Here's a bunch of photos that have been languishing for a while. Not much else to say today!
And a couple more.
Hope you're having a great week!
Category: Bun Bo Hue
It finally feels like fall – revisits to Hoai Hue Restaurant, Pho Lucky, and Pho Cow Cali
Well, fall in San Diego, which means temps for us in the 60's….cool enough for me to go grab some soup. So here's a little round-up.
Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant:
Actually, my first impulse was to head back to Mien Trung, but I'd been there a couple of times over the last couple of months. So, since it had been a while, I thought I'd head back to Hoai Hue.
Geez Louise, it wasn't even 11 and the place was packed…mostly older folks….a category I probably qualify for now.
I went with the Bun Tam Hoai Hue ($8.45), their special version of Bun Bo Hue, that's even more special than their Dac Biet ("special") which is also on the menu. I guess it's their special, that's more special than their special….or something like that.
As with previous visits; this has been quite consistent; not very spicy, not enough lemongrass, lack of any kind of dark savory tones. On the other hand, the proteins are done better than Mien Trung and the crab cake, a staple of Bun Rieu is a nice addition. This was a decent bowl of soup; though as Bun Bo Hue…..well, I'm not so certain, it's much too tame.
Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Pho Lucky:
The Missus had to work and I wanted something a bit richer than pho, so I headed up to Pho Lucky for my favorite version of Banh Mi Bo Kho.
I'd had a bowl recently that was too salty, but this one hit the spot. Rich, beefy-anise tones, not watered down like most places. Tons of tendon…..it just hit the spot. The baguette looked kind of weird, but was nice and warm if a bit too crumbly….almost like something from K Sandwich.
I just noticed something….over the years, I've never mentioned the nice supporting role the pungency of the onions, the cilantro, and how a tiny squeeze of lime just lifts the flavor of the beef stew.
As an added bonus, a refugee from Tan Ky Mi Gia now works here. Folks who used to go there know who I'm referring to. It was nice seeing him…….all was right in the world at that moment!
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Pho Cow Cali:
Well, the guy who has been cutting my hair for 12 years sure does get around; from Mission Valley to Serra Mesa to El Cajon to College to his uncles house (during a bad spell he was pretty much homeless) to Rolando, to Oceanside, and now (though I'm sure I've missed as couple of locations) to Mira Mesa. He is the one person with whom I can trust cutting my hair…..not a big deal I guess, but I have a very loyal streak in me. He is also a great guy……. A nice bonus is that he's now located in Mira Mesa, which gives me another reason to head up there.
Since I'd already had something from Pho Lucky earlier in the week, I decided to drop by Pho Cow Cali since it had been a while.
In terms of pho I think this way; Lucky for the broth, "Da Cow" for the beef……
And I wasn't disappointed. I'm not a big fan of "Tai" (rare steak) in San Diego. It's usually (well always) really low quality top round with no fat which ends up being quite tough even with the slightest sunk into the hot broth. The proteins on this day; though tripe and tendon seemed to be at premium, was fine as always. Now Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" but he was referring to a "foolish consistency", of which PCC usually does not participate….at least in terms of meat.
The broth, on the other hand can sometimes be MSG overload….though that was not the case on this day. I will say, that it was a bit more defatted than I would have preferred. Maybe I should be like my fellow blogger Dennis and just automatically do the Nuoc Beo thing (BTW, we miss your posts Dennis – hope you are doing well).
The noodles were also a bit softer than I prefer, but overall, not a bad bowl….better than almost everything else in San Diego.
One thing I never noticed before….the, umm, well, is it the logo, which for some reason I found kind of strange since it looked more like a goat than a cow……and for some reason found strangely familiar….like "do I know you? Have we met before?" I can't put my finger on it right now……
Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Noodling around – Revisits to Ristorante Kaz, Mien Trung, and Pho Lucky
I tried to get my fill of noodles before our trip; here's a rundown of a few of those revisits:
Ristorante Kaz:
It had been over a year and a half since I visited "Sakura's Son of a different Mother", the Japano-Italian Ristorante Kaz. I'm not super fond of that fusion. Though, while I thought having the same type of pasta for almost every dish a bit tedious, I did enjoy a couple of items I had. So I decided it was time for a return.
