**** Cafe Dore is now Da Nang Restaurant
While heading off to Rolando/City Heights to do some shopping for the Missus, I decided to grab some breakfast. Unfortunately, my first choice had closed up shop. Instead of heading off to the usual suspects, Minh Ky, Ly Heng, Hoai Hue, Pho King, Nhu Y, Tu Thanh, or 777 Noodlehouse (whew…). I decided on heading over to Café Dore. It had been a quite a while since I last visited and even longer since I'd actually had noodle soup there.
Usually the hang out of those Vietnamese "Coffee Guys"……you know, Vietnamese coffee culture, just like they do in the Old Country. There were just a few guys on this day and guess what? No one was smoking….and gasp…all those machines, you know, the ones for "entertainment purposes only" were gone!
I was quite surprised.
I ordered the combination noodle soup that I enjoy, Hu Tieu Mi Nguoi Hoa ($7.25).
Stretchy Hu Tieu and slightly crunchy Mi, I enjoy the contrasts of textures. The soup was passable; a lot of black pepper, not too salty, pretty straight forward…simple. The BBQ Pork was tough and lacked that sweet-savory-salty flavor I enjoy, the shrimp was passable, not the best quality, but not over-cooked and rubbery. My favorite item was the chicken which had a wonderful, deepness to the flavor, sort of like Hainan Chicken. I'd actually come here to try the Hu Tieu Ga, which I was told was good, but couldn't find it on the menu.
Along with the usual sprouts and lettuce, Tong Ho (Garland Chrysanthemum – Shingiku) was provided. But for some reason, the usual "green"-dill taste wasn't very strong. All were crisp and fresh.
Not bad overall.
I'm wondering if this is the "newer and gentler" version of Café Dore. Or did I just happen to drop by on that odd day.
I need to start revisiting some of these places around here…..though my schedule will need to get a bit less hectic to do that.
Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105