Sunflower Restaurant

Sunflower Restaurant

Daily, 10am-10pm

One problem that diners consistently encounter with ethnic restaurants is the uniformity of the menu. From a cuisine that might have literally thousands of different dishes, we see the same items in each menu category time and time again, no matter which restaurant you go into. It's as if the restaurant owners all got together at some secret meeting and decided just exactly how adventurous they felt they could be with the palates of their customers. And for those of us who crave a little more menu variety in the restaurants we patronize, this sameness is like a ball and chain. Thankfully, the chefs at Sunflower missed the meeting. They provide a frisky menu, loaded with items not usually found around town.

Sunflower is located at the old Mai's spot in the Hong Kong Supermarket shopping center at the northeast corner of Ohlen and Research. The décor is pleasant and clean, with fresh flowers on the table, and music that ranges from traditional Vietnamese to Shania Twain and Viet disco-rave tunes. The staff seems to be intimately familiar with the dishes and quite helpful when questions arise about the selections. The staff is young and occasionally need gentle reminders about requests, but they're attentive for the most part, and the food arrives promptly.

We first tried several items from the lunch menu, beginning with the elusive Bahn Xeo ($7.25), a crepe of egg, rice flour, and coconut milk, stuffed with sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, onion, carrot, shrimp, and pork. It arrives with the traditional salad plate of lettuce leaves that are used to wrap the pieces of crepe, with mint, cilantro, and cucumber. Of all the Vietnamese restaurants in this city, very few have this dish on their menus. The version found at Sunflower is fresh and first-rate. The serving was huge, the crepe delicate and crisp on the outside, and the filling generous and delicious.

Next we tried a bowl of Bun Cha Gio Tom Nuong ($5.50), a large serving of vermicelli noodles with vegetables, grilled shrimp, and pieces of fried shrimp and pork Imperial rolls. Bun is one of the dishes that we use to gauge the mettle of Viet cafes; the version offered by Sunflower passed the test with flying colors. The noodles were properly al dente, the shrimp plump, flavorful, and not overcooked, the vegetables crisp, and the Imperial rolls crisp and well-stuffed.

We followed that with a plate of Mi Xao Don Hal San ($7.25), a large platter of crispy fried rice noodles topped with a stir fry of shrimp, squid, crab sea legs, and vegetables in a light brown sauce. The sauce was rich and delicious, and the squid and shrimp just-cooked and not the least bit rubbery. Since the menu listed the dish as Seafood Medley, we can't complain about the use of sea legs in the mix, but they're not one of our favorite gifts from the sea.

Dinner on the next visit began with two appetizers: Banh Hol Chao Tom (shrimp paté wrapped around sugar cane, $8.95) and Banh Hol Nem Nuong (barbecued minced pork balls, $7.95). Had we been paying better attention, the names of the dishes would have clued us in to the similarity, but both were excellent, and actually complemented each other. They both arrived on a bed of thin squares of compressed rice vermicelli (unique to our Viet dining) which make a perfect vehicle for the accompanying Nuoc Cham sauce. The shrimp was sweetened slightly by the sugar cane and very fresh. The barbecued pork balls were delightfully rich. Both dishes come with a salad plate and steamed rice paper wrappers, and the idea is to make your own bundles of all the ingredients to dip in the sauce. This is hands-on food that's as much fun to put together as it is tasty.

Next to arrive was Canh Chua Ca Hay Tom (hot and sour catfish or shrimp soup, small, $4.25; large, $6.25). We opted for the shrimp version, and found it superb, with a rich and spicy broth laden with sprouts, celery, pineapple, diced tomato, and shrimp -- one of the better versions in Austin.

A rare find, Bo Luc Lac ("Shaking Beef," $8.95) was our next arrival. Meltingly tender cubes of beef with a nicely heavy dose of garlic, caramelized and browned on the outside, and pink on the inside. It came on a bed of thin onions marinated in vinegar and quickly sautéed, with lettuce leaves and tomatoes. It also comes with a dish of mixed salt and pepper with lime to squeeze over the spices and dip the cubes into. Absolutely superb -- one of our favorite beef dishes to date.

We finished up with Tom Rang Muol ($12.95), four enormous Tiger prawns very lightly battered with rice flour and a spice paste on a bed of lo mein noodles stir-fried with garlic, beaten egg, and broccoli. The prawns were the size of small lobsters, and were very tender, and the spice paste-batter delightful. The noodles at the base were a meal in themselves. We're still not sure if we were supposed to eat the shells, but we scraped off every tiny bit of the delicious batter, and none was wasted.

Sunflower opens up a whole new world of Vietnamese treats for Austin diners. You'll find things here that you can't get anywhere else in town. The portions are huge and the prices reasonable, but best of all, the food is excellent and unique. Move Sunflower to the upper echelon of your Vietnamese list ASAP.