Truong's Vietnamese Restaurant

Truong's Vietnamese Restaurant
Between Grand Hotel and World Resort in Susupe, Saipan
(670) 235-8050

Truong's is located in that small space between Grand Hotel and World Resort in Susupe. I used to go their often, but now that I live in Garapan I usually opt for the Vietnamese restaurant near my house.

Now that I've spent 10 days in Vietnam visiting Hanoi, Ho Ain, Halong Bay, Hue, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, I wanted to see what I thought about Truong's.

The menu at Truong's is a mix of Vietnamese, Filipino and Chamorro. All of the menu items have a Vietnamese name listed, but for the life of me I don't remember seeing any kelaguen or lumpia when I was in Vietnam.

EJ and I stopped in for dinner tonight. We ordered the Pho Bo (beef soup), Beef Salad and Chicken with lemon grass. Pardon me for not remembering the Vietnamese names for Beef Salad and Chicken with lemon grass.

The Pho Bo ($8.95) came out first. Big enough for two people, it was served with a pair of small bowls and spoons. The soup had flat noodles and grilled beef in beef broth. Basil, bean sprouts, chopped romaine lettuce and a lemon wedge were served on the side.

There was more than enough to fill two large bowls. One serving could easily serve as a light appetizer for a party of four.

The Beef Salad ($9.95) and the Chicken with lemon grass ($8.95) came out next. The beef dish had a generous portion of sliced sauteed beef with onions, pepper and a tasty marinade served over a bed of diced romaine lettuce. This was my favorite dish. I could see myself making a weekly visit to Truong's just for the Beef Salad.

We didn't have as much luck with the Chicken with lemon grass. It was made with strips of chicken breast sauteed in a spicy sauce with onions. The sauce was tasty, but the chicken tasted old. It was dry and flavorless.

The portions of both dishes were very generous. Two people could have shared each one, unless it was the Beef Salad, in which case you'd probably have to order two, especially if I'm at the table.

I was happy with my Diet Pepsi, too. One of my pet peeves on this island is restaurants that only sell cans of soda. Troung's offers the diner a nice big cup of soda along with unlimited free refills.

Saipan Taco Bell

All the discussion on the Federal Takeover of the CNMI's Immigration ceased on December 15, 2007 at approximately 10:00 AM. Really, I wouldn't joke about something so serious.

At that exact moment, the people of the CNMI turned their attention to a much more important matter, the recent opening of Taco Bell...and no, I'm not kidding.

This has been the biggest thing to hit the CNMI since the shelling we got from the US during World War II.

It is estimated that about 3000 people showed up for the recent Unity March. The best guess for the Martin Nievera concert hovers around 10,000. From what I have been told, over 25,000 crashed through the gates of Taco Bell on their first day of business.

OK, now I'm kidding.

But seriously, EJ and I went to Taco Bell this morning and the line was practically out the door. It wasn't even lunch time!

Who knew Chamorros and Filipinos loved Mexican food so much?!?!

They've got everything one would expect at Taco Bell, but it seemed a lot more expensive than it should have been.

A hard shell beef taco was $1.29. Doesn't that seem expensive?

Oh well, that didn't stop us. I got some hard tacos and chalupas and EJ got a steak burrito and some nachos. The whole thing came out to $14.76. Again, doesn't that seem kind of expensive for Taco Bell?

There was no available seating at the restaurant, so EJ and I decided to take our food to the beach. We found a nice little concrete picnic table at American Memorial Park and sat down to our feast.

American Memorial Park is Saipan's only National Park. How many people get to go to Taco Bell and then eat it in a National Park? We had a nice time sitting by the beach watching the kite surfers and the windsurfers.

Nothing says romance like Taco Bell, let me tell you.

What else can I say about the Bell? It tasted just like it tastes in America and I look forward to paying them many, many dollars to help me expand my waste line in the next several months.