The Chinese style Hot and Sour Soup at Kim Wah is one of the best in OKC (and in my experience, one of the best anywhere). This is something I usually order even if the entrée is Vietnamese food.

Vermicelli bowl with steamed vegetables

The Vermicelli Bowls offer several meat toppings, and are the most popular Vietnamese dishes offered at Kim Wah. I have always thought of the vermicelli dishes as being replicas of the ones at Lido Restaurant, where I was first introduced to this dish and Vietnamese food in general. When I have returned to Lido, though, I have realized that the one at Kim Wah many times is better than the original. Both restaurants have what I consider to be the best vermicelli bowls in Oklahoma City.

Charbroiled chicken is the topping usually recommended by the staff, and at times it seems to equal the quality of some of the better west coast restaurants. Other meats are served, but I think the owner and employees are right in saying the Chicken Vermicelli Bowl is one of the better ones.

The version topped with steamed vegetables has been consistently good, and I think is better than the others served in Oklahoma City. All are served on top of rice noodles, lettuce, mint, and other vegetables, with fish sauce to pour over the top. Kim Wah provides a bottled Vietnamese hot sauce as well as chile oil that tastes home made. Vietnamese food has a reputation for being spicy, but at Kim Wah it is only spicy if you choose to make it that way.

I know many of us develop a bias about ethnic food based on where we first started eating it, but to me Kim Wah has the right balance of vegetables, mint, peanuts, and flavoring in the vermicelli bowls. I have started asking for lemongrass to be added, and this makes it even better. I do not think I enjoy Kim Wah just because it was the first place I ate the vermicelli bowl, it continues to be the standard by which I judge all the others.

Vietnamese style noodle soup

Kim Wah also offers Pho with an excellent broth and two types of steak that can be cooked to order, but is probably recommended somewhere between rare and medium. Mint, limes, and sprouts are provided on a separate plate to be added as desired. The proliferation of pho restaurants in Oklahoma City seems to have coincided with the greater availability of fresh vegetables from throughout the world, with fresh mint such as the one served here being an essential ingredient to the success of a good version of the soup. Although I am still trying to eat pho at enough places to find out what constitutes a great rendition of the dish, I have had enough medicore versions to know that the one at Kim Wah is one of the better ones.

Vietnamese style hot and sour soup

Kim Wah has added another dish that is worth trying, the Vietnamese Style Hot and Sour Soup. This is a full meal of meat (your choice) with vegetables, cilantro, and of course a generous amount of chile. Unlike the pho and some other dishes, this one comes already made spicy, and of course that is part of the flavor mix of hot and sour soup. It has more of a clear broth than the dark brown base used in Chinese style hot and sour soup, and I think it is worth a shot if you like spicy food.

The main drawback of Kim Wah is that the Vietnamese selection is limited. The pho and noodle bowls are excellent, but of course I know it would help if there were more variety.