When I was little, my mother asked me whether or not I wanted to listen to a story about Lamb Chop, the sock puppet, and I replied that I, instead, wanted to eat a lamb chop. To which my sister replied, “Philip wants to eat a sock! Ewww!”

‘Ewww’ certainly wasn’t my response to the lamb chops at Tamarine, a delicious Vietnamese restaurant located conveniently on 546 University Avenue. Tamarine is a restaurant that blends food, culture and art in a beautiful — and delicious — way.

The first thing you notice about Tamarine is how good it looks. Many Asian restaurants don’t pay too much attention to the décor; their main concern is the food itself. But in Tamarine, everything, from the art on the walls to the tables to the attire of the hostess, has been chosen to be inviting and appealing. Even the bathroom was gorgeous. I knew I was in classy restaurant when I saw next to the soap spigot a lotion dispenser, which was convenient, given how dry my hands were. Granted, this is upscale Palo Alto, but I was duly impressed.

I was further impressed by the appetizers — shrimp spring rolls and duck confit salad. The spring rolls were a little bland by themselves, but they went beautifully with the sweet Hoison sauce. Even better was the duck confit salad. I’m normally a little dubious of any salad with meat in it, but the salad was great. Besides the duck, the salad had Asian pears, almonds, and a light, sweet, citrus vinaigrette. Often times, restaurants can go overboard with salad dressing, but Tamarine’s salad was well balanced, so the dressing didn’t overpower the rest of the salad. This was fortunate, because the Asian pears were delicious, neither too firm nor overripe, and the taste of the pear was accented by the vinaigrette.

The entrees, ginger chicken and masala lamb curry, were also very good. The chicken was tender and flavorful, with a delicious, light chili, garlic, onion and oyster sauce. I often am not too fond of garlic or onions in sauces, but the sauce was very enjoyable, and I even enjoyed the sweet onions.

The lamb curry, despite its name, wasn’t spicy at all. Rather, it had a subdued flavor, and a very tender texture, much like a well-cooked pot roast. I preferred the ginger chicken, but Julia liked the lamb curry. Either way, both were very good Vietnamese dishes.

However, each of the dishes were dominated by meat. The meal certainly would have been enhanced if each plate had had a portion of vegetables. This poor meat-vegetable balance was exacerbated by the small portions of rice, which were served in banana leaves and a small wicker basket. The portion of rice was a little small, and since it was inside leaves and a basket, it made eating the rice difficult. Should I eat it with a fork? Or do I bring the basket up to my mouth and eat with chopsticks? Furthermore, while the brown rice was described on the menu as “aromatic, flavor-infused rice,” the rice was in reality neither, and had small undercooked portions.

At $15 a person for a “Tamarine Power Lunch,” Tamarine isn’t too expensive for students. However, if you get a drink and brown rice, as I did, that will add another five dollars, but I certainly could have just gotten a water and my meal would be well worth the cost.

Tamarine, despite its small flaws, is very much worth checking out. It’s got a great atmosphere and delicious food that you might never have tried, at a relatively reasonable price. And so, if you go, remember to bring back some of that lotion for me.