Circling Back to Phuong Trang

Here's the latest in my "circling back" series, where I revisit places that many folks really love, but, well, I'm not quite as impressed.

I've always considered Phuong Trang to be very "middle of the road" Vietnamese Food….as in Pho not to offend. Toning down the flavors, creating a "safe" experience with regards to Vietnamese food in San Diego. There are those who disagree, which is fine, to each his or her own. I've had some decent meals at Phuong Trang and I believe they do a few items rather well…..though it really is a short list. So what I decided to do was to try items that folks have recommended to me. In some cases I also ordered items that I had enjoyed here in the past. I'm pretty sure you're tired of my posts on the pho here…no worries, I'm not going to keep beating that dead horse.

It's probably a good time for a revisit to Phoung Trang as they recently unveiled an updated sign. The interior still looks the same.

I decided to start off with probably the one dish that I think they do well here; the Butter Wings…..though the last time I ordered those wings, they were terrible, greasy, bitter burnt garlic,  just plain horribly made.

This time it was back to what I was used too. Perhaps these were even better.

Light, crisp, moist, nice MSG and all that…….

At least two folks had mentioned the Bo Luc Lac here, so I decided to order it.

In some ways this was a typical PC – PT dish. The steak was nice and tender, I do like my Bo Luc Lac with watercress, but the sizzling plate makes a nice dramatic presentation. The flavors were really weak; lacking anything else than a rather salty flavor….no deep savory tones from fish sauce or even oyster sauce, no sweet tones, no black pepper…… The fried rice was decently prepared, though again the flavor was really muted.

Well, it was a one 'fer two….though picking those wings which I've had many times was kind pretty much a ringer.

The next time around, I just stuck with a single dish, Suon Ram Man. Basically spareribs marinated, then browned in a base of fish sauce and sugar, it is then braised in water, coconut water, or Coco Rico….which by the way, is a winna'. These however were not….

The ribs were on the tougher side, but not inedible. Again the flavors here were less than satisfying. In spite of the looks, this was on the bland side…….gloppy, bland, chewy spareribs.

I was going to stop at this point, but decided on one more meal. It had been pretty hot so I wasn't going for any soup nor anything really heavy.

I started with some Cha Gio, egg rolls. These were usually pretty good as they use the appropriate rice paper. It's also good that, like the wings, they'll do half orders of these.

I think there was a bit of glitch with oil temperature today as the egg rolls were on the hard and chewy side, lacking any crispness, making eating this rather unpleasant. Man, these were disappointing since they are usually pretty good.

Looking for something refreshing, I decided on the marinated beef salad called Bo Tai Chanh.

Where to start with this one? First off, this was a huge salad….it was also really bland, really needing more herbs, and the "dressing" was really watered down. The beef, "cooked" in citrus was actually pretty good, and there was a lot of it. Overall, this really needed a flavor boost, it didn't help that the tomatoes were under-ripe and had no flavor as well.

Well, this one was an "O" 'fer two……

Right before this meal, I sent a text to "YY" telling her that I was going to Phuong Trang one more time, just to do my due diligence….she told me I was nuts. Why would I punish myself like this?

In the end, I did change my opinion of Phuong Trang a bit. Instead of thinking of the food here as being dumbed down; perhaps I should look at the place as being the "gateway Vietnamese Restaurant". One that will lead the more adventurous eater to a wonderful cuisine. Yeah, maybe that's the ticket…..

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111