Pho – Page 15 – mmm-yoso

Pho HoaCali Express – Mira Mesa

September 29, 2008 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

There are times like this, when my avocation takes a back seat to my vocation. This past few weeks has been a challenge, finding time to eat, much less portioning out part of the day to post, sometimes took a bit of effort. It is during these times that I’m thankful for Cathy’s help! I am doing well, and to quote Ed from Yuma, quoting Samuel Clemens, "the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated". I’m still alive and kickin’, if a bit tired.

I don’t have enough fingers, and toes for that matter, for which to count the number of people I know who consider Pho HoaCali the best place in the greater San Diego for Pho. My personal favorite is Lucky Pho which is right across the street, but I wouldn’t fault you for having Pho HoaCali listed as your favorite. My usual time for a visit is before 11am…and sometimes as early as 8 or 9, I love Pho for breakfast! It also helps that at during that time, the packed and crazed little restaurant is a bit more peaceful. It also ensures that I get a great parking space…..I’m sure there are some who have never been able to get within sniffing range of the front and center parking stall!

PHC, has one thing in my opinion that put them head and shoulders above the other Pho shops in the area…..the meat. In this photo "from the vault", of a visit last year, you can see what I mean.

On this visit, I ordered the Dac Biet (special), large bowl, which at that time was somewhere around five and a half bucks. My favorite by far was the brisket and tendon(duh!), both of which shone. The garnishes were of good quality, and the amount adequate.

The noodles had the perfect texture, just right right amount of pull, and not over-cooked as id the case at many other places. What was disappointing, was that the broth lacked a good beef flavor, which was strange because I’ve always thought that the broth at PHC was pretty good and beefy, if a bit lacking in other flavors. It was also much too salty. Hmmm…I decided to give PHC a rest. This visit was not without some "interesting" vignettes however. I saw one customer get up and start berating the Server. Doing my best "fly on the wall" impression, after a few seconds I understood that the customer was angry because he believed that when the Server moved the Pho from the tray to his table, the Server had stuck his thumbs into the soup! I also viewed the phenomenon from which PHC earned the nickname "Hoisin City" from a friend of mine. Folks dumping huge amounts of hoisin and sriracha into the Pho, without nary a taste to see if the broth needed it.

And so I just kinda gave PHC a rest. Until reading about several folks who just raved about the Bun Bo Hue at PHC. Bun Bo Hue happens to be one of my favorite soups, so I just had to check it out. And however misguided or somewhat esoteric it may be, over the last few years, I’ve kinda developed my own "shortlist" of what I look for, or more appropriately sniff, stare, and taste for, in Bun Bo Hue. So here’s how the BBH at PHC (you gotta love the abbrev’s) was for me.

First off, the price (small) $5.65:

The bowl arrived, and it looked downright delicious if a bit short on the "annatto red" that I’m used to. It also lacked any type of serious lemongrass-shrimp paste fragrance. I enjoyed the flavor of the Rau Ram(Vietnamese Coriander), but other than that, this broth really lacked the bright flavor of a good bowl of Bun Bo Hue. First off, the lemongrass and mild ginger flavor was sorely lacking. The broth was also seriously lacking in heat, and had only a very mild hint of the shrimp paste flavor I’ve become familiar with. The broth had a nice amount of oil, which was very noticeable because the bowl was delivered lukewarm. It is important that my BBH…or even Bun Rieu be delivered absolutely tongue scortching hot. Why? It’s because of this:

While the herbs served with Pho are considered "garnishes", I’ve come to understand that the herbs and vegetables served with Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu are treated more like vegetables, and are an integral part of the dish. It is also important that the broth be served hot, so that the vegetables, in this case only shredded cabbage(?), will soften a bit.

The noodles were okay, if a bit too soft. If there was one redeeming feature of this Bun Bo Hue, it would be the meat, all of which was top notch. I did lament the lack of Cha Lua(steamed defatted pork sausage) in this bowl, but not for very long, as the excellent tendon (just as good as Pho Ca Dao on ECB) soon diverted my attention.

All things considered, this bowl lacked the soul of a bowl of Bun Bo Hue. And after eating it, I can understand how misguided individuals can call Bun Bo Hue, "spicy Pho"(please forgive me Wandering Chopsticks). That’s basically what it tasted like.

I really didn’t want to do a post at a place where I’ve enjoyed a good many bowls of Pho over the years, and end things this way. So recently, before things got too crazy, I went for another bowl of breakfast Pho. With the various combinations of meats available on the typical sizeable Pho menu, you’d think I’d be able to get my "dream combination" – brisket, flank, and tendon. But alas, it isn’t available on the menu(though I’m sure that I’d be able to request it), so decided to order the #7, rare steak, flank, tendon, and tripe ($5.65).

What came my way was a steaming hot large bowl (and I was only charged for a regular). The garnishes were again of good quality, if a bit sparse. On this day the broth was as I remembered, mildly beefy and light. The meat was good as it always is, and the noodles perfect. It was a good bowl of Pho……..

