Little Saigon, Arlington

[goodeats]

Little Saigon (6218 Wilson Blvd.) next to a Latin-Oriental market (does this count as an oxymoron or just a strange combination?). Recommended by gebaby's barber, his godmother and I had a nice girls' night out there.

Their gỏi cuốn filled with shredded pork, shrimp, basil, scallions, mint, and rice vermicelli was a nice start to the evening, with smooth peanut sauce that wasn't too heavy or watered-down.

We then split a Banh Tam Bi Nuoc Dua (Thick rice noodles with shredded pork & coconut dressing, served cold - $8.25) and a Ga Xao Sa Oc (Spicy lemongrass chicken - $9.95), of which the dressing was the highlight of the noodles (as well as its texture and chewiness), while the chicken was missing a bit of something (despite the accompanied onions and amount of salt used) until you add the spicy sauce to it.

They offer syrupy-tasting fruit frozen drinks (mango is one of them), as well as typical Vietnamese drinks (and hot pots too!).

I was impressed that this place accepted Diners' Club & Discover on top of MC & Visa.

It was pretty packed with families on a cold winters' Saturday night.

A lovely little place to go back to, especially if you don't want to drive out to Merrifield for your Four Sisters' fix.