The Green Leaf

With the exception of a bit too flustered service, we enjoyed the food at Tamarind Tree restaurant so much that we decided to take another foray into Seattle's International District while we were there. After having a good look on Yelp, we found The Green Leaf, a Vietnamese restaurant that many users were comparing to Tamarind Tree and more often than not, claiming it was even better. This was all the encouragement we needed to set off.

Learning my lesson from Tamarind Tree, I called Green Leaf ahead of time to make reservations for 4, but the woman on the phone said she did not take reservations for that small a number which I found rather odd. This feeling soon turned into a bit of annoyance when there was only one table remaining at the restaurant and it was unfortunately situated directly in the path of an icy wind tunnel that was created each time the door was opened (which was frequent due to the delivery people). To say that the decor of the place is a step down from Tamarind Tree would be a vast understatement. This was very much a hole-in-the wall restaurant you go on your lunch break as opposed to Tamarind where you could easily take a date or a crowd of friends.

Perhaps I should have tried something more adventurous, but I was so delighted by the Chili Chicken with Lemon Leaves at Tamarind Tree that I ordered a similar Lemongrass Chicken dish at Green Leaf. My dad ordered the house special noodle soup, Kym had the Vegetarian Vermicelli and my mom ordered the same thing as me only with shrimp instead of chicken.

The food arrived completely separate of each other which was a bit strange and always a bit awkward as people's food gets cold and you have no idea how long it will be. My chicken was quite good, though admittedly not quite as good as Tamarind. My dad found the noodle soup overcooked, especially the meat inside. My mother's lemongrass shrimp was oddly much more spicy than my dish which she wasn't quite able to handle unfortunately. In a reversal of fortunes, Kym was the most happiest with her dish finding it very delicious, particularly the tofu which was probably the best she's ever had!

Maybe we didn't make smart menu choices, but right now, given the similarity in prices, there's little question over which Vietnamese restaurant I'll go back to next time I'm in Seattle.