I’ve found the service at Pho HoaCali to be efficient. It may be because I usually eat there in the mornings, but I’ve never had the "menu dealt out, and the Server standing over you with the ordering pad" thing done here. The Guy who mans the register has alway been nice and friendly, and I’ll gladly go back for some Pho…no Bun Bo Hue for me though.

Pho Hoacali Express
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Ca Dao – Mira Mesa

July 2, 2008 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I don’t know what it is, but this year, even as we approach the heat of summer, I’ve still been eating Pho. What’s even more interesting, the Missus, never a big fan of Pho, has now developed a taste for it. Recently, we had decided on grabbing a bite at Pho Ca Dao on El Cajon Boulevard. But realizing that we had never eaten at the Mira Mesa location, and since the Missus was having one of Her "I’m so easy going" moments, headed off in that direction instead.

One thing became very apparent as we entered the restaurant. It was very clean, and the folks working were smiling, and quite friendly. No having to know what to order before your butt hits the Naugahyde here. Looking around, I thought I was eating in, perhaps a Marie Callenders?

We saw Servers getting balloons for kids, chatting up the customers. No, menu’s weren’t dealt out on the table like Texas Hold’em, no one hovering around in the "universal Pho ordering stance". They really put you at ease.

The Missus, feeling that it was a bit too hot for Pho, went with the Bun Bi Cha Gio($5.70):

The portion size was quite good, but the Bi(shredded pork and pork skin) was dry, the noodles mushy, and the Nuoc Mam Cham(fish sauce dip) tasted watered down. The Cha Gio("egg rolls") were crisp and hot.

Having not visited this location of Pho Ca Dao, I wasn’t sure what meat offerings were done well here. So I went with the Pho Dac Biet(special – $5.50):

The garnishes were on the skimpy side, but did include Ngo Gai(Saw leaf herb – Culantro) that was starting to brown. On the good side, this place was so accommodating that I could request a bit more basil and Ngo Gai without worrying about ending up with a sharpened pencil in my neck.

The broth had a nice light brown color, and was relatively clear. It also had a nice clove-anise "nose" to it. Unfortunately, this didn’t translate to the flavor, which was overwhelmingly salty. The Rare Steak was decent, not too dry, the very scant amount of tripe was fine, the brisket had nice flavor, but was on the dry side. Just like it’s namesake on El Cajon Boulevard, it’s the tendon that stands out. It is perhaps not as soft and buttery, but it is close enough.

Like I mentioned earlier, we had very friendly and accommodating service. This alone put us into a nice, relaxed state. Even the the wanna be "Gangsta’s" hanging out in the parking lot looked at lot more like over-fed Mama’s Boyz who went on a shopping spree at a gold shop, than hardened young men. I’m not sure if I’ll be eating here again soon, but I wouldn’t feel bad if I had to.

Pho Ca Dao
8373 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 7am-9pm Daily

Pho SuperBowl-in La Mesa

May 22, 2008 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is where you are, reading a post written by Cathy, because Kirk and ed just don’t feel like writing today….although I bet they have eaten something.

Hello again. Cathy here. Hope everyone is doing well. Yes, this will be a post about Vietnamese food…but food you can eat right here in San Diego! OK-East County of San Diego. Closer to where I live.

If you live in La Mesa, you know where On Cue Billiards is- on Parkway Drive-the feeder road (parallel to) for Fletcher Parkway at Jackson (NW corner basically). I haven’t been in that parking lot for a long time and one day The Mister and I were driving by and saw a "Grand Opening" sign. We had to stop, even though we were not too hungry. The Mister got a small bowl of Pho Tai($4.95). (The SuperBowl size is $5.50). Excellent, deep flavored, not too oily broth, fresh fresh flavors. The meat was very tender and flavorful.

I ordered the Bun Cha Gio ($5.95-my bowl is the "SuperBowl" size, by the way) Excellent, fresh rice noodles-not in a clump. Fresh sliced lettuce, mint, carrots and cucumber, whole unsalted peanuts and *really* fresh bean sprouts, topped with four cut up Vietnamese egg rolls- which are all meat/no filler (the appetizer serving of five of these egg rolls is $5.95)

At the end of our meal, the owner brought us two small bowls of warm "coconut pudding". It isn’t a pudding texture, but it *is* made with wonderfully flavored coconut milk.

The menu only has 48 items, six of which are "kids meals" (pho tai is only $3.95 for I guess a smaller serving). If you enter on the right hand door, that area is mainly used for to go orders and seating to wait for those orders. There is a brisk take out business and a plethora of beverages, all served in ‘to go’ cups. Boba drinks, smoothies, fusion and fresh teas, fresh coffee and lattes, frozen yogurt, milk shakes and "Joy", which is ice blended with fruit, flavoring and water. There are various sizes available and prices range from $1.25 for hot coffee to $3.70 for a 20 ounce smoothie.

I have heard they have free wifi here, but have not checked that out for myself. Yet.

