Sunflower Restaurant
8557 Research #146, 339-7860Daily, 10am-10pm
Sunflower is one of Austin’s premier Vietnamese restaurants and should be commended for featuring a number of dishes not available at any of its competing Viet venues. Situated in the Asian megaplex at the northeast corner of Ohlen and Research, Sunflower has somewhat limited seating, and arriving at rush times can mean a wait for a table. It’s worth that wait.
On our most recent visits we opted to forgo our faves and order some different dishes. Calamari Salad ($6) is a bed of julienned cabbage, carrot, and daikon topped with mint, fried garlic, peanuts, and an ample portion of meltingly tender squid, with a perfectly balanced tangy dressing. BBQ Pork Balls ($7.95) are divine ping-pong-ball-sized nuggets of richly seasoned pork, resting on flat pillows of rice noodles. A salad plate of lettuce, Vietnamese mint, cucumber, carrot, and daikon accompany, all to be wrapped up in rice papers. Sunflower is the first to master the problem of rice papers that stick together, using ingenious stacked paddle-shaped plastic partitions to keep them isolated from one other.
Halibut Special Crispy Fish ($14.95) arrives as chunks of golden-battered succulent fish, resting on a bed of leaf lettuce and red onions, all bathed in a complex tamarind sauce with just a kiss of piquancy. It’s a perfect match with the fish, but the leftover sauce paired with the onions and lettuce didn’t escape our appreciative gullets. Beef Wrapped in Grape Leaves (their substitute for la lot leaf, ubiquitous in Southeast Asia but largely unavailable here, $8.95) is a nicely charred leaf wrapper encasing a thickly textured minced beef filling, delightful when rolled up with herbs in rice papers, then dipped in a masterful nuoc cham sauce.
Spicy Seafood Combination ($9.95) is a stir fry of shrimp, tender squid, crisp green beans, bamboo shoots, caramelized onions, lemongrass, and chile, seasoned with turmeric. It’s a flavor loosely reminiscent of Hanoi’s famous dish cha ca (fish with turmeric) and absolutely addictive. Vietnamese BBQ Pork ($7.95) is perhaps the least inspired of the offerings we tried: thin, tender slices of char grilled pork on a bed of lettuce. It could have used more time in its marinating bath to allow the flavors to develop, but the dish is no slouch.
Halfway through one of our meals, we were suddenly bombarded by three new neighbors at the next table who had bathed heavily in violently conflicting perfumes. Still, the aroma (and flavor) of our dishes was able to prevail. Had you been there you would realize what a feat this was, and it speaks to the high quality and appetizing taste of the food served at Sunflower!
We were somehow able to pass up the temptation of their amazing bahn xeo (rice crepes), the Shrimp on Sugarcane, and the ethereal Shaking Beef, which allowed us to order some different items for a change. We do not regret the decision. So far, after many visits through the years, it’s proven impossible to get a dud when we’ve ordered at Sunflower. The atmosphere is mediocre, the tables are a little too close together, the service can occasionally border on indifference – but we love this place!
This article appears in October 8 • 2004.
