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Stefanie Petrasko of Clarks Summit is ready to enjoy her meal at Vietnamese Palace Cuisine Restaurant at 309 N. Washington Ave. in Scranton.
BILL TARUTIS/go lackawanna
SCRANTON – Restaurant owner Kevin Luu is offering diners a taste of authentic Vietnamese cuisine right in the heart of downton Scranton.
Vietnamese Palace Cuisine, has opened at 309 Washington Ave., (the former location of Billy’s Downtown).
“I’m trying to let people experience the taste of actual, real Vietnamese food,” said Luu, a native of Vietnam.
“What I cook is actually what you would eat if you go to Vietnam.”
Luu cooks from scratch using a limited amount of oil, while marinating meats before cooking them.
Customers can join in that cooking experience when they order some of the house special dishes. For the grill beef fire pot, customers can cook their meat to their liking on an iron plate. The restaurant also offers a grill shrimp fire pot.
Another special dish that can be cooked by customers is the hot pot, a fondue-style, spicy/sour soup in a bowl heated under a fire. It comes with meat and vegetables for dipping.
The restaurant also offers a specialty dish called “pho,” a rice noodle beef soup marinated in slowly cooked juices.
For dessert, Vietnamese Palace Cuisine serves coconut ice cream inside a real coconut. It also features a mixed three-beans dessert, made with three kinds of beans, jelly and coconut cream. Bubble tea, a green tea mixed with other flavors, is a specialty beverage. Popular flavors include mango and honeydew.
Weekend lunch and dinner specials are offered on Fridays and Saturdays and the restaurant expects to begin a monthly seafood weekend that will feature lobster, crab and a seafood bucket which will have a variety of seafood.
Vietnamese Palace Cuisine has six employees, including Luu and his wife,Vicky, who serve as the restaurant’s main cooks.
Kevin was born in Vietnam and, although his parents are Chinese, he grew up eating Vietnamese food. He moved to America when he was 3 and lived in Seattle, Wash. where his parents owned a family restaurant called the Imperial Dragon.
He has lived in Northeastern Pennsylvania for eight years. He and his wife live in Throop with their two daughters, Trinity, 4, and Lila, 2.
“We try to make downtown Scranton a better place to hang out and eat,” he said. “Once people try it, they will come back.”
Vietnamese Palace Cuisine also offers takeouts and free delivery. Customers can fax their orders but are asked to call the restaurant first.
If you go
Vietnamese Palace Cuisine
309 N. Washington Ave.
Scranton, PA 18503
Phone: (570) 963-7745
Fax: (570) 963-7760
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.