Pho SuperBowl 8342 Parkway Drive La Mesa 91942 (619)469-8984 Open 7 days 10:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Pho Cuong(Hanoi) and Halong Bay

April 20, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Pho, Vietnam

During our trip to the Handicraft Villages around Hanoi, we spoke to our guide Mr Hung, regarding food in Hanoi. Among the places recommended, was a place for Pho, Pho Cuong. We mentioned that we hadn’t enjoyed our previous encounter….but Hung assured us that this place was "the best", and very close to our hotel. As with all the recommendations we received, whether by people we knew, or by people we met in Vietnam, this rec’ was seconded, this time by one of the staff at the hotel. I was still not sure if I was ready for another bowl of Pho, but we went to the alley right in front of Dong Xuan Market, and found the Bun Rieu booths weren’t ready yet…so I thought what the heck. And ended up just up the street from Pho Thin.

As we arrived, we realized that we had walked past this place yesterday, and I had remarked about how busy the place was…. The Missus, walked right up to the cooking area; fascinated at how quick the whole process was.

The young man with the pad and the pencil is right at your table when you sit……I now know where all the Pho places in San Diego get this…..

The photo on the right is one of the Missus’s favorites; She always cracks up when She sees it….."You could place that Guy in any Pho place in San Diego. He has the universal Pho gear….white shirt, pad, with pencil at the ready. We should take photos as all the places we go to, and do a line-up, and see if people can figure out which one was taken in Vietnam!"

Meanwhile, the Missus was checking out the entire process. You gotta give it to these guys….they didn’t even blink when the Missus walked over and watched them make my Pho Bo Tai Chin.

First the noodles go for a dunk in the boiling water:

Then the meat….rare beef, and fatty beef(like brisket), is given a dunk.

All covered by the broth, scallions, and a sprinkling of pepper. Meanwhile, even though your Pho is ready in a flash….your check hits the table even faster!

The broth, was darker than the version I had earlier….

I really like that all soups are served scalding hot. The broth was just mildly beefy, but very salty….very salty…..

The rare beef was a slightly chewy, but not bad. I enjoyed the fatty beef, nice flavor, if a bit high on the fat-sinew scale. The noodles were a bit wider than noodles in the US, and the texture was more like Bun…it had no elasticity. Better than Pho Thin…….

After finishing my bowl(16,000 VND – $1), I told the Missus; "ok, no more Pho, no matter who recommends it……"

Pho Cuong
23 Hang Muoi St
Hanoi

When we got home, I found a post by Stickyrice on Pho Cuong, which can be found here.

The Missus waited to eat(other than the Banh Gio we had earlier) until we returned to the hotel. Right outside the Hanoi Elegance 2, on Ma May Street were a group of street vendors.

One of whom sold this….red bean porridge.

Which the Missus couldn’t wait to get Her hands on…….it brought back many childhood memories…..and She even waited around until the woman finished making the Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Mung Bean Filling.

She grew up eating these in China….brought back nice memories for Her. We also, met a nice young lady who worked across the street, and had a delightful conversation. She practiced English, and asked many questions, and we got to ask about life in Hanoi.

All of this happened before 8am! Soon enough our van loaded us up for our trip to Halong Bay…..

In Vietnam, they don’t tell you anything, Part 1:

After the 3 1/2 hour trip, we entered a crowded parking lot……hundreds of people milling around.

The driver pulled up, and simply said, "ok, you get off now…." And every question asked was answered with that statement, "you get off now…." So we all got off, and kind of huddled together, and just waited….. the driver drove off……and we waited. Eventually someone came around to meet us, collect out passports(!), and walked off……and we waited…..and finally we were herded onto a boat that ferried us out. But it was a fairly disconcerting hour and a half…. When we returned from our overnight boat "cruise", we watched the same thing happen to the next batch of "wide-eyed and confused" travelers….

But Halong Bay is lovely!

The classic photo…….

It was overcast, but that just added to the sense of mystery.

And some of it was stunning….

If a bit crowded….

One of our favorite parts was the walk to Hang Sung Sot(aka "The Amazing Cave").

We enjoyed the walk through the cave, and our Guide Lan, was amazingly kind, and very patient, especially with a very demanding, rude, and borderline bi-polar visitor….who would be making demands and being very rude one minute…and a second later would be sweet and nice! One of the features of this cave, which is comprised of 2 huge chambers is the "phallic rock"…which is illuminated by pink lighting!

The view from the cave is simply beautiful……it’s where the first photo was taken. Also, off to the right is a view of an enclosed lake.

Which I found beautiful.

This merchandising lady was very resourceful.

She was on one end of dock when we arrived….and moved to the other end as we left.

Our cabin was cozy…..we thought it funny that the shower is in the middle of the bathroom….how do you keep the toilet paper dry??? ;o)

And even though it was near the engine room, and the kitchen, that wasn’t an issue, because we were up early anyway. Lan was an excellent guide……She had spent time in China, and was fluent in Mandarin, and had a blast chatting with the Missus.

