The recent weather has been downright wintery; by San Diego standards. I even had frost on my windshield one morning….for the briefest moment. I'd been wanting to see if the soon to open Mi Quang shop was affiliated with Mien Trung. And since it had been a while since my last visit, the timing seemed right. Things were pretty quiet on this Sunday morning.
I'm wondering if it's just me or has the broth at Mien Trung gotten spicier over the last couple of years. There also seems to be quite a bit more meat these days. Nice spice, slight funkiness, definite lemongrass, and did I mention the spice? Soup was scalding; perfect for getting the sprouts and veggies to the right temp without compromising the broth. Nice slippery noodles and too heavy on the MSG.
One good hint for eating at MT, is to wear dark clothes……because of the red tinge from the annatto in the broth. My good buddy, the late Ed from Yuma would never fail to wear a white shirt when we ate here. He'd end up leaving, sweating and satisfied, but with a pattern of small red dots on his shirt.
There was a time when Mien Trung was a weekly ritual, but a very warm spring and summer had kind of put the place on the back-burner. There was also a rather "rough patch" of time where things weren't up to our expectations, MT has mostly returned to form.
And I really appreciated the place on this chilly Sunday.
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111