**** Ha Noi has closed
A few months back, the one and only Wandering Chopsticks was nice enough to share a list of restaurant recommendations with me. Needless to say, it is quite an exhaustive list. One of the restaurants on that list was Ha Noi Restaurant located on…where else? Bolsa Avenue. On a recent weekend the Missus had to drop off a gift for a friend who moved back to the OC. I immediately saw a large "window of opportunity" open up in front of me. Leaving a bit "early" we arrived at the strip mall that houses Ha Noi at about 1015am. It was quite obvious that the strip mall was going over an extensive face-lift.
The parking lot was also packed.
Luckily, I noticed that there was some parking available in the back of the strip mall. We made our way to the fairly small restaurant, which was almost full. But the thing that caught my attention where the Servers, there were at least 6 of them, where walking very, very, quickly dropping off food, busing tables, taking orders. They all seemed to be going in a circular pattern…..like they were trying to qualify for pole position at the Indy 500.
For some reason watching these Guys move, made us feel kinda pressured to do things quickly….
We placed our order, and a few minutes later, all our "stuff" started to arrive.
Need an inventory? 2 plates Bun(rice vermicelli), 3 plates of various greens, 1 plate of sliced onions, lime, and jalapenos, 1 plate with sesame crackers and peanuts, 1 bowl of Nuoc Mam, 1 bowl of fermented shrimp paste, 1 bowl of fermented shrimp sauce…this was just the "garnishes" if you will!
The Missus just had to order the Bun Rieu($5.50):
Per the Missus, mushy noodles, not enough savory seafood flavor, and too much tomato……
As for me….well I had been craving Bun Cha Hanoi($6), so I made sure to order that.
This was good, better than anything in San Diego, that's for sure. The sauce had a nice balanced sweet-salty flavor. The pork meatballs, and the grilled pork both were well flavored, and not too tough. Dropped into a bowl with Bun, lettuce and various herbs and some pickles, and have at it.
Not nearly as good, as what we ate at Beach's, but it did "scratch that food itch".
A few months back, I had the great pleasure of having dinner with a friend's(2 of them actually) family. Their Mom invited the Missus and I to dinner, and when I saw what they were making I was quite happy! She made Cha Ca Thang Long, and was quite surprised when I knew what it was! since that time, I've been itching to have it again. So I was so glad when I clearly read "Cha Ca Thang Long" on the banner. Of course we ordered it(Cha Ca Thang Long for 2, $13.95):
This is a turmeric flavored fish served with dill, served on a bed of onions, on a sizzl
ing plate. Eating is basically the same drill as the Bun Cha Hanoi. All topped off with a nice spoonful of savory fermented shrimp sauce. I thought the amount of dill was sufficient for the dish, and the caramelized onions, with the addition of more onions, had a nice flavor. The fish was very soft and tender, and the mild flavor was balanced out by the dill which also served to cut the oil. If we still lived in LA, we'd be here on a pretty regular basis. Again, this was not quite as good as the home made version we had, but was still enough to cure my craving.
We noticed that almost every single table(except the one where everybody was eating what looked like Chow Mein) had either, or both, t
he Bun Cha Hanoi or Cha Ca. So I guess we did ok. Feeling the pressure of the hustle and bustle, we finished everything within 45 minutes…that includes ordering and waiting for our food! As we left, people were starting to line up outside……….I wouldn't worry, they'd get a table soon enough!
Ha Noi Restaurant
9082 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683