Everyone anchors in the same spot for the evening, and it almost seems like a city on the water.

Thank God for jet lag……we got up at 430 am, and managed to have a few moments of peace. No sunrise because of the overcast skies, but we’ll take the wonderful solitude….most everyone else had been up late, except us.

The following morning we moored at one of the floating villages.

As mentioned by Sharon in Her Blog, the variety of items being sold (Pringles anyone?) is quite amazing.

Kayaking around the village and bays was enjoyable.

Even with the intermittent drizzles…..

The Missus was proud of Her "kayaking classes", "aren’t you glad I took kayaking classes? NOW ROW…."

And She did take some nice photos….

Sorry, no photos of the food….which wasn’t bad, 6-10 courses every meal, with some interesting items, many of which seemed Thai-Khmer influenced…and some odd things like French Fries. Most of it was mild as to appeal to the most pedestrian of diets, which we expected. I did manage to take a photo of the galley…

We also got to know a couple from Minnesota, currently living in Singapore, visiting with their son, who was impressively well mannered and behaved. Thanks to them(thanks Tomi!) we got a lead for a driver in Siem Reap.

Someone did email me, asking if Halong Bay is worth it….I’d say without a doubt, yes! Perhaps just once…..the Missus and I thought that things were a bit crowded(many, many boats), lots of fumes, and when you actually get close to the water you notice the amount of oil…and plastic bags/bottles in the water. I’m hoping this is eventually addressed, because it is a treasure.

The crew of the Santa Maria were very nice, and the price of $97/each is very reasonable. There are only 8 cabins on the Junk, so you are able to carve out your personal space.

Hanoi: Banh Gio – It’s what’s for breakfast, and a first taste of Northern Pho Bo

April 14, 2008 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Pho, Travel, Vietnam

In Hanoi, street food stalls, or more appropriately stools are everywhere. You can find Banh My, Banh Cuon, Chao, and all sorts of food on literally every street corner….it is easy to get overwhelmed.

On our first morning, while walking down Hang Tre, on the corner of Pho Lo Su we came across a woman selling Banh Gio:

One look, and a single sniff of the steamed banana leaf wrapped, rice flour cake, stuffed with minced pork and cloud ear fungus, and the Missus was sold.

The Lady serving this hot and hearty food was very warm and friendly…always smiling, and a pretty good business woman, on subsequent trips, she remembered how we liked our Banh Gio….upon unwrapping our Banh Gio, she’d provide a splash of chili sauce, Maggi, and a few strips of julienned ginger.

We ended up having the Banh Gio(5,000 VND – a shade over 30 cents US) here for the 3 mornings we were in Hanoi.

This woman was obviously very social…..the second and third times we visited we sat on the little children’s stools, no one manning the table, and about a minute later the lady would come jogging up, she had been visiting with other people down the street…..always with the biggest smile you could imagine.

Vietnamese God has a post on Banh Gio found here.

An article on various "Banh" can be found here.

Pho Bo at Pho Thin.

I had been warned off the Pho Bo in Hanoi by several people; everyone from Beach to the Dry Cleaning Lady had told me not to bother. But since I’d never had "Northern Pho", I decided that I needed to try it. And after passing these pots on the way back to the hotel, and seeing the name of the place; Pho Thin, I decided to grab a bowl after having the Banh Gio. I had read and been told that the preferred location of Pho Thin Bo Ho(per the article in Vietnam Cultural Window, the name means Mr Thin’s Pho Restaurant) is on Lo Duc Street, but since we were here on Hang Tre…..

I just kinda sauntered up to the place, and the kindly older gentleman smiled, I pointed, he nodded, and off to work they went….

I’m not sure if they are of any relation to the original Chef Thin……

My Pho Tai Chin(15,000 VND – just under a buck US):

The bowl arrived super hot(a common theme in VN & Cambodia – I think it’s really great for health reasons). As I normally do for any bowl of soup, I tasted the broth first….other than a mild hint of scallion and black pepper, it was fairly bland. There was just a scant shaving of well cooked beef and rare beef cooked in the broth. This broth, flavored with the "breath of a cow" needed fish sauce and the provided lime. I added some of the orange colored chilies, which we really enjoyed…..in addition to the heat, there was a nice bit of sweetness to them. The noodles were on the mushy side. As I had been told, this was served with just a few slices of lime and the chilies. Different, very different from the Southern style Pho that is the norm in the states.

I didn’t have much time for "Pho" contemplation, we needed to get back to the hotel for a quick shower….and had to meet our Guide and Driver for a tour of Van Phuc, Le Mat, and Bat Trang…..

