888

I had lunch today at 888. Their sign is something like 8 8 8, with the middle 8 larger. Not sure why, but it makes an interesting logo. Here is the address.

888 Vietnamese Restaurant
2400 E Oltorf St # 1A
Austin, TX 78741
(512) 448-4722‎

Now, as their full name suggests, they are a Vietnamese restaurant, but they also have a Chinese buffet. One of those in my party had suggested the place because he was in the mood for Pho, the Vietnamese Noodle Soup dish. I decided on the buffet.

First, let me start with the restaurant itself as we ate in the restaurant. It is a small place, stuffed into one of the strip malls that line Oltorf. It is rather a long way from the freeway, and east of I35. As you start down the hill past Willow Creek Drive, you turn into the parking lot. It is on the south side of Oltorf. It does not look like much on the outside, and that carries over to the inside. It is clean and pleasant, but not in the least fancy. Now, understand that I am not a huge fan of fancy, so that did not bother me.

The buffet was smallish, but it had Sesame Chicken, so I decided on that. I had Sesame Chicken, Fried Rice, Vegetable Egg Rolls, and Hot and Sour Soup. Everything was okay, but nothing was great. The sauce for the Sesame Chicken was sweet and not spicy, just the way I like it, but the chicken itself was over cooked. The Fried Rice was good, but had rather too many onions for my taste. The egg rolls were cold, not frigid, just not hot, though they were tasty and crunchy. The only real success to my meal was the Soup, which was excellent. I am a bit fan of Hot and Sour soup and 888 did not disappoint in this one department.

I did not taste the Pho, so I cannot comment on that, except to say that the bowl they brought to my friend was enormous, and it was the small size. He claimed that it was 3 times as large, and that he had it last time, which is why he bought the smaller serving today. It looked and smelled good, and he seemed to enjoy it.

If you are looking for a Chinese buffet, then I think there are much better choices. The selection was somewhat limited, though it seemed to have all the big favorites. As I said, the chicken was overcooked, which makes me wonder about other things. It may be much better on the Pho.

I cannot truly recommend 888. I would not avoid it, but I would not suggest it either.