SAIGON CAFE

Where: Saigon Cafe, 440 W 300 S, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Egg Rolls, Szechuan Chicken and Mongolian Beef

What It Cost: $22 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Being from the Pacific Northwest, I have a special spot in my heart for every type of Asian cuisine. And it's so hard to find here in Utah for some reason! Especially teriyaki. Does anyone know of any good teriyaki places in the state of Utah?? I crave it all the time! Anyway, when I saw that Saigon Cafe was one of the highest rated Chinese restaurants in Utah County, I immediately added it to my wishlist. Then Owen surprised me on a date taking me here - what a great guy :)

I heart egg rolls. These ones were about as good as you could expect -- not outstanding but definitely satisfying. The dipping sauce was tangy and delicious, and they were served hot and crispy. So far, a good start. 

I ordered the Szechuan chicken, which had a couple chili peppers next its name, which made me pretty excited. Who knew they were literal chili peppers?! Nonetheless, it was super delicious, just the right amount of spicy, and a good balance of meat and vegetables. And I'm not sure if you noticed the plate above, but it was huge! Definitely plenty of food for dinner and at least one lunch later on...

They also brought us a little plate of fried wontons with some dipping sauce, which was kind of cute, but I didn't really get it. Are you supposed to eat them just like plain? Is it like the tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant? I don't know. We ate them because we were hungry and they were tasty, but I'm not sure if we were doing it correctly...

Owen got the Mongolian beef, which was super fun with these little crispy white things on top. The meat was super tender and delicious, perfectly cooked, and there was a lot of it! We loved the flavor of the sauce, and the dish as a whole. Yum!

What You Should Do: I don't know...I think Saigon Cafe may be moving up the ranks as my new favorite Chinese restaurant in Utah Valley! I'll have to visit it again to confirm, but it was pretty tasty. It was also a great deal! An appetizer plus two gigantic entrees for around $20 -- not bad. I would definitely recommend Saigon Cafe to anyone looking for excellent Chinese food near BYU.

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California Pizza Kitchen

Where: California Pizza Kitchen, 575 University Parkway, Ste B28, Orem

Who Went: Owen & Chelsey

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: Avocado Club Egg Rolls, Pear and Gorgonzola Thin Crust Pizza, and Habañero Carnitas Pizza 

What It Cost: $36.00 including tip

What We Thought: 

I've hesitated writing about CPK for a long time now because I am positive that it will ruin my credibility as any sort of blogger who knows things about food, but I cannot hide my love for California Pizza Kitchen any longer! I know its a chain and that it is slightly overpriced, but they have a few menu items that have just won my heart and will keep me coming back for more. 

Even thought it's located at the mall, California Pizza Kitchen is really good about getting you in as fast as they can. If you don't want to wait at all to eat, they are usually quite open if you get there before 6, and if there is a wait, then they will give you a pager and let you go shopping all over the mall until your table is ready! Much better than sitting on that patch of grass outside Olive Garden, which I've seen way too often... Every time we've been there, we've had fairly good service, even when they are super busy, and the wait is just about what I would expect. 

Even though it will surely lead to a heart attack one day, we always have to start with these avocado club egg rolls. They are SO GOOD! Stuffed with tomato, chicken, cheese, bacon, and large slices of avocado and deep fried in a wonton wrapper -- these babies are the stuff of my dreams people. They are served with this "ranchito" sauce...I have no idea what that means, but it's heaven when drizzled over these egg rolls. My arteries are probably getting clogged just by looking at this picture, but I seriously can't help myself with these.

One of my favorite parts of CPK pizzas is their crust. It's pretty thin, but still chewy and flavorful and almost has this unique tangy taste - I don't know what it is, but I love it! Sadly, this thin crispy crust pizza was, well, crispy, and wasn't as amazing as the normal pizzas to me. I liked the flavor of this pizza however. The gorgonzola cheese wasn't too overpowering, and the pears paired nicely with the arugula on top. I was worried that it would be too difficult to eat and that leftovers would be no good because the arugula would get soggy, but neither of these two things turned out to be a problem. The pear was a little drier than I would have personally liked, but overall, it was a fun deviation from the normal pizza options.