Pho Hoa

March 2, 2008 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It has been a fairly "schizoid" winter, temperature close to 80 and sunny one day, cloudy, cool, with sprinkles the next…..and forget about following the weather reports. Storms that should arrive in 3 days, arrive in 2, upon hearing sunny, you automatically pack your umbrella. And what to do about conflicting reports, one website says sunny and high 60’s, the other says cloudy with showers, temps in the high 50’s? The Missus simply told me; "sigh…you’re so glass half empty! I just believe the report that looks better." Okey, so following the Missus’s lead, I wore short sleeves to work for the first time since mid-November. I think I can stop right here….you know what happened to the "glass half-full", it became totally filled with freezing rain. Man, I just needed a bowl of Pho……

I hadn’t been to Pho Hoa in over 4 years, so I decided check them out. Now first off, just to be clear, this is not a "retread" post(coined by an FOY, who once wrote me, "when are you going to do posts of your retreads….." I think He meant revisits, but I’ve used the term retreads once in a while), this is Pho Hoa on El Cajon Boulevard, not to be confused with Pho Hoa Hiep, or Pho Hoa Huong, whose sign reads just Pho Hoa(confused enough?) both in Linda Vista. So I hope that clarifies things……

As you can see….just plain Pho Hoa! And you can’t miss the sign…all they need is a slogan, "Pho Hoa where Happy Cows ~~Eat~~ Are Eaten!" Or something like that.

The years haven’t been kind to this well respected Pho establishment, the cafeteria-like interior is starting to look very seedy. And for some reason, I feel that the ceilings of the place are closing in on me. For once I feel somewhat satisfied being "vertically challenged".

Lest you be mistaken that Pho Hoa has mellowed over the years, let me tell you right now. Pho Hoa still runs like a highly oiled machine; you are seated, a menu dealt to you, like you are playing a game of Texas Hold ’em, the Waiter stands at attention, pencil at the ready….."menus, you don’t need no stinkin’ menus!" You frantically point out what you want, it’s better to do this right now, otherwise you’ll end up ordering a bowl of "Fo". Any request for more time is met with a disapproving look, and the possibility of not seeing your waiter for quite a while. In contrast, I’ve found the Young Man who runs the register to be very pleasant.

Soon enough, the garnishes arrive:

Not very generous, but ok…..though the Ngo Gai(Saw leaf herb) looks like it’s trying to escape!

I ordered the Rare Steak, Tendon(of course), Brisket(double of course), and tripe – extra large($6.25) since I was extra cold, and slightly wet….

The broth is darker and mildly rich, with a mild beefy punch, and hints of anise and clove. It runs on the salty side(MSG?). The rare steak is okay, slightly tough, but okay, the tendon is soft, not the wonderful, almost buttery tendon that I enjoy in my Pho, but close enough. The brisket is slightly chewy, but has a nice beef flavor.

The noodles were in the usual clump, and a bit on the soft and mushy side.

Overall, this was a nice remedy for the weather.

Just as a quick entry on how Pho can vary from visit to visit…….I dropped by a few weeks later and got a bowl of the Dac Biet (special – large – $5.85).

This time the broth was not quite as dark, and not as salty…and that beautiful piece of tendon that graced the bowl! Unfortunately, the rare steak(Tai) tasted "off", metallic, and kind of rancid…so I pulled them out. The rest of the bowl was fine, and this time the noodles were not too soft. I should have got the rare steak on the side…….

Service here is usually fast and efficient, and the "guys" are a bit less stoic than I remembered. Not bad, I’d gladly eat here again, though I’ll dance cautiously around that rare steak, though I think it was a "fluke".

Pho Hoa Restaurant
4717 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Van Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant Part 2

December 6, 2007 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Van Hoa has closed

I hadn't had much more than the breakfast Banh Mi at Van Hoa for the longest time, but recently, I was able to grab a couple more sandwiches from Van Hoa. And what's more fun is I now have a fellow Banh Mi lover in the office. Mr 'B', originally from Jersey, first had Banh Mi a few months ago when I made a short drive to Saigon Sandwiches & Deli. Since that time Mr B has become quite the connoisseur…with observations like, "man, it's about the ratio of bread to fillings, right?" and "it needs to be nice and toasted, it ain't nothin' without the bread done right…" Though he is often the unwitting victim of hot pepper roulette, he remains undeterred…. I gotta give him some props. Mr B has also allowed me to purchase 3 Banh Mi at a time, which I split between us, so now I get to sample a wider range of sandwiches. Lucky me…….

So here are a few more sandwiches from Van Hoa, starting with the BBQ Pork($2.75):

The pork was nicely marinated with good flavor, though on the tough side. The bread was nicely toasted, and crusty. There was a nice amount of pickles, which a bit on the mild side. I don't care for overly stringy cilantro stems….it's just a pet peeve of mine, I'd rather use dental floss, thank you very much….. Not a bad sandwich…even with the recent price increase from $2.25 to the now unheard of price of (gasp!)$2.75.

The Banh Mi Xiu Mai(Meatball – $2.75):

This was the standard issue meatball Banh Mi. And it was fine, except for one thing, the fishy tomato sauce that is used for the meatball really doesn't do anything for this sandwich. When I recently mentioned the addition of tomato sauce to the Miu Mai Banh Mi to FOY Beach, he wrinkled up his face in disapproval. I wrinkled up my face too, the flavor was like a tomato fish sauce, with sour tones from the pickles thrown in.