It's good to note that the lunch prix fixe menu still has a base price of $12 for a salad, soup, and pasta. There are upcharges for various substitutions for each course. This means that top price for the lunch would be about $18….kind of pricey.
I decided to try some of the substitutions this time around, starting with the marinated vegetables in the place of the standard salad, a $1 upcharge.
I'd say save your money here; this is more like a couple of grilled vegetables and one that should have been roasted (the red bell pepper), but was not, with some vinegar and olive oil thrown on it.
The potato soup ($1 upcharge) was not bad.
This version was a bit less thick and creamy, lighter in texture overall. It needed a bit more salt.
I went with one of my favorites here the Shishito Pepper and Mushroom with "Citrus" Flavor.
The pasta, as in my past visits was nicely done. I did notice some fairly significant changes; there was a lot less shishito and mushroom. I also think they aren't using much, if any yuzukosho, as I couldn't detect anything but a very strong and bitter white pepper flavor which detracted from the dish.
Too bad I guess. I will say that when I left the place was packed….with women and infants; the Japanese National version of "women who do lunch" with strollers, highchairs, and such. Perhaps they've found their niche. For me, it was just a bit too much carbs………
Ristorante Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Mien Trung:
Yes, yet again, for maybe the zillionth time.
Mom was less heavy handed with the MSG this time around and the lemongrass flavor and the spice up front.
The Hen Xuc Banh Trang – Stir Fried Baby Clams with Rice Crackers was a spicy-peppery joy to eat. The left-overs come home with us and we eat it with rice the next day……I believe this was the last time I ate rice until tonight, something like 6 weeks!
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Pho Lucky:
Yeah, I know, yet another post on this place. This time was different though. We both thought they went a bit too far with the MSG…..I know that San Diego is notorious for glutamic overload, but this was the first time I noticed it here. I hope this was a one-off….otherwise I'll have to stick with the Bo Kho.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Noodling Around: Revisits to Ramen Yamadaya and Hinotez
We had a nice period of cooler weather before things turned really hot. It has been a pretty warm year, so we never had any period of real "noodle weather", so when things cooled down, I tried to make the most of it.
Ramen Yamadaya:
**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed
The first place I hit up was Ramen Yamadaya. We left less than satisfied on our last visit back in November. I ordered my usual, the Kotteri Tonkotsu, noodles extra firm, with garlic on the side. Things were better this time around, the broth nice and hot, the rich soup coating my tongue….and belly. Noodles were decently firm, and overall, this was a nice bowl. I guess our last visit was a fluke….I hope.
Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
On another note, the sign for the downtown location on Broadway is finally up. Still not much sign of activity and it's been over a year….but at least it's progress.
Hinotez:
I actually had been thinking of going to Yakyudori, but my meetings had run long…..try and get into Yakyudori, or any number of ramen shops on "the Mesa" at noon. I really didn't have the time, nor the internal fortitude to wait in line….so where to go? Well, I've never encountered a wait at Yakyudori's sister restaurant, Hinotez. I will say that in my experience, the ramen at Hinotez never really stood up to the Yakuyudori name, but since my choices were limited……
Like my experience at Yamadaya, the Shio Ramen ($7) here was better than on previous visits.
I actually hedged my bets by also ordering some Chicken Karaage, which were nice and lightly battered, but was on the tough and chewy side.
The ramen was pretty good, the nice mild sweetness of the salt was there, the noodles were wonderfully chewy. Not a fan of a chashu, which was dry, but at least it wasn't cold like on my last visit. The broth had a nice layer of fat floating on the top….this was a vast improvement since my last visit.
Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Two for two….nice!
I think we've got some cooler weather coming up this week, what are planning to eat?
Midweek Meanderings: Ready for Cowboy Beer Restaurant (????), Bun Bo Hue (aka Mien Trung) weather, and “Dirty Chip”
Some odds and ends for "hump day"……
Cowboy Beer Restaurant?:
Driving on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard the other day, I turned on Diane Avenue, much like I did in 2003, and just like then, a sign caught my eye. However, I don't think this will turn out to be much like the restaurant wqe saw that day, which turned out to be Ba Ren. Instead, this place is becoming something called "Cowboy Beer Restaurant", really? Say it isn't so……
Say those three words slowly, cowboy……beer….restaurant and try to make heads or tails of it.