We love spicy food, and Owen almost always orders the Spicy Chipotle Chicken pizza, but this time I convinced him to try something new and we were not disappointed! The carnitas were succulent and in good supply on this pizza, and even though our waitress warned us about the spiciness of the habeñero salsa that was served on the side, we found it to be just right. The cilantro pesto base added some nice flavor to the pizza, and we thought it was delicious! 

What You Should Do: Even though it's a chain and many people may turn their noses up, I definitely think California Pizza Kitchen is worthy of your time and money. We've tried a variety of items here and have been satisfied and happy after every visit. Though I normally prefer the original crust pizzas, if you want to go thin & crispy, I would recommend the Jamaican Jerk Chicken pizza too! I love all of their unique pizza flavors and can never get enough of those darn avocado egg rolls...they've got me hooked. I've never tried any of their pastas or salads, so I can't vouch for them, but the pizzas are great and if you order two, there is almost always enough left over for lunch the next day - awesome! 

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Wild Ginger

Where: Wild Ginger, 366 N University Avenue, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Sidney

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Wonton Soup, Fried Dumplings, Sesame Chicken, Beef & Broccoli

What It Cost: $24.37

What We Thought:

What used to be a cheap and rather shady Chinese buffet has been transformed into a more upscale and delicious Chinese restaurant near downtown Provo! When you're in the mood for Chinese food that doesn't come from a paper box, Wild Ginger is a great place to check out. They have a huge range of menu options (seriously, the menu is like 20 pages or something), and lots of specials and also sushi choices, if that's your thing. Sidney and I decided to go with a couple classics, and were delighted with the results.

We both started out with the wonton soup, which was included with our entreé. I loved the plethora of soft wonton noodles in the light broth, and enjoyed the spicy soy sauce that could be mixed in as well. They offered a great variety of condiments and sauces that could be used to customize the soup to your tastebuds, and I thought it was a great way to start off the meal.

Though not necessarily the healthiest option, these fried dumplings were absolutely delicious. It was a huge portion, and definitely would have been enough food for an entire meal, and even though I tried to convince Sidney to eat some, we were both completely stuffed by the end of our meal. These dumplings were fried without being too greasy, and were full of delicious flavor. I tried making my own dumplings once and decided that they were way too much work so I always appreciate heavenly dumplings that someone else prepares :)

Just look at how perfect that sesame chicken looks. Yeah, it was pretty dang good. Just the right amount of sauce (not dry, not drenched), and perfectly sized pieces of chicken (I hate it when you get a piece of chicken that takes like ten bites to eat) helped make this sesame chicken dish perfect. Coated with plenty of toasted sesame seeds and a flavorful sauce, this dish is definitely a good choice. I usually prefer spicy foods, so I probably would have gone with the orange chicken or something with a stronger flavor, but Sidney was overall very satisfied with this dish.

I absolutely loved my beef and broccoli, which surprisingly came with much more than just these two ingredients. I thought the mixed in zucchini and carrots were a fantastic addition that enhanced the texture of variety of this dish. The beef was tender and savory, and all of the vegetables were cooked to perfection. I thought the sauce was great, and was pleasantly surprised by the fried rice I had on the side. There weren't any vegetables or anything mixed into the rice, which I was initially disappointed about, but this made it go really well with the beef & broccoli and completely the dish nicely.

What You Should Do: Definitely check it out! I think that Wild Ginger may be my new favorite Chinese restaurant in the area, which is a bold statement for me because it has taken forever to decide! They have a cool atmosphere, convenient location, reasonable prices, and delicious dishes.

