Hue Palace (Vietnamese) - Joliet

We ate at this restaurant for the first time yesterday, it was really good. Fresh food, nice decor. In a non-descript (is there any other kind?) strip mall
on Black Road in Joliet. I had the Pho with meatballs (almost finished it), we shared appetizers (spring rolls and banh xeo - a crepe). The dessert was good too, a concoction of coconut milk, beans (?) and I think lychees (#82 from the menu). I tried the #72 (preserved salted lemonade), which was much better than it sounds. The staff is attentive and actually seem like they want your business, what a concept. The TV in the corner unobtrusively flashes pictures of the menu items, if you want a preview. They do have a liquor license now (contrary to some older reviews), but I had the #72 (preserved salted lemonade) to drink, which was much better than it sounds.


Hue Palace
http://www.huepalace.com/

2779 Black Road
Joliet, IL 60435
815-725-6788

Any idea if the owners are from Hue? Hue has some very distinctive specialties. Did they have a dish called cao lau?

Yeah, Hue food is quite interesting. Would be curious to know if this place is the real deal.

Made it out to Hue Palace, hoping they would have some interesting options as mentioned up thread. The menu is pretty much a standard Vietnamese menu, with a couple Thai items sprinkled in, though they did have Bun Bo Hue.

We started off with an order of spring rolls (they were out of banh cuon). They were good but kind of light on the herbs and seemingly a day old from the looks of the lettuce. My friend ordered pan fried rice noodles and a fish stir fry. The fish stir fry was tender but on the whole uninteresting (granted it didn't sound too interesting on the menu either). The pan fried rice noodles had a nice crispy exterior and were served in triangles like slices of pie. I liked them doused with chili oil or fish sauce, both which were on the table as condiments. They were served in the same, somewhat bland sauce as the fish dish.

The bun bo hue was the highlight of the meal. It had a full-flavored broth with plenty of chili flakes and the distinct flavor of lemongrass. It featured several hunks of tender beef brisket and tendon as well as some spongy and somewhat unappetizing pieces of processed pork they called luncheon meat. It was served with a small portion of shredded lettuce and cabbage. I felt like it would have gone well with the typical plate of basil, mint and limes but I can't say whether or not that's authentic. I read that the broth is made with shrimp paste that I did not pick up on, so perhaps there was room for improvement, but for my first sample of bun bo hue I have to say I liked the broth even though the condiments were lacking.

Overall it was what I would consider passable Vietnamese food. With some experience I'm pretty sure you could order some fine dishes there.

I had heard they changed owners and food since I posted my previous review, and it doesn't sound like it was for the better.