After Ba Ren and before this, the place was a "Hunan" (please take into consideration the quotation marks) restaurant trying to disguise itself as a Sichuan shop.
I actually visited…once. I tried to order some of the dishes on the menu, Steamed Preserved Meat and Suan Do Jiao Chao La, among others….no bueno….you gotta be kidding.
I ended up getting a mediocre rendition of La Rou Chao – the one classic Hunan dish they actually seemed to have.
The preserved (smoked) pork – La Rou (waxy meat) was terrible. It had that slight camphor like flavor and the hard texture of something from a package. The stir fry technique was terrible, some of the vegetables were still raw…..it was also bland….very bland, which Hunan cooking is not!
Sad……
So now I'm sitting here wondering if a place called Cowboy Beer Restaurant will actually be an improvement……..
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Am I the only one glad the weather is kind of cool and gloomy right now?:
Except for the weekend after Thankgsgiving and one wet weekend, we seemed to have totally skipped winter. So I'm kind of glad the weather is cooler, with a chance of rain (which we really need). Much like the seasonal rain totals, my ramen totals are down this season.
I'm going to try to take advangtage of this….we started last night with some Bun Bo Hue.
From you know where, right?
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Dirty Chip?:
So said the sign…….
Man, this made me crack up. Two words….so many possibly implied meanings?
Hope you're having a great week!
No Pho at Pho Hiep and Grill – Linda Vista
I know, Cathy just posted on Pho Hiep a couple of weeks ago. Usually I'd wait a while, but recently I had someone recommend the Bun Bo Hue and Bun Mang Vit at Pho Hiep……she said the Bun Bo Hue was better than Mien Trung's and the Bun Mang Vit superior to Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang)! Really?? Since I hadn't had the Bun Bo Hue here since 2006, when the place was still called Pho Hoa Hiep, I decided to forgo what I usually order (Pho, Com Tam, or the Bun), and go for it.
I honestly don't remember ever seeing Bun Mang Vit on the menu here……
Though on this evening, I went with the Bun Bo Hue. I was craving something with a little kick. Unfortunately, the large bowl of Bun Bo Hue ($7.40) just didn't do it for me.
First the good; man the veggies and herbs were fresh and crisp. The meat, especially the tendon and thick cuts were very good. The noodles were prepared decently. The broth was nice and hot…..and it kind of stops there. The broth had almost no spice, I did see some chilies, but it was really nothing. There was a lack of the distinctive lemongrass flavor I enjoy so much. The broth was way too light in flavor, even though the oil content was decent. I dumped the entire dish of fermented shrimp paste and chilies into this and nothing…… It was las if Pho Hiep decided to dump some chilies in a very light pho broth, drip some annatto oil on top and call it Bun Bo Hue.
For me, the broth, whether it's Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Niu Rou Mian, Ramen, or whatever is prime. In this case the broth was seriously lacking.
Still, in order to do my due diligence, I needed to return and try that Bun Mang Vit (large – $7.40):
Again, I loved the vegetables and herbs, especially what the rau ram (Vietnamese Coriander) brought to the dish. The dipping sauce was terrible, too sweet, like sweet chili sauce mixed with a scant amount of ginger. The noodles were again prepared well and this time the broth; though light, had some flavor, though it tasted more like chicken fat added to pho broth. The bamboo shoots had a nice texture, but the woodsy flavor was pretty muted.
The protein was the most problematic. Though there were two nice slices of duck…..
Everything else was combination of bones and large pieces of duck liver…not my favorite thing in the world. In the end this was pretty much a fail for me.
Perhaps I should have taken it as a sign when the person that recommended this place noted that she hated Bun Mam and Mam Nem. But heck, I don't live my life just laying back…..I was taught to try things, it's how you expand and grow. And often, failure is the price of progress. But I did learn something here……
Stick with the pho, com tam, and bun at Pho Hiep and Grill. Lesson learned….
Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111
Noodling Around: Mien Trung, Pho Lucky, Santouka, and Ramen Yamadaya
I believe I've mentioned that over the last couple of years, rice has been replaced as my starch of choice by noodles. Never has it been more apparent than over the last two hectic, busy weeks at work. Sheeesh….and like I've also said before, I don't think this blog would still be in existence were it not for Cathy and Ed from Yuma. Who always come to the rescue.
