I thought I'd do a quick "top-two" post of restaurants that serve my favorite versions of Bun Bo Hue in San Diego. Bun Bo Hue has sort of become one of my "new comfort dishes", I enjoy the spicy and deceptively "rustic" broth. I say deceptively rustic, because at first glance Bun Bo Hue broth appears quite mundane. But when sipping the broth of a good bowl of Bun Bo Hue, you'll realize how finely nuanced this soup really is……the upfront spiciness, the aromatic, bright, and faux citrus tones of lemongrass, the earthy saltiness of fish sauce, and sometimes a touch of fermented shrimp paste. Okay, back to planet Earth…..here are my two favorite versions of Bun Bo Hue in San Diego.
Mien Trung:
Since we've been eating at Mien Trung about once a week, I'll need to add it to my "rotation" whenever I get around to updating it.
Recently, Mien Trung was closed for almost a month. I remember parking in the lot, walking over, reading the note announcing closure, and pressing my face against the window, a junkie in need of his Bun Bo Hue fix! Luckily, Mien Trung reopened on the 27th of June. Why were they closed? Per the really nice young man who always seems to serve us: "Mom was on vacation. No Mom, no soup!" LOL!
For a more detailed post please read either this post, or this post. To get to the point, the most
balanced, flavorful, broth, noodles that are always served a perfect al dente, and we always get a piping hot bowl. It seems that all the little things are thought of. The only items that I really have any issue with, is the sometimes dry beef, the think and hard beef tendon, and a pork hock that is tough and sometimes without meat. I've been told that the food at Mien Trung is what "very good home cooking should be like".
I received a email that warmed my heart, and brought a smile to my face a while back. It was from one of my favorite FOYs(that would be Friend of Yoso). Here's what Trang had to say about Mien Trung:
"My sisters and I only get together about once a year and usually it is during the Thanksgiving week. This past month, I forwarded your post about Mien-Trung restaurant to my sisters with a short message "we will go here when you come".
Last Sunday, the three of us excitedly got to Mien-Trung. You should have heard the way we ooohed and aaahed at each item while looking at the restaurant menu (You probably would have thought we had not eaten real food in years). We ordered a feast of bun bo Hue (special large bowl of course), bun rieu, banh nam, banh bot loc, and banh beo.
What a tasty lunch we had. The bun-bo at Mien Trung tasted exactly like it is supposed to taste. The banh beo tasted like the afternoon snacks I used to eat at food stands in central Vietnam over thirty years ago. But the star of the meal was the banh bot loc, we absolutely loved the generous portion of the filling, its slightly chewy dough, and how they used meat broth rather than plain water to flavor the dough.
After the meal, I got up to pay but what I really wanted was to hear the cashier’s accent so I could locate his origin. Unfortunately, the cashier was a high school age young man who spoke to me in 100% California accented English. As we leave, my sister pointed to the TV and asked the older gentleman behind the cashier about the DVD that was playing in the background. He answered back in his perfect Hue accent. All three of us sisters agreed that there had to be a Hue woman cooking in the kitchen."
I really don't have anything to add, except to thank Trang, for such a wonderful story!
Mien Trung
7530 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
Open Tues-Sun 9am-8pm
Hoai Hue Deli/Food To Go:
Located in a slightly dicey location on El Cajon Boulevard, right below an Alcoholics Anonymous and a Tattoo Parlor, Hoai Hue Deli makes my second favorite version of Bun Bo Hue.
Ed from Yuma takes over from here:
"The bun bo hue ($5) was quite good. The sliced beef was as tender and flavorful as any I ever remember having in bbh. The 1” slice of meaty pork hock replaced the usual meatless pig foot. Instead of slices of tendon, the soup had two huge knots of chewy tendon that I liked a lot. The spicy broth had bits of red chili floating in it and presented a nice balance between chili heat, meaty flavors, citrus tang, and fermented shrimp paste funk. When I thought that Kirk would probably like it more funky, I looked over at the condiment tray and spied a whole small tub of fermented shrimp paste. While not packed with noodles, the amount was certainly adequate for a $5 lunch."
My post can be found here. If not for Mien Trung, this would be my favorite.
Hoai Hue Deli/Food To Go
4776 El Cajon Blvd Ste 106
San Diego, CA 92115
There are times when I'm feeling quite tired, burnt out, just out of places and ideas. It doesn't happen very often, but I'm human, so it does occur. But it seems that every time I feel that way, I get an email that inspires me…usually with a combination of infectious enthusiasm, wonder, recommendations, or the like. Back in January, I received this email from JonO, and I couldn't help but smile:
"Had my first bowl of bun bo hue last night"
"And was it ever the good stuff… I don't need to tell you how good, it'd be preaching the choir, but it was good… really good. One of those ahhhhhhhhhhhhyeah! food moments…"
A few months later:
"Mein Trung
Finally! Got the bun bo hue and a lemonade. I see what you mean about the broth… lots of subtleties in there. Lots of nasty bits – gristle, well done flank, and a yummy knuckle to gnaw of. Great atmosphere on a Saturday late-morning, bright light and lots of families showing up to grub. I'll be back here for sure, wanna try that Bun Rieu."
Jon has kept me up to date with a running commentary on his "noodling around" , and it keeps me inspired.
So, I'd just like to thank everyone, Pheth, Carol, Jon, Trang, and all those who send me those wonderful, funny, enthusiastic, heartfelt, (oh, I could go on and on) emails! This post is for all of you!