nuong was mouthwatering. It was served with a fish oil sauce, which you drizzle on top, I added some soy sauce and I'll say it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. I can't believe we didn't find this restaurant any sooner.
to mention that we did bring our two children along with us. Some may think we're crazy, walking into a restaurant with a 4 year old and a 2 year old in tow, but they love food as much as we do and it helps keep the house a little cleaner! Anyway, they had Broccoli Beef, and Shrimp and beef which were both delicious and again perfectly cooked...however I want to talk about the ADULT food! The Hubby ordered his Beef Pho that he was dying for, and I ordered the Bun GA Nuong (or vermicelli with grilled chicken). The Pho was served with all the trappings, lemon, thai basil, and bamboo shoots. It was TO DIE FOR!! Don't EVER drive to Austin for PHO again! Seriously, it was amazing!! Mine, the Bun GA Nuong was mouthwatering. It was served with a fish oil sauce, which you drizzle on top, I added some soy sauce and I'll say it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. I can't believe we didn't find this restaurant any sooner.
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Beef Pho[/caption]
Anyway, next time you're in the mood for some Asian food, GOOD Asian food, go take a little drive just out of town to Hunan Tiger. The Chinese Buffet's in town really are a travesty, and now there's NO REASON to drive 45 minutes to find some amazing Vietnamese/Chinese food. It was a great experience, and family friendly! During our meal here is when we officially decided to start a food review blog. At the close of our meal I opened a telling fortune. We can't even tell you how excited we are to have them in town, and are so honored to publish our first blog all about Hunan Tiger! They've only been around for 7 months, but we hope they stay for a lifetime!
I ate there and enjoyed the food and atmosphere. I asked them to stray from the menu and me and my daughter something special and they were happy to do it and it came out wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely very nice people, and were very accommodating! Glad to here you had a nice experience! :))
ReplyDeleteWe tried it as well. We went late afternoon, not crowded of course. The folks were nice and the food was good. We will go back.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a phone number that works for them? The numbers on the menu are sprint cell phones and no one answers. I would like to order to go ... but I can't.
ReplyDeleteWe've always had luck with the number listed online...but a couple of times we had to try a few calls. I will make note of this, and next time I go in will ask about it!
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