Kim Son

Kim Son Restaurant Review:

This outpost of the Kim Son restaurant dynasty poises beside a supernaturally blue artificial lake just off the Southwest Freeway. It offers the same 250-item menu as the downtown flagship eatery, one of the best Asian restaurants in the area. The crispy fried Vietnamese egg rolls as well as the numerous versions of "bun"---the quintessential Vietnamese meal-in-a-bowl---consistently please us. The house specialty, ga xoi chien---roasted Cornish hen served with Mama La's honey garlic-sauce---wins us over with its aroma and flavor. The hard-to-eat but tantalizing black-pepper crab and the seafood delight salad with mounds of shrimp, scallops, squid and vegetables, remain must-haves as well. A dim sum menu features almost 60 different offerings. The sleek, skylit dining area and the umbrella-lined patio overlooking the water are made all the more pleasant by an attractive, efficient waitstaff.