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113 Vermont Street, Springfield, MA 01008. Phone: 413.736.9999

Worth visiting in a 35 mile radius.

After the Vietnam War brought a mass immigration of Vietnamese people to the United States, they scattered all across the United States, bringing their dishes from home with them. Over time, Little Hanois began to pop up, and some areas were favored over others for their level of Vietnamese-food prestige, including Houston, Texas, Orange County, California, and… Springfield, Massachusetts?

Although Springfield is not widely recognized as a Mecca for Vietnamese food, it has a surprisingly large Vietnamese population. Back in the early 20th century, Springfield was an almost exclusively white city in its economic heyday. Large companies like Rolls-Royce and Indian Motorcycle had factories here. However, floods, the Great Depression, and the departure of companies for cheaper labor overseas sent the city into a downward spiral from which it hasn’t recovered. But for every cloud a silver lining, and the economic depression that hit Springfield diversified it, bringing Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and a substantial Vietnamese-American population to the city.

Soc Trang is a down-home, Vietnamese restaurant tucked away in one of Springfield’s residential neighborhoods, away from downtown’s small cluster of skyscrapers. The space is pleasant with a spacious dining room, but the atmosphere is pretty flat. The two times I’ve been, its crowd has been very thin. There’s no music playing overhead and the stage awkwardly placed on one side of the room has always been empty when I’ve been there (although I’ve never been for dinner).

The egg rolls for the appetizer were satisfactory and set the expectations pretty high for the meal. The skin was  hot and crispy, a good sign that they had been made fresh, and the peanut sauce on the side added a sweet touch.

When I took a sip of the limeade, I recoiled. Did they give me pure lime juice? I thought.  It wasn’t sweet at all.Then I realized my naiveté. I was so used to drinking pre-mixed juices that I had forgotten that the sugar was lying on the bottom of the glass, waiting to be stirred in with the spoon that was served in the glass. When the sugar dissolved, the limeade was just the right mix of sweet and sour.

The shrimp vermicelli was delicious. Just shrimp and vermicelli would have been rather bland, but the savory fish sauce and interesting addition of mint kept my taste buds satisfied. The shrimp was soft and tasty, although they did skimp on the serving. The vegetables were a well-chosen medley that included carrots, green onions, and lettuce.

It should go without saying that pho noodles are smooth rather than clumpy, but I’ve had some poor experiences with pho outside of major American cities. Having had some pretty bad pho, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I didn’t have to pry the noodles apart with my chopsticks. The beef was well marbled and plentiful. The broth, as usual with pho, was a tad bland, but that was easily remedied with a sprinkling of Sriracha sauce.

Fried rice is served in several variants at Soc Trang including shrimp, beef, pork, and chicken. Since we’d already had some of those meats in our meal, we went with pork. Although the meat was dry, the rice was fluffy and buttery. The tiny onion pieces added a nice tangy finish.

I have had all of these foods before at different Vietnamese restaurants, but it was my first time trying Vietnamese coffee. I had no idea what it was, and was imagining it as some sort of strong coffee. It turned out to be like an iced mocha (but you can also get it hot), very sweet and milky. It made for an excellent dessert.

Prices are cheap (the large bowls of pho are under $10) but the service quite disappointed me. Often times, at small, family-owned restaurants, the service is better than at bigger places because there are fewer customers and they can pay more attention to each party. Not at Soc Trang. It seemed as if the waitstaff were always trying to make each encounter as brief as possible, and although they were never rude, they were not exactly polite either. Soc Trang is a little hidden gem that will surprise you with the quality of its food, but by eating here you’ll have to sacrifice both fun atmosphere and attentive service.