Anyway, long days, meant more than my fair share of long strips of dough. Here's a round-up.
Mien Trung:
There's nothing like a spicy, sweat inducing, end to the day….and soup is good too! Mien Trung just does Bun Bo Hue right for me; spicy, salty, sour, is the formula. The soup is always hot which welcomes the shredded veggies and herbs. When the broth does edge toward salty, a touch of lime tames the sodium.
The Missus still enjoys the Bun Rieu, though She take umbrage to Mien Trung's switching of the noodles for the Bun Rieu to the wrong style.
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Pho Lucky:
I wanted a real bowl of Pho Bo Kho after the lack luster version at Spotted Cow, even though I had to wait a couple of weeks.
This bowl had twice the meat, twice the flavor, and was cheaper than the food court equivalent.
Oh, and there was a fire sale on tendon on this day….must have been a "Lucky" one for me.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Santouka Ramen:
A cold snap means that the Missus is looking forward to ramen. Her favorite is still Santouka's Shio Toroniku Ramen with Egg, not cheap, but totally comfort food. This one with Chasu Gohan added.
Ramen's popularity has spawned one good thing….folks understand ramen now. I hardy hear all that whining about how ramen is so expensive compared to pho. Well, I still hear it sometimes, perhaps I've just gotten better at ignoring it.
Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
Ramen Yamadaya:
**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed
I gotta ask….what happened here?
We ordered the Kotteri (extra rich) Tonkotsu and got this, watery and bland. A far cry from what I had just a couple of weeks ago. This was rather insipid and barely past lukewarm in temperature.
The chasu has improved and the kakuni pork was pretty good too. But the main reason we choose Yamadaya is for the broth.
This was disappointing……
Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
Noodling Around: Revisits to Ramen Yamadaya, Mien Trung, and Pho Convoy Noodle House
Well, it's finally starting to cool off a bit, which means I can start-up on noodle soup again. Here's a trio of revisits, with minimal verbiage.
Ramen Yamadaya:
**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed
Along with Santouka, one of my two favorite ramen shops in San Diego.
My usual M.O. is to order the Kotteri Ramen with Kakuni Pork, but that would have been pushing it a bit for lunch, so I just went with the Kotteri Ramen.
With noodles extra-firm of course.
The extra rich broth just gives you that "warm blanket on a cold day" comfort…makes me kinda look forward to winter.
Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
Mien Trung:
For some reason I was kinda craving some Bun Bo Hue and the Missus was kind enough to humor me….even though it was almost 90 outside at the time. So I got my Bun Bo Hue and it was delici-yoso…….even through the perspiration running down my face.
The BBH here has sometimes been a tad off….but on this day it was just what I needed. As usual, the Missus got Her Banh Nam and we shared some Hen Xuc Banh Trang…..I just think an order of the Fish Sauce Wings from Que Huong, these spicy clams, and a couple of cold ones……aaaaaah….
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Pho Convoy Noodle House:
**** Convoy Noodle House has closed
No, I didn't want to push my luck and have the pho here, which had been not so great on my last two visits. I had a bunch of meetings and either needed to have lunch at 10am or have nothing at all until dinner. Since they open at 10, I decided to grab a bowl of noodle soup…..the Mi Dac Biet (House special egg noodle soup) to be exact.
It's gone up 30 cents to $7.25. On the good side, the shrimp are deveined, th
e fish cake is decent, and the portion of noodles was nice. On the not so great side, the noodles were over-cooked, the pork tasteless and dry. The broth had flavor, though it seemed like mostly MSG….it used to be much better here. I'm wondering what happened?
Maybe I should go back to Pho? But you know what I think about the Pho in the area, right?
Pho Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Soup weather returns, time to head back to Mien Trung
What the heck is going on with the weather? Overcast for this time of the year is semi-normal, though it usually doesn't get that way until the end of April. But what's with the morning drizzle? It's not "cold" per se, but the breezes kind of chilly…..at least to my wimpy San Diego bones.
