October 13, 2009 – mmm-yoso

A couple more revisits to our rotation.

Mien Trung:

Our recent cold weather meant an immediate return to Mien Trung, easily my favorite Bun Bo Hue in San Diego. I've had my share of Bun Bo Hue and keep returning to this little Mom and Pop shop. It is literally a Mom and Pop shop; back in 2007 Mien Trung was closed for almost a month. When they reopened we asked why they were closed for the better part of a month. The answer was simple, "Mom was on vacation. No Mom, no soup!" It does beg the question of what happens when Mom decides to retire…. But let us consider more pleasant thoughts for now.

The Bun Bo Hue:

The soup was as usual spot on, full of lemongrass flavor with a nice lip and back of throat heat, and a mild savory fermented component to boot. One aspect I think is important with Bun Bo Hue, is the temperature of the broth. The main reason being the shredded veggies served on the side. The vegetables to me, are an integral part of the dish, and the soup needs to be very hot to soften the veggies a bit. I've become used to the thicker cut meat in Bun Bo Hue, those who want the tender rare steak, should stick with Pho Tai, as at all of the more traditional Central Vietnamese shops that serve Bun Bo Hue serve it that way. The noodles always seem to be served a perfect al dente at Mien Trung.

The perfect panacea for the cooler weather…… I have encountered a problem with eating Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu. It is the matter of attire, slurping around the annatto tinged broth, you are better off wearing something where little red dots aren't so conspicuous. I mention this because Ed from Yuma always seems to wear white or other light colors when we've eaten at Mien Trung……

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Sakura, yet again:

Yes, another place that we've posted on many, many, times. Though if you think we pay a bit too much attention to Sakura, you should check out Dennis's posts on Sakura, which truly defines the word obsession dedication, the heights of which I've never seen in the world of blogging. I'm kinda glad cooler weather is upon us, since I haven't seen Kazu around much during lunch hour. No Kazu means no Chirashi, no natto-maguro don, etc, etc…..

So on this day, the Missus got Her usual, the Unadon – Unagi Rice:

The Missus really enjoys this… perhaps a bit too much, as She now visits Sakura solo. That in itself is not too bad, but She always makes sure to call me and let me know what a great lunch She's having!

I went with the Curry Udon:

The pleasantly hot, but somewhat thin broth was topped with a "slick" of Japanese Curry.

A little stirring with the chopsticks, and viola!

The curry added some heat, richness, and flavor to the rather thin and bland broth which I tasted before mixing. The noodles had a nice pull to it, which of course posed another problem….has anyone invented a "slurp proof" shirt yet??? Maybe Dennis might know!

Even though the curry had bits of ground beef in it, I had thought this would be a bit short on the protein, and it in fact was, which justified my ordering the Chicken Karaage.

I usually end up making my own Chicken Karaage at home since it's so easy, but I think Sakura's version is nice and light, if a bit short in the flavor department.