Emily, Marian and I met up for a Vietnamese lunch at the newly opened Red Pagoda at Ironwood Plaza.

In fact, Red Pagoda had been in business for more than a month already. It was Nanzaro who told me about this new restaurant when he visited the Richmond Public Library at Ironwood Plaza.

We were there early, before noon and it was not busy yet. The restaurant is decorated with large pieces of art.

Marian picked a Green Papaya Salad as appetizer. We opted for prawn over beef jerky for this salad. This is $7.95. We enjoyed the crunchiness of the green papaya and it’s lightly tangy dressing.

We also ordered a Grilled Chicken Bahn Mi to share. This is not on the menu but was on a promotional poster at the entrance.

Since we were sharing, the server recommended the Sample Plate (for 2) at $16.95. The platter includes spring roll, shrimp salad roll, chicken and pork brochette, minced shrimp on sugar cane, beef short ribs and vermicelli. This is just perfect for us to try a bit of everything.

The condiments on the table include a vinegarish dressing which is not common in other Vietnamese restaurants as the dressing is only served as required by the dish you order.

Red Pagoda accepts credit card.

You can click on the menu above to have a larger view.

I’m glad to have another option for my boys who love Vietnamese in the neighbourhood.