The Missus was craving some Banh Nam and I some Bun Bo Hue, so we headed on over to Mien Trung, which was doing pretty good business on this Sunday morning. Seems we weren't the only ones craving some soup.
We've really come to enjoy Mien Trung over the years, it's been a good seven years since we first visited. There are some inconsistencies we've noticed over the years. Sometimes the Bun Bo Hue will be too MSG heavy, at times too spicy, but for some reason, the place never fails to satisfy.
I gotta say, by my reckoning, some of the dishes have improved. Specifically the Hen Xuc Banh Trang, a chopped spicy clam dish that has evolved from somewhat fishy and gritty, to a spicy Cinderella of sorts.
This dish has definitely improved over the years. Served with Banh Trang Me, sesame crackers that have been slightly toasted this is delish, salty-spicy-pungent-savory. It doesn't look like much, but there quite a bit of in the little bowl. I especially enjoy taking the left-overs home and having it over rice.
For some reason, the Missus has been craving Banh Nam.
Ever since we visited Ngu Binh back in February (I know, I'm really late with that post), She's been asking for this every other week or so.
This one is a bit on thicker side and is more tender and less elastic than most versions. The Missus loves the light smokey flavor that banana leaves impart. It's also a plus that Mien Trung doesn't water down their Nuoc Mam.
The only complaint the Missus had about the Bun Rieu is that Mien Trung changed their noodles maybe a year or two ago. It's now ultra-thin noodles, not the thin rice noodle that is standard for Bun Rieu. Not sure why…..
And of course, my Bun Bo Hue. Didn't get the Dac Biet this time, we had the other stuff.
There's nothing to add that I haven't written before about the Bun Bo Hue on this blog, or elsewhere. There's something very comforting about this soup that just gets me going "aaaaah".
It's always fun watching folks who enjoy spicy food have the bun bo hue here for the first time. Recently, my co-worker YZ joined me for lunch at Mien Trung. She mentioned that the Bun Bo Hue (Dac Biet) was too large, but proceeded to finish everything off…..down to sucking out the marrow from the pig's feet! Now here's someone who can eat with me anytime!
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Hoai Hue Revisted
It had been a while since we'd visited Hoai Hue Restaurant, and a good amount of time since I last posted on the place. The Missus was craving some Banh Nam, so we decided to return to see how the place was doing. Business looked good as the place was half full when we arrived and filled up totally by the time we left.
I can't help but remember how the original Hoai Hue Deli used to be.
The folks here have always been nice to us and today was no different. The older gentleman brought over extra bowls for us to share everything.
The Missus got Her Banh Nam.
Loved the flavor imparted by the banana leaves. The Banh Nam seemed pretty thin, but the texture was very good. This was the best item of the meal.
We also quickly noticed that the fish sauce here is super watered down.
I went with the house version of their special Bun Bo Hue…..can't call it Dac Biet, because there is already a Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet on the menu. This is called the Bun Tom Hoai Hue.
This has basically stayed the course over the years….you gotta give it to them for consistency. THe meatballs are still on the bland side, as is the Cha Lua. The other cuts of meat are a step above Mien Trung, the thick cuts of pork more tender, the pork hock has nice flavor, and the tendon chewy, but not too hard.
As for the broth, it still doesn't bring the heat and is lacking in the lemongrass tones as well. They seem to serve it a notch below what I think is optimal BBH temperature. The broth just seems kind of timid….something I'd usually never think of saying with regards to Bun Bo Hue……
It's not a bad bowl, just not quite up to Mien Trung.
The Missus also ordered the BanhIt Ram, basically glutinous rice dumpling on top of a fried glutinous rice base "dumpling" two ways.
The Banh It, the top "dumpling" was not bad, decent texture, slightly elastic, nice shrimp, though I'd like more pork, pretty good overall. The Banh Ram was not very crisp and much too chewy, even for Banh Ram, which really doesn't have much flavor anyway….if it's even harder then what we deem as normal, then yikes. Add to that lousy nouc mam cham. This stuffs sinks to the bottom of your belly and stays there.
I still think Hoai Hue has the (very distant) second best Bun Bo Hue in San Diego and the flavor and the rest seem pretty consistent. And the Missus enjoyed the Banh Nam, so we may be back sooner than I think.
Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115