I dish I tried in 2007 is one which I think they still make, and which I would recommend. This was the Vermicelli Bowl loaded with vegetables (and no meat). This dish was about as flavorful as I have found anywhere, and it was also available as a lunch special. They told me anything with meat would contain MSG, but the mixed vegetable dish was MSG-free. I got an extra order of fried tofu to go with it, and although it added to the cost I can say that it was well worth it.

When I first went the Chinese menu was almost as substantial as the Vietnamese, and concentrated on the more authentic noodle and rice dishes as opposed to Americanized fried or sweet and sour items. The new Chinese menu (after the fire) has dropped some of the authentic "Chinatown" type dishes, but still includes most of the dishes popular at other suburban Chinese restaurants. At present I do not consider the Chinese menu to be a big reason to go to Baluu.

Pan fried noodles

The old menu at Baluu included various styles of Chinese noodle dishes with either egg or rice noodles (thin or thick). I ordered the Vegetable Delight with Pan Fried Noodles when they were still serving it, and I was pleased with its vegetables and white sauce served on crispy noodles formed in a circle to resemble a bird's nest. The manager said the noodles were supposed to be burned at the ends, and this is the way I have had them at many Hong Kong and Cantonese style restaurants. When the dish arrived it was a very good representation of the dish I have eaten in other restaurants, including the flavor, the vegetables, and the fact that the white sauce turned the inside of the noodle bed soft while the outside retained its crunchy texture. This was probably the inspiration for so many chow mein dishes in countless Americanized restaurants, but which the restaurants were largely unable to pull off successfully. At Baluu, however, this was quite a good dish, except that the ends were not burned as I had expected. Somehow, though, I was able to make it through the dish without the noodles being burned (and I didn't even have to leave anything on the plate because of not including charred items in my diet).

I think what happened is that Baluu no longer has the Chinese chefs they had before, but all I know for sure is that this and other dishes have been dropped from the menu. It does demonstrate, though, that they have consistently been trying to bring Asian District flavors to far west Oklahoma City.

Vermicelli bowl with chicken and lemongrass

Vermicelli with Chicken and Lemongrass is a new dish that I first saw on the menu in 2014, and I thought it was excellent. They were very generous with the mint (as opposed to some other suburban restaurants that do not even include mint). The chicken was top quality, and I enjoyed the lemongrass flavor. The fish sauce was less sweet than at most restaurants, and was very good (although I do not think it was as authentic as some I have had in the Asian District). Overall this was probably the best thing I have had at Baluu so far, and made the "third phase" of Baluu the best one so far for me.

If it is true that the meat dishes have MSG, this was not something that bothered me with this dish.

Pho is also available, but since the lemongrass vermicelli bowl was one of the best I have had anywhere in the suburbs, I will probably keep ordering this.