11/18/17
Most Vietnamese restaurants in Orlando have more or less the same menus. If you're up for a change, try the new Mai Bistro, which specializes in what they call "Vietnamese Street Food." You won't find any noodle soups here, but you won't miss them! My new go-to for lunch is any one of the savory sticky rice dishes (roast pork, sausage, or chicken).
The beauty is in the textures and the combination of sweet and salty flavors. You have the glutinous sticky rice cooked just right so that it maintains a semi-firm texture and then you have crispy fried onions and sauteed scallions on top. Bite into that along with the sweet and tender roast pork, and your mouth is going into sensory overload.
It's quick, flavorful, cheap, and simple. This is the kind of food my mom would throw together on a lazy Saturday when there was nothing in the pantry. The type of food that restaurants don't sell because they think there's no audience for it. If I took my mom here for this dish, she'd laugh at me because she can make it at home. Well, you don't live with me, mom! This is as close as it gets!