Every week, I try a new restaurant on the Green Line, the light rail that connects St. Paul and Minneapolis. This week, I took the Green Line past Dale Street to a Vietnamese restaurant called Trieu Chau. Trieu Chau is a small Vietnamese restaurant, with waiters who care about their customers. The restaurant offers a plethora of different dishes, from a wide variety of soups (Pho, Hu Tieu, and more) to Northern Vietnamese/Chinese noodle dishes. My friends and I liked the dishes, especially given their price. Everything was under $10, and the portions were so large that no one could finish their food.

I ordered one of the standard pho dishes ($5.75), with brisket, tripe and flank. The meat and the broth were both pretty good. I’ve had better, but considering that I could barely finish the bowl, I haven’t had better pho of a similar quantity for only $7. Another bonus of this restaurant is that they are very understanding when it comes to substituting items and making dishes vegetarian. For example, my friends got vegetarian options that varied from mock duck to tofu, all of which accompanied their respective dishes nicely. My friend got a chow fun dish ($7.75) and the noodles were accompanied with a thick and hearty sauce that definitely made the dish.

For an appetizer, I tried the spring rolls ($3.50) with peanut sauce. The spring rolls were fine, but what really stuck out was that the peanut sauce had some chili paste, which added a nice kick to the sweetness of the sauce. I want to make clear that this isn’t the best restaurant I’ve ever been to. I’ve tried a lot of restaurants on the Green Line and I gave this a fair chance. However, the reason why I have decided to write about Trieu Chau is because of the amazing prices for above-average food. While I don’t recommend the combo-specials (because the fried rice was very bland and dry), I will definitely be going back because of the big portions, accessibility and cheap prices. For all of you college students who want decent, affordable pho, this is the place to go. The waiters were very friendly, the food came fast, and overall it was easy to get to

considering it was one block away from the Dale Street Light Rail Station. Trieu Chau has gotten great reviews on many websites, and they even boast of winning awards inside the restaurant. I have been trying to find the best pho in the Twin Cities, and while I don’t think this restaurant will win my heart, I will most definitely be going back for good food in huge portions.

Trieu Chau is located at 500 University Ave W, St Paul 55103.