As is my general rule, I'll usually try the Dac Biet(special – $3.50) whenever I have a chance. Just to see what a particular restaurant has to offer.

As with most versions of Banh Mi Dac Biet, this one had Cha Lua(lean pork sausage), which in this case had some flavor, and the Thit Nguoi in this case was more like BBQ pork belly, and had a nice porky-sweet flavor. Mr B didn't even mind the smear of pate, which was rich, but mild. And even though I saw mayo being smeared on the sandwich, it was done with a light touch, and didn't over power all the other ingredients. While eating, I heard Mr B exclaim, "Holy…….." (fill in the blanks), sounds like he's discovered another hot pepper land mine! he-he-he…..

Recently, we've been having Pho weather…..cool , with some precipitation. So I dropped by Van Hoa with Pho on my mind. As I was seated in the rear dining area, I realized I had never seen this part of the restaurant. It is pretty clean, compared to the rest of the strip mall.

Can you guess what I ordered? I'm sure I'm really predictable…..if I've never had the Pho at a particular restaurant before, I'll get the Dac Biet(special), just to see which cuts of meat they do best. In this case it was the Extra Large Bowl($5.25)

This was indeed an extra large bowl….probably the most broth I've ever had. The broth itself was low oil, and on the salty side, pretty generic as a whole. The herbs provided were very fresh, and sufficient in quantity. The Ngo Gai(saw leaf herb) was really fresh, and added a nice peppery flavor to the Pho. The noodles was the usual clump in the bottom of the bowl.

As for the meats, the rare steak was tough and dry, even when served on the side. The tripe had a soapy flavor, and the tendon was hard and crunchy. The winner here was the brisket, soft and moist, with a mild beefy punch.

The folks at Van Hoa are very low-key, and once they recognize you, very nice. The menu is comprised of the standard Com Tam, Bun, and such. The parking lot can be an adventure….

I'm kinda craving an scrambled egg banh mi right now…….

Van Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant
4016 54th Street
San Diego, CA

Pho King Restaurant Part 1

August 28, 2007 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Alright….laugh away! I noted in a post a few months back, that Thien Thanh had closed and was to be replaced by Pho King Restaurant, a play on words that is almost too tempting to resist. For the last couple of weeks the Missus and I have mentioned Pho King Restaurant, when going over places to eat. The sentence usually started with, "why don’t we try out that(fill in the blanks) restaurant?" Egads! I wonder what pho-king will think……..

We finally got our act together and headed off to that (fill in the blanks) restaurant, and arrived on a recent weekend, to find the already too small parking lot, over-run with double parked cars. Luckily, I found a spot on the street:

As the nice Young Man guided us to our table, we noticed a few things, first the place was busier than we had ever seen Thien Thanh, second, there were many families, and older Vietnamese Men and Ladies eating, always a good sign. The restaurant had also gone through a nice face lift, with a paint job, and tasteful decorating job.

You could tell that Pho King was going for a cleaner, more classy and upscale look. Even the little dishes for the various sauces had a nice clean look.

Check out the various hot sauces….

The Missus is particularly fond of the chili oil in the upper left hand corner….

The Missus, though not a big fan of Pho, decided to just go ahead and order the the Pho Dac Biet(special – large – $5.75):

The garnishes, though not very large in quantity was sufficient, very fresh, and included Ngo Gai(saw leaf herb).

Per the Missus, the broth was very plain in flavor, nothing really stood out, and the broth was almost a milky white! All of the meat (rare beef, brisket, flank, and tripe) were tough and on the "dry" side. The exception being the tendon, which was nice and soft. The noodles were too soft and mushy.

I could only smile while I thought, "I trained Her well!"

I ordered the Hu Tieu Mi Kho(Clear Rice and Egg Noodles, with shrimp, fish balls, squid, imitation crab, BBQ Pork – large – $6.75):

Ever since I read Elmo’s post on Hu Tieu Mi, I’ve been dying to try it out. And finally, I had enough time to go through a menu and find it. This version came with a plate plate of garnishes that included bean sprouts, and most surprising of all Chinese Celery.

The melange of various meats topping this mixed noodle dish varied from the good (BBQ Pork), to the okay(the "Krab" thing), to the less than okay(squid). All topped off with fried shallots and cilantro.

As you can see the varying colors were very pleasing to the eye.

All this was served with a bowl of mild broth flavored with fried garlic, shallots, and green onions, and best of all a nice slightly sweet-soy with garlic and a slight "slick" of oil. This reminded me of the sauce used for Cheong Fun.

The noodles were a study in contrast, the crunchy egg noodles(Mi), and the slightly elastic Hieu Tu.

Combined with the leaves and stems of Chinese Celery, the textures could not be beat. The only problem was that the stems of the Chinese Celery were cut too long, and had to be broken into smaller pieces (Chinese Celery is very tough), to make it manageable. Still, after pouring the soy over the everything and mixing, and occasionally refreshing myself with the broth, this was a very nice dish.

