So, after visiting two "old school" places for Com Tam Dac Biet – Nhu Y and Phuong Trang, the Missus wanted to try a "newer place". Well, after some "com-tam-plation" (yes, me and my "dad" jokes), Pho Ban Mai came to mind. I though it would be interesting since it had been over 7 years since my last visit! Yikes.
So, we headed on over. It was before 10am, so the place wasn't busy at all.
We entered and waited to be seated…and waited….and waited. Finally, a young man, pointed to a table and marched away. This was pretty bad since the place had only one other table with folks on it. He seemed to want nothing to do with us and avoided customers at all costs during our visit. We looked over the menu using the QR code but the young lady working walked over to take our order. Not saying a word. Hmmm, is this the "Gen Z – Millennial" version of the pho shop "deal the menu and hover in silence"? Or perhaps it was just a "bad day"? At 945 in the morning…..
The Missus ordered the Com Tam Dac Biet, this was the most expensive thus far at $17.95. We'd had a decent version of the Banh Xeo here before, so I decided to try that again ($16).
While this might have been the smallest in terms of portion size thus far, it was the Missus's favorite to date. The broken rice was very fragrant and moist.
The strong points were the crisp bean surd with shrimp was crisp and very tasty and the nuoc mam while on the sweet side really helped things along. The steamed egg was moist and the pork flavor came thru nicely. The grilled pork was toothsome but a nice salty-savory-sweet; the chicken was fairly tender and held the same flavor.
The only weak point was the bi as the pork was sliced too thick and it was really cold.
Oh, and the Missus really enjoyed the pickled veggies.
As for Banh Xeo, which we had enjoyed on previous visits. Well, it was a disappointment.
While veggies and herbs were very fresh, the crepe was on the soggy side. The fillings were even worse; first off, there was barely any shrimp in this. What was present was a ton of raw bean sprouts. What shrimp there was tasted on the muddy side.
The nuoc mam and fresh herbs could not save this.
Kind of a bummer.
Still, the Missus enjoyed the Com Tam, so hopefully I'll find something else on the menu to enjoy. Please let me know if you have any recommendations. Yes, I guess we'll return in spite of the price and (lack of) service, I asked to pay and a check was dropped at our table and no one came for payment. I ended up waiting at the cash register where the young lady used the mobile credit card reader. After all, the Missus wants Her Com Tam Dac Biet.
Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 9am – 845pm
Fri – Sat 9am – 945pm