Quang is one of the most well-known Vietnamese restaurants in the Twin Cities. They are located on Eat Street, which is a popular avenue in Minneapolis for immigrant restaurants. Most people in Minneapolis know about Quang for their delicious and affordable Vietnamese food. Even Paulina’s mom, who lives 2.5 hours away from Minneapolis, has been visiting Quang since the 90’s.
Before the pandemic, the entire restaurant sat people shoulder-to-shoulder. You know it’s good when it’s packed! When we visited in May 2021 and there were significantly less people dining in. Our takeout experience was efficient and easy. We ordered online through their website and the food was ready within 15 minutes. In addition, the restaurant was well-staffed and the servers were polite.
Quang remodeled their exterior and their interior, and the new look is modern and sleek! We appreciated that they still kept their Buddha sculptures, honoring their religion and history. Their new lighting makes the restaurant feel like a hip bar. Quang also installed a small outside dining area for patrons. At the counter, they had some food to grab on the go, such as banh mi, chè, and Asian drinks. They looked so enticing - we had to stop ourselves from grabbing extra treats!
Quang’s menu is extensive, including starters, vermicelli noodle salads, banh mi sandwiches, platters, noodles soups, pho, and all types of beverages. We did our best to pick one from each category that fit our budget: Goi Cuon (Pork and shrimp spring roll), Banh Mi Heo Nuong (Grilled Pork), Café Sau Da (Vietnamese iced coffee), Bun Bo Nuong, Cha Gio Grilled Beef and Eggrolls, and Flan.
Gỏi Cuốn, known as spring rolls, are a staple of Vietnamese cuisine. Gỏi Cuốn roughly translates to “salad roll.” According to Bun Mi Grill, there’s a legend that spring rolls were “invented during the time of king Nguyễn Huệ Quang Trung during a famous battle where he ordered his men to carry each other on hammocks so that one can rest and sleep while others kept moving. Because they were on the go, they constantly needed ‘mobile’ meals.”
Quang’s spring rolls were filled with vermicelli noodles, shrimp, grilled pork, lettuce, pickled carrot, cilantro, and mint. The spring rolls were delicious and fresh. In fact, the characterization of “salad roll” was accurate, with the blend of veggies, meat and noodles stuffed inside rice paper. The spring roll itself had a neutral flair. The protein in the spring roll was not overly seasoned. The hoisin peanut sauce complemented the spring rolls, and added sweet and umami flavors. We wish that there were more herbs in the spring roll to make it more fragrant. We appreciated how the spring rolls were tightly wrapped, stayed contained, and didn’t dry out while we ate them. Overall, we enjoyed starting our meal with the spring rolls!
Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that consists of a baguette with grilled pork, pickled daikon, pickled carrots, carrots, jalapeno, cilantro, and pâté. The baguette was high-quality. It was airy, crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. Often at other restaurants, the baguette ends of banh mis are rock hard and scratch the roof of our mouths, but we were pleasantly surprised that the banh mi at Quang’s was high-quality. We opted for the grilled pork version, which is not their specialty. Unfortunately, the pork was dry, instead of juicy and tender. However, the marinade on the pork was well-balanced and not too overpowering. We added Sriracha and used our dipping sauce from our spring rolls to make the sandwich more moist and palatable.The pickled vegetables, cilantro, and jalapeno were fresh and crunchy. We would have loved more of the herbs and vegetables! The flavors of the sandwich meshed well together. There wasn’t a single ingredient that overpowered each other. We wished there were more ingredients stuffed into the banh mi. Usually, banh mis are bursting out of baguette, but Quang’s quantity of ingredients was modest. Overall, the banh mi was well-balanced, but a little dry and could have had more filling to make a complete sandwich.
Flan is a sweet dessert made from egg, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and dressed in caramel sauce. Flan became a dessert in Vietnamese culture after the French colonized them in the 1800’s. Compared to European flan, Vietnamese flan is smaller in portion size and steamed. Quang’s flan was not too sweet, which is one of the ultimate compliments one can receive on their desserts from Asian people (see meme below). It was silky, smooth, and melted in your mouth. We could have eaten a big ramen bowl of flan, but instead, this came in a 3-inch tin that we shared with each other. The caramel sauce gave the flan a rich, dark taste. Surprisingly, the sauce was runny and almost had a water-like consistency. We would have appreciated a thicker sauce, but we’re not sure if Vietnamese flan usually has a runny sauce. Either way, the caramel perfectly complemented the flan and brought cohesion to the dessert.
Café Sau Da, or Vietnamese iced coffee, is dark coffee that is slowly brewed and mixed with condensed milk. This is a strong coffee that will give you the jitters and keep you up throughout the entire day. Café Sau Da is perfect for any coffee lover who enjoys a deep and rich coffee flavor. We enjoyed the beverage, but wished it was not so overpoweringly sweet from the condensed milk. We waited until most of the ice melted before drinking it, which helped balance out the sweetness. Sandy orders this drink every time she eats at Quang!
Bun Bo Nuong consists of vermicelli noodles, grilled beef, egg rolls, lettuce, pickled carrot, cilantro, and peanuts. The bun was our favorite dish out of everything we tried! The egg rolls were crunchy, savory, and fresh. They were the highlight of the dish. The beef was well-marinated and tender, and didn’t overpower the rest of the vermicelli salad. We wished there was more beef and egg rolls, as the ratio of noodles to salad was leaning heavy on the noodle side. Quang included an appropriate amount of vegetables and they added a crunchy texture to the dish. The bun came with nước chấm, a delicious, light dipping sauce consisting of water, sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce. The nước chấm brought everything together, bringing even more acid and salt into the dish. We always loved Quang’s eggrolls and eating a dish with egg rolls and beef in a noodle salad was the ultimate combination.
Quang is a fantastic restaurant to visit for quick, delicious food at a great price. The restaurant deserves it’s hype. We recommend everyone trying out any dish from their menu. Although Quang is recognized for their pho, we opted out from choosing a pho dish because we wouldn’t have been able to finish the pho. However, in our previous experiences, Quang’s pho is delicious and filling. Quang is definitely a staple restaurant you should visit on Eat Street!