Green Panda Cafe

Where: Green Panda Cafe, 3220 N University Avenue, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Peach Boba Smoothie & Passion Fruit Boba Smoothie

What It Cost: $8.08

What We Thought:


Okay, so we didn't get a full meal here, but I really wanted to share with you about this place! If you're from the PNW like me, you know that bubble tea is a HUGE deal over on the West Coast. For a while, bubble tea was as ubiquitous over there as frozen yogurt is here in Provo. I'm not the biggest tea person, so I would usually go for a bubble (or boba) smoothie instead, and I fell in love with the fun experience of drinking a delicious smoothie with fun little balls of tapioca that get slurped through a giant straw. When I drove by Green Panda and saw their giant sign outside advertising boba smoothies, I was so excited that a place nearby is selling one of my favorite treats! If you know of any other places nearby that sell boba smoothies, please let me know. But so far, this has been the only place that I've found that makes these tasty beverages, and they do a fantastic job.

Their smoothies are light and refreshing on a hot day (which we seem to have had plenty of lately), and are HUGE! Next time I definitely think that Owen and I will share one. They have an awesome range of flavors, including lychee, honeydew, green apple, mango, peach, passion fruit, strawberry, and more. I loved the peach flavor of my smoothie - it actually tasted like the real fruit, rather than a mix of artificial flavorings. And the bobas (chewy tapioca balls) are fantastic - great texture and they really give you quite a few in your drink. Some bubble tea places I've been to in Washington give you like five bobas in your smoothie, but Green Panda puts in just the right amount.

What You Should Do: Check them out! If you've never had a boba smoothie before, then you are in for a real fun and unique dessert experience. Some people think that they are too weird, but I love them!  Definitely a nice change of pace from getting frozen yogurt all the time... Green Panda does a great job with them. Though it may not look like much from the outside, Green Panda Cafe has an adorable panda-themed interior, friendly staff, and fabulous smoothies. We will definitely be heading back there to try the other food on their menu soon! 

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Rice King

Where: Rice King, 278 W Center Street, Provo

Who Went: Owen & Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: 2 Egg Rolls, Sesame Chicken, & Mongolian Beef

What It Cost: $18.93

What We Thought:


The other day when Owen & I were decided where to eat, we realized that we didn't have a favorite quick Chinese take-out place. How embarrassing! So I snapped up this Restaurant.com coupon really quick and we headed down to Center Street.

Despite the lackluster restaurant interior and greasy odor in the air, the restaurant was surprisingly populated. We were comforted by this, and many people around us seem to frequent the restaurant regularly, which is typically a good sign. We placed our order and then entertained ourselves with the Chinese Year informative paper place mats.

Rice King definitely has quick service - they brought out our food less than five minutes after ordering, and we were impressed by the very large portion sizes. The egg rolls were decent - nice and crispy, normal-tasting insides, tangy dipping sauce. About what you would expect from an egg roll and a decent price.

My sesame chicken was sadly not as good as it looks - there was hardly any sauce on the chicken, which made the overall meal dry and just tasting like flavorless fried chicken. When paired with the rice served on the side, it was overwhelmingly anhydrous. What little sauce was dripped on the plate did not have a very distinctive sesame flavor, and I was just overall not that satisfied. On the upside, I was also not very hungry by the end of the meal - I only ate half the dish and was still plenty full.

Owen's Mongolian Beef was equally unimpressive. The portion once again was enormous, and the beef was surprisingly tender, but the dish was completely lacking any flavor punch. On the menu, it showed a "spicy" icon next to this option, but we couldn't detect any heat at all. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not great - at least it was cheap!

What You Should Do: If you're in a desperate mood for some cheap Chinese food, then Rice King may be the place for you, but I don't think we will go there again - the quest for the best Chinese take-out continues! They have exceptionally large portions, fairly cheap prices (especially the lunch specials), and lots of options, just not the best flavors we've ever experienced. Any recommendations for great Chinese take-out?

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