Prepare Yourself For The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Vietnamese Dining. By Rebecca Cook IRONICALLY, MOST OF what I know about Vietnamese food I learned in Montana. Located between Whitefish and Kalispell was a delightful restaurant called The Orient Express, which specialized in Vietnamese cuisine and offered a welcome respite from the bitter winters. It was there I became acquainted with crab asparagus soup, pho and Vietnamese spring rolls, just a few of the delicacies I lovingly recall. Vietnam's cuisine reflects not only indigenous influences but those of the countries that have occupied Vietnam throughout the course of history: China, France and India. The result is a complex, sophisticated and, at times, unexpected blend of tastes and textures that is nothing short of exquisite. In Tucson, The Three Sisters has been serving Vietnamese food since 1983. About two years ago the restaurant moved from its Stone Avenue location to a spot on East Speedway near Columbus Boulevard. The two sisters still running the place, Be and Mai Tran, have put together a lengthy and impressive menu of Vietnamese specialties for their guests to choose from (although the crab and asparagus soup is regrettably absent). Unfortunately, the quality of both the food and the service is a bit of a mixed bag, inconsistent at best and inedible and inadequate at worst. Let the diner beware. On my first visit, the meal began somewhat auspiciously with an order of the Vietnamese spring rolls ($2.95). The rolls were wrapped in rice paper, crisply cooked, cut into sections and served with the ubiquitous Vietnamese dipping sauce, nuoc mam, a slightly sweet and piquant sauce of lemon or lime juice, fish sauce, red chiles and garlic. The spring rolls, which can be ordered with or without ground meat, were filled with a fresh blend of shredded carrots, cabbage and a little onion. So far so good. Things began to unravel with the arrival of our entrees. I had ordered the shrimp with pepper salt ($9.95), touted on the menu as "fresh shrimp sautéed in garlic sauce and finished with a touch of pepper." The shrimp arrived at the table devoid of any kind of sauce and lightly browned within their still-intact shells. To say that the first bite of this dish was a disappointment is a vast understatement. The strong, musty flavor of the shrimp obliterated all other tastes and indicated to me that these crustaceans were a few days beyond fresh. I am a very agreeable and easy-to-please diner. I've sent food back but once in all my many dining-out experiences, but the condition of this dish compelled me to return it. Imagine my surprise when our waitress wouldn't take it back, insisting to me that the shrimp were "supposed to taste like that." So there the shrimp sat in their lovely silver-plated serving bowl for the remainder of the meal. Given the waitress' insistence that the shrimp were fine, it perhaps isn't surprising that I was charged the full price for this dish. My dining companion fared slightly better with a half order of the oriental barbecued duck ($8.25), which was a little dry and unexceptional, but had the advantage of not tasting rancid. Needless to say, I approached my second visit with trepidation. This time I decided to stick with dishes considered more traditional in Vietnamese cuisine and I am happy to say that this resulted in an enormous improvement. Pho is probably the one Vietnamese dish that many Americans are familiar with. It is most often made with a rich, savory beef broth, thin slices beef, lots of rice noodles, lime and plenty of fresh cilantro. Pho can be bought from street vendors all over the city of Saigon and is often consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Three Sisters version of beef pho ($3.95) is thinner and less rich than others I've tried, but is still a tasty and satisfying bowl of soup. Be advised, however, that the abundance and strong flavor of the cilantro will likely not appeal to all tastes. Evidence of the French influence was reflected in the Vietnamese crepe ($4.75), an absolutely delicious example of East meets West. A huge, golden-thin pancake is filled with your choice of chicken, beef or pork, bean sprouts and a bit of onion, and served with fresh lettuce and nuoc mam. It was by far the best thing I ate at The Three Sisters and might even induce me to go back one of these days. However, my dining companion on this second visit was having some trouble. She had ordered a stir fry (mi xao don heo) which came with a choice of beef, chicken or pork and vegetables served over a bed of crispy noodles ($7.25). The dish had been ordered with pork this time but arrived at the table in a decidedly vegetarian state. When this was pointed out to our waitress (the same one I had on my first visit) she at first told my friend that the dish came with bean curd. This was an odd argument since there was quite obviously no bean curd present either and, regardless, had been ordered with pork. A lengthy discussion ensued, which resulted in the waitress checking the numbered menu and then calling the cook to the table for a conversation between them in Vietnamese, presumably about the meatless condition of the dish. Finally, it was agreed that the dish indeed had no pork (a fact that was obvious from the first glance as far as I could tell) and the dish taken back to the kitchen whence it returned a short time later crowned with a cluster of pork strips. I wish I could say that the dish was worth all this trouble, but the best I can say is that it did not give offense. The vegetables were slightly limp and overcooked and the long-awaited pork tasted fishy. On both visits the service was minimal and, as the check failed to appear at the table in a timely manner, we had to go to the counter and wait while the bill was totaled. It would definitely be risky to try to squeeze in a meal here if you were on a schedule. Since The Three Sisters is included in the Entertainment Book this year, it's likely that many diners will find their way there. They would be wise to stick to the more traditional Vietnamese foods, allow extra time for dining and avoid disagreeing with the waitress. Believe me, you won't win. The Three Sisters. 4210 E. Speedway. 327-3797. Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. V, MC, CH. Menu items $2.95-$12.95.

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