"Andy" who was our Server was very nice, and came back to check on us to see how we enjoyed everything. We did find the prices to be a bit higher than the norm, but the ingredients were fresh, and of good quality, so there were no complaints from me. The Missus really enjoyed the Hu Tieu, so we figured we’d be back soon…….. Stay tuned for Part 2!

Part 2 can be found here.

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Green Papaya Vietnamese Pho & Grill

August 5, 2007 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Green Papaya is closed and has been renamed.

A couple of weeks ago FOY(Friend of Yoso) and Uber Food Blogger Captain Jack, told me about a new Vietnamese Restaurant in Pacific Beach. He mentioned the name of the place was Green Papaya. So that week, I drove down to PB to check out the restaurant.

The interior of the restaurant was very nice, clean, well lit, and tastefully appointed. The restaurant was totally empty when I entered, and after waiting a few minutes, I walked into the kitchen, and surprised a pleasant young man who led me to a seat and dropped off a menu.

With a name like Green Papaya, I had hopes that the menu would contain a few different and interesting dishes. But even though the "namesake" Papaya Salad (Goi Du Du) was on the menu, most of the dishes were standard Pho, Bun, Mi, etc. In addition the prices reflected the "Pacific Beach premium".

After looking over the menu, I just went with the usual. I started with Cha Gio(Egg Rolls – $5.50). The Cha Gio arrived within a minute! On the positive side, at least the "appetizer sin" where appetizers arrive after the main course wouldn't happen here.

On the bad side, when these arrived in a minute, the first thought that went through my head was, "these gotta be reheated". And eating these did nothing to dissuade me. As you can see, one of the Cha Gio is burnt and two of them were soft and greasy.

The Nuoc Mam Cham is described as "a light fish sauce." And they sure weren't kidding, it was a bit under flavored and more on the sweet side. So if you're not into fish sauce, this might be for you.

I also went for the Pho Dac Biet Extra Large (Special Combination – $6.75):

The garnishes were the usual suspects, and were very fresh. I had expected this Pho to be very mild, and generic….boy was I wrong. Though the broth was very low in oil content and light, the strong flavors of anise and clove came through. The noodles were the usual clump on the bottom of the bowl, okay in texture, though the portion size was a bit skimpy for an "xlg" bowl.

The 5 slices of rare steak were very dry and tough and there was but a scant strip of tripe.

In keeping with the clientele there was only one piece of brisket, and a small piece of tendon. It's too bad, because the brisket had excellent flavor, and the tendon was a buttery soft. If I were to ever eat here again, I'd go with something with mostly tendon and brisket.

Overall, the service was very nice, as is the decor, but I prefer the Pho and Cha Gio at Pho Sao Bien up the street. I did ask what the specialty of the house was, and the young man answered with the question, "you don't like our Pho?" He recommended the Bun (Vermicelli dishes), but the thought of the watered down Nuoc Cham…….

Green Papaya Vietnamese Pho & Grill
1820 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-9pm
858-273-1664

Pho Saigon Star-Pho to go, Pho to eat in, and other good stuff!

May 28, 2007 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. mmm-yoso is the name of the blog. Today, Cathy is blogging, Kirk is doing something else, most likely eating and photographing the food; it’s what we do.

Hi. Cathy is back… so, one day a few weeks ago when it was raining, The Mister called me and was going to be leaving work earlier than I had expected and I hadn’t even thought about dinner yet. "Bring something home" I told him…figuring, since it was a Tuesday, he’d get one (or three) of the $1.99 Tuesday only specials from KFC. {There is a poster, on one window only of your local KFC- look for it.} {It is an exceptionally good deal-2 pieces with one side and a biscuit}{which is why we usually get three meals} {sorry, digressing} Instead, he brought home pho!

Now, you must understand,we never had actually done pho as a take out item before. We have seen many people walking in and picking up at just about every place we were, noting how much toppings we could see were given in the bags (a lot of bean sprouts)…but still, we always just ate in.

In late March we saw a coupon online at Get 1 free dot com and we were going to meet there for dinner, but Pho Saigon Star wasn’t open yet. However, that night when The Mister went, it was open- and joy of joys-they had fried shrimp tofu as a side order on the menu.

Pretty much the only places that have fried shrimp tofu are Convoy Noodle House and Pho Pasteur Anh Hong (the place with tablecloths in the mall with K Sandwiches). I got it once with Bun and was hooked. It is just a shrimp paste inside of tofu skin that is fried. Crunchy/crispy and the shrimp paste tastes like shrimp mixed with some sugar and fish sauce… it is just something I crave.

Oh, and as a side (or "appetizer" as I like to call it) it’s only $3.

