Adventure 20: East Sea

On a trip to visit the Salvation Army seeking volunteer opportunities which, incidentally won't be an upcoming adventure, I found myself on the west side around lunch time. I, of course, sought out a new Salt Lake City restaurant to try! I found my answer in East Sea, the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurant sandwiched between Rancho Market and Pipa.

I don't know if I had ever eaten Vietnamese food before, so an adventure ensues!

The first thing I noticed when entering the restaurant was the smell. It reminded me of that old hospital smell, but stale. It was really strong, and didn't get better after I was seated. I have to be honest, if it wasn't for the prospect of this being an adventure for this blog, I probably would have left. I couldn't imagine being able to enjoy a meal surrounded by such an unpleasant smell.

However, the appearance of the interior wasn't bad. Some items quite nice, like this wall piece to my left.

The tables reminded me of a 70's diner my dad took me to on a camping trip. That diner was filled with tough-looking bikers, this one was filled with men on their lunch break. In fact, the nearby table of three men in their business casual attire with their work badges clipped to their belts seemed to be staring at me. They either didn't like me treading on their ground, or they were trying to hit on me. If I wasn't so turned off by the smell I might have taken more notice.

The server who helped me wasn't very friendly, but she answered my questions regarding the menu well. 

After ordering my chicken with noodle salad, I made a a quick trip to the bathroom. I disappointedly found one of these in there. Remember these? Now I know this place is from the 70's. I dried my hands on my pants this time.

When I returned to my table, this egg drop soup was waiting for me. It wasn't bad.

The noodle salad, with this sauce... amazing! So delicious. I almost forgot about the smell as I ate this wonderful dish. It didn't seem like a lot of food, as the bottom of the bowl was just cabbage and sprouts.  The noodles were really light... more like veggies than pasta. However, I was completely satisfied by my last bite. In fact, 10 minutes later I was a little full. I think I may have eaten a little fast. Now I know why they've been in business since the 70's. (I don't actually know how long they've been open, but I'm guessing the food is the reason they're still open.) Oh, and this meal was $6. Easily the least expensive lunch I've had eating out in recent memory.

The fortune cookie was the best I've had. Though it was in a plastic wrapper, it looked and tasted homemade. In fact, it reminded me of my friend Natalie's fortune cookies I made in front of my eyes at her Chinese New Year party, which are the best I've tasted. I now have a tie.

So maybe the answer here is to do take out next time? That would take out the negative contributors to my experience.

On my way out of there.

Time spent on adventure: 30 minutes

Money spent: $8.50

Recommendation: 7 out of 10 adventure points!