Road Trip: Binh Dan Restaurant – Westminster(OC)

Since starting this blogging thing, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting meeting so many wonderful individuals. The larger than life person we know as "Beach", dubbed the "Don of Little Saigon" by the OC Foodbloggers, that esteemed group that includes, Elmomonster, ChristianZ, and the one and only ChubbyPanda, is one of those individuals. I’ve been the recipient of Beach’s generosity before, as documented in detail by CP. Beach has been helping the Missus and I with a current project, and on this day, I needed to drop by Beach’s, so I made my way up to OC. Beach in his usual generous way, made time for even though it was Tet Weekend. Imagine my joy, when we had completed what we needed to, and Beach said, "okay, what for lunch?" I proceeded to walk(sprint actually) to my car, and bring out my wad of crumpled post-it notes that listed various restaurants in the OC that I was interested in trying. Taking off toward Westminster, I started reading off my almost indecipherable scribbling. Driving on Bolsa, I was amazed at Beach’s encyclopedic knowledge of every restaurant, no matter what size, and an intimate knowledge of the various specialties….. We had decided on Pho Tau Bay, but when we arrived, we found them closed until February 15th. Next on the list was Binh Dan Restaurant…and wouldn’t you know that Beach is a "regular" there! Beach turned to me, and said, "are you sure, this is a real hole-in-the-wall, and they serve what we call beer food?" That sounded perfect to me.

Yes indeed, with the 4 or so thrift shop dining sets…this was indeed a hole-in-the-wall. It looked like the kitchen area took up more than half the restaurant. All of the fragrances from the kitchen seemed to make its way into the dining area…on second thought, maybe that’s by design…..

The menu was perfect…..I barely knew anything on it! I could make out a few words here and there("nuong", "bo"), and I’ve had a few items before("gia cay heo", "bo luc loc") but that was about it. Luckily, I had the perfect guide in Beach. After discussing the menu we placed our order, and soon enough a plate of very fresh herbs arrived:

Along with a plate of lime slices and chilies, and 2 small bowls of very pungent Mam Nem, fermented fish sauce. This is powerful, and tasty stuff.

I watched and mimicked Beach’s technique for incorporating the chilies into the Mam Nem….this added a nice bit of heat to the salty and slightly sweet flavor.

Soon enough a plate of Toasted Sesame Crackers made its way to the table:

The reason that I had Binh Dan on my list was that the specialty of house is goat(De). And if you know me, you know I love goat! Soon enough, the first course arrived, De Nuong:

This was marinated and grilled goat, slightly tender, with decent flavor. The drill was place some herbs in the bowl, dip the meat into the Mam Nem, and eat with herbs and crackers.

Beach had told me, that because the Owner’s Father owns a Goat Farm in Riverside County, the goat is fresh, and also the staff of Binh Dan really knows how to prepare goat, removing the smell. I found this to be very mild in flavor. If I gave it to a person who had never had goat, they’d have no problem believing this was beef.

The next dish, De Nuong La Lot Mo Chai, arrived soon thereafter.

Oh my….talk about delici-yoso!!! These were basically minced goat meat, and seasonings, wrapped in Caul Fat…grilled and ooozing with juice and fat! Eaten alone, it was very rich…but wrapped in a few basil leaves, and dipped into the Mam Nem…….oh my(again)! I think in this case, the photos say it all. 

The next dish up was the De Xao Lan:

  Along with the De Nuong La Lot Mo Chai, this was on all the other tables, and Beach told me that most of the people queuing up waiting for take-out had ordered this as well. This was a stir-fry, using the tougher cuts of goat, along with the skin. Flavored by a mild curry, and Ngo Om (Rice Paddy Herb), which had a mild citrusy tumeric-cumin taste, this was excellent. The onion and bell peppers added a touch of savory sweetness to the dish.

Wouldn’t you know, that about this time a group of men that Beach knew arrived…… Beach had been thinking of another dish, and asked his friend about the Ve De Nuong, but the friend said not to bother….so no Grilled Goat Nipples for us! Instead, Beach ordered Oc Noi Hap La Chuoi:

The best I can describe these is a snail-pork-cloud ear fungus dumpling filling, wrapped with a banana leaf, and steamed. Dipped into some Nuoc Mam Cham, these were mildly sweet and earthy. There was a combination of chewy textures that was not unpleasant. Nice dish!

As we were eating, Beach, always on top of things, made sure to order a few items "to go" for the Missus. soon enough we were finished, so satisfied, and happy. Next time perhaps I’ll try the De 7 Mon….seven course of Goat, though I don’t know if I’m up for Goat Blood.

As I went on my way……Beach said to me; "next time Kirk, we’ll go to the place that makes all the good Rabbit dishes!" I can’t wait!

Binh Dan Restaurant
10040 McFadden Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

As always, thanks for being such a generous guide and host Beach!