Mi La Cai

Mi La Cai is one of those Asian restaurants designed for the American diner. With a clean and modern decor, the interior is so much nicer than what you would expect out of a Vietnamese restaurant on State Street in Salt Lake City. The staff is attentive and the operations are smooth for how busy it always is. This is definitely one of the top spots to bring your American friends for some easy and safe (not so adventurous) Asian dishes.

The Vietnamese coffee is always disappointing, so I don't know why I bother ordering it each time. They make in the back kitchen and bring it out iced and ready to go. (No traditional drip filter here :( I wonder how many people notice?) The window seats are nice as you get glimpses of State Street traffic next the tan interior color scheme.

Eggrolls.  Crispy crunchy and wrapped in rice paper (versus wonton egg wrapper) before frying. These eggrolls are filled with carrots, pork, glass noodles, and served with some fish sauce and veggies. These were decent, but missing the traditional serving of lettuce, mint, herbs, sprouts and chili.

Wonton Soup.  The broth is okay, but the wonton skins were too thick and doughy. Thank goodness they did not skimp on the flat Chinese chive blades and fried shallot, which saved the soup.

Stir-fry Beef.  I forgot what this dish was listed as on the menu. It was flavorful and tasty without a thick starchy sauce (which you would expect in a Chinese dish). The meat was overcooked but still tasted decent and chewy.

White Rice.  Nothing, NOTHING beats a bowl of hot sticky rice.

Mi La Cai Noodle House

(801) 322-3590

961 South State Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Located in the same parking lot with Auto Zone.