It’s a Friday night, which means it’s date night and it’s your turn to pay. Unfortunately you are running low on cash, but you still want an intimate sit-down dinner. Well, don’t despair, Mooncake Foods (located on 54th Street between Columbus Avenue and 8th Avenue) will serve you and your date a tasty Vietnamese-fusion dinner for only $20.

The restaurant is cozy. There is seating for 16 people at the tables and seven at the bar. The low lighting creates a relaxed environment. The open kitchen by the bar allows guests to watch the chef cook their meals, which makes up for the bare walls and lack of decorations. The waitresses were attentive and offered us drinks immediately. A pint of Sapporo is only $2.50, while a pitcher costs $9. I ordered the pork meatball banh mi (a Vietnamese sandwich), while my date ordered the roasted vegetables over brown rice.

The banh mi was delicious. When I bit into the meatballs, which were cooked well and not rubbery, there was a hint of anise. Accompanying the meatballs was julienned carrots, pickled daikon (Korean radish), cilantro, red onion and jalapeños, which were all stuffed into a warm and crusty nine-inch baguette. Since I like my food spicy, I slathered on the garlic-jalapeño sauce as well as the homemade hoisin sauce (a Vietnamese BBQ sauce). A small side salad with a ginger-garlic dressing, which paired well with the banh mi, came with the meal as well. For only $8, this was a great deal.

Unfortunately, the roasted vegetables over brown rice were not as impressive. On the menu it said that they would be served in a Korean curry style. There was no curry to be found and the dish was very plain. It didn’t even have salt or pepper added. When we asked the waitress about the curry she said that my date was supposed to add the hoisin sauce and the garlic-jalapeño sauce to make the dish “like” a curry. After my date added the two sauces it tasted better, but it was still disappointing. Despite that mishap, the vegetables and rice tasted fresh. It came with a healthy amount of zucchini, Japanese eggplant, asparagus, mung bean sprouts, tofu and julienned carrots in a large bowl. Still, unless you are a vegan or a vegetarian, the $9.50 spent on this dish would be better used for another banh mi.

Although we felt deceived by the roasted vegetable dish, the experience was still enjoyable. Being able to watch the chef cook was entertaining. He was also accommodating and even open to a quick chat. If you’re on a budget this place is hard to beat.