Last night my friend Minh from Huntington Beach was in town and we decided to eat dinner at Tamarine. That's an upscale Vietnamese place on University Ave. in Palo Alto. Minh brought her two friends, Tiffany and Gina and we were all set for a great, if not totally authentic Vietnamese meal.
Here is how it went:
- Hamachi with Grapefruit and Tamarind (very good clean distinct flavors and disappeared in a blink of an eye - pricey at $14)
- Spring rolls with pork and shrimp (also good but nothing special)
- Kobe Beef Pho (the beef was quite good, the broth smelled ok, wimpy noodles and the taste was not there - all in all: BLAH - expensive at $13)
- Branzino baked in Banana leaf (quite good moist mediterranean white fish with lots of flavor - good but expensive at $28)
- Sea Bass with rice noodles (quite good as well, but small portion and a little too sweet for my taste - $30)
Verdict:
Over all the small dishes were better. My martini was great. Everything was quite expensive. The place is very elegant and seemed to be full of elderly Palo Tech types. I recommend hanging in the bar and eating hamachi and drinking martinis!
Cheers.