Oh, here is the menu, along with a photo of Tip Top’s paw as she waited for a precise moment to walk over it. For some reason, the website does not have prices. OH-THE NEATEST PART…look closely (click onto any photo and it will enlarge) or, go to the website- The menu is written in Vietnamese, English AND Spanish. I have never seen it this way, but it is neat. Therefore the fried shrimp tofu is, in Vietnamese: them chao tom hoac tau hu ky and in Spanish: adicional tofu de camarones.

So, anyhow, The Mister brought home Pho Tai (raw steak)(filete raro). (Small $ $5.50). Thinly sliced raw steak that cooks in the pho broth. The broth was rich, slightly oily, and not too overly anise-y/5 Spice-y. It was still very hot, to the point that when the meat was dropped in, a nice boiling effect came up from the soup. We live about 7 miles from this place, with quite a few lights between here and there. As you can see, the accompaniments of basil, jalapeños, one lime wedge and sprouts was plenty. The noodles were under the raw meat in the take out box. This was a *lot* of food. The large bowl is only 50¢ more and easily could feed two people.

We got an order of the fried spring rolls (cha ngo)(taquitos fritos de puerco) ($5.50) which also came with a fair amount of accompaniments-there could have been more mint- There was enough sauce though. Some chili is in the sauce, so there is a kick to it. The filling is quite a meaty ground pork as well as having daikon and carrot in it. The ‘to go’ packaging was perfect- they cut off a corner of the Styrofoam box, so that the thin egg roll skins stayed crispy.

Then, my meal- Bun. How I so crave Bun sometimes. Inside a restaurant, it is served in a large bowl with the lettuce/cabbage/basil/mint ‘salad’ on the bottom, noodles over it, then the toppings, shredded carrots, cucumbers, peanuts and whatever topping (I have had it with the fried shrimp tofu, at Ahn…#123D I think) this time, BBQ pork (thit nuong)(fideos de arroz con puerco de la barbacoa),

($5.99). It came in this Styrofoam take out box, and I had to dump it into a mixing bowl (as we had to do with the pho also) so as to get all the flavors mixed in…the noodles are under all of that BBQ’d pork which was *excellent* in flavor and cooking. The salad as nice and crisp and flavorful with the herbs in it.

So, the other day, we were hungry. It seems to happen a lot. I thought we should try Pho Saigon Star again and eat in. We were the *only* White people. This is always a good sign. This restaurant is located where Friars Road turns into Mission Gorge, near Kaiser Hospital, in the curved strip mall with the Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Petco, Coco’s, Rubio’s, Einsteins, Carl’s Jr. You know where. You’ve seen it.

Very nice, clean interior. Very friendly young men waiting on the tables. Very much family owned and run. everyone seemed to know everyone. … and there I was, White Girl with Camera. Oh well, they never asked me what the heck I was doing. It seemed that whenever they came around to fill up water, each person did ask us if we had any questions and were willing to give us information.

We decided to try the papaya salad with shrimp and pork ($5.99) It came with the sauce on the side. Unusual, but we saw the table next to us get it that way also. The sauce had a good amount of chilis in it, and we put the sauce over the portion we had placed onto our plates and it tasted great. I saw a lady at the table next to us adding sugar to the sauce. I thought it was fine. I tasted the papaya, shrimp and pork without any sauce and each ingredient had a good, fresh flavor on its own.

When The Mister was picking up that one day, he saw someone having curry and he had wanted to try it. He got rice with chicken curry (com cari ga)(arroz con curry de pollo) ($5.99). You could get it with noodles or French bread also, same price. The curry was sweet, with coconut milk and not very hot (spicy hot I mean). It had an excellent flavor, the chicken pieces were dark meat; flavorful. There were potatoes and hot onions and cilantro served with it. The sauce was not overly thick. it was good, tasty, but not like a Japanese curry sauce, which is thicker. You needed to put the rice into the curry to eat it.

I decided to try Sir Fry crispy noodles, with everything ($7.50) (mi xao gio thap cam) (never mind Spanish). You can get crispy egg noodles, soft egg noodles, pan fried noodles or rice… with beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, broccoli, celery, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, onions, cilantro…and a nice brown sauce. Great flavors- and a *lot* of food.

But, we got dessert anyhow: the three colored one: pudding/sweet bean/green agar with coconut milk and ice ($3)

Nice and fresh. We were asked if we wanted it with our meal or as dessert. We asked to wait and the nice Young Man brought it out when he saw we were finishing up everything else. The pudding (yellow part) was wonderfully flavored, the beans were not mushy and had good flavor, the green agar strips were..chewy…and the coconut milk was *so* nice. It was a perfect ending.

Oh- the tea. It is $1.50 per pot. It is Jasmine. It is loose tea with a tea ball inside the pot. It is great.

..and, the weird thing. The ‘muzak’ was in Asian style- those echoing stringed instruments. But there were only 3 songs that kept repeating and one of them was *definitely* "Numb" by Linkin Park. Every subtle note of it. I kind of found that strange….just an observation.

Pho Saigon Star 10450 Friars Road , Suite E San Diego 92120 (619)640-2985 Open 7 days 9 a.m.- 9 pm. website