Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 17

Revisits – Mien Trung and Cafe Dore

December 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of early weekend meals since returning from vacation.

Mien Trung:

MT was actually my first meal after returning from our trip. Our flight arrived quite late; the Missus had to work the next morning, the weather had cooled and I was craving some Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung.

The fellow….we've been coming here so long, I remembered when I used to refer to him as the "young man", made me feel quite guilt when he said: "it's nice to see you….you only come by once a year these days…."

Anyway, I got the #1; the regular sized bowl.

Scalding, spicy broth, bright lemongrass flavors, a slight funkiness from the shrimp paste; slippery noodles with a nice "pull" to them. I do wish they'd start adding banana blossom back to the veggies; though it was fresh and plentiful. The thinker sliced meat was flavorful and toothsome; I did wish the pork hock had a bit more meat and connective tissue and perhaps the tendon was a bit more tender. But this did hit the spot.

As usual, I wore dark clothing to hide the red dots on my clothes from slurping those noodles. And without fail; I always think about our good friend; Ed from Yuma, who would without fail always wear some light colored shirt when we ate here. He's always leave, smiling, happy, and with a nice little scattering of random red dots from the broth on his shirt. We miss you Ed!

This was a nice bowl on a chilly, damp day.

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Café Dore:

**** Cafe Dore has closed

Ah yes, one place that's still "old school"; Cafe Dore. Man, remember those days when they had the "video game" machines in the back? Except there were older Vietnamese Gentleman "playing" on those "video machines"…..hmmm…. Well, those days are long gone. I recall when the older men used to smoke in the place. On one visit, somebody came to "inspect" and pointed at the "No Smoking" signs posted…..and the guys all looked confused and acted like they didn't understand….and since the signs were posted in English….well, maybe that hasn't changed as two guys were smoking in the place when I arrived. Though I did notice when folks start coming in; the smokers will head outside.

And neither has the about 12:1 ratio of men to women customers in the place. Most women just come in to do take-out orders…..though perhaps this is because I usually visit rather early in the morning? Perhaps most of the old-timers finish up and leave by lunch?

One thing that hasn't changed is the 7am opening and with the Missus having to work early on a weekend morning and waking me up…..well, I was hungry and wanted some noodle soup. Also, my Dry Cleaning Lady, had mentioned that Café Dore had started serving Mi Quang, so I wanted to check it out.

I arrived, sat at a table and was given a menu….right on the top was "Mi Quang Dore"…..I guess their version of Mi Quang.

The broth wasn't bad; it had a nice tongue feel, though it was on the "sweeter" side. I made good use of the nuoc mam to bump up the flavor.

I really enjoyed the veggies….finally, some banana blossom! It was fresh through and through. Though the cracker was on the stale side.

Unfortunately, the noodles were on the overcooked side and there were quite a few smaller pieces of noodle floating around.

The selection of "proteins" was interesting; there was a good amount of chewy pork intestine, which was kind of bland….quail eggs; obviously canned. I didn't have high hopes for the two large shrimp; but it was cooked perfectly, very moist, and slightly sweet.

I quickly noticed that no one else was eating in the place and all eyes were focused on something.

That something was the Lottery Drawing on the screen.

As soon as that was over; half the guys in the place either left or went outside to have a smoke.

I finished up my tea, went to the register and paid for my Mi Quang.

While it wasn't bad; I don't think I'll be having this again. I'll probably go back to my old ways.

For me; Café Dore is an interesting slice of life, something totally different from hipster-rich San Diego. It just seems real and totally reminds me of Vietnam, be it ever so humble. Though without those little plastic "kiddie chairs"!

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

House of Pho

November 28, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

One of my coworkers wanted to know what I thought of this little shop off Plaza in National City. So, I thought I'd head down to check them out. I was forewarned about the "interesting" service that "MG" sometimes got here.

The little shop is a simple set-up; the menu is status quo for these type of shops.

The young lady who waited on me; was well….different; she dropped off the menu at the table and just stood there, not impatiently mind you, she just stood there blankly looking at….well almost through me, not saying a word. This wasn't say; the perfunctory service of, for example Pho Hoa, this was just silence. I placed my order, she grabbed the menu, turned and walked away; uttering not a word.

I had gone with the well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe.

The portion of sprouts and basil was also average for most pho places these days; rather sparse, but at least fresh.

The broth was cloudy, not very rich, lacking in anise/beef tones, and mostly just salty. Sorely in need of a flavor injection; more cilantro, onions, or anything…..

The noodles were over-cooked and on the mushy side.

The meatballs were the typical squeaky, flavorless orbs; the well done steak tasteless, the one piece of tendon thick and tough; the chewy flank had some beefiness, ditto the brisket, and there were two little "wisps"of tripe.

My check was silently placed on my table; the silent Server, turned and walked away. I did hear her talk to the other woman working…..she just didn't speak to me at all. This was kind of odd.

There really wasn't any reason to return. But a few months later….yes months; I decided to just come back and try something else.

The same young lady was working; same blank stare, same silence…….. I started with the Garlic Wings.

Which arrived sizzling hot and crisp. It really lacked any substantial seasoning though…..not much garlic, or anything else going on here. The skin got mushy rather quickly, lots of black spots in the flesh, whose texture was a bit chewy in spots. I'm thinking there was some oxidation and freezer burn going on here as there was that slightly off flavor in spots.

I had also ordered the Bo Kho; the Beef Stew.

This was basically pho broth with bo kho base. In a completely opposite manner; the broth was super greasy, had a metallic finish to it, and lacked the beefy, tangy, mild-anise/peppery spice of a decent beef stew. It was quite salty and I used a good amount of the lime trying to balance out the flavor of the broth….to no avail.

The beef in the stew were strangely provided in tough and dry "rolls"

The banh pho was decently prepped this time around and had some "pull" to them.

My check silently arrived at my table…….

I decided to see if I could actually get a response from the young lady serving me and when I saw this…..

I had an opening…perhaps the young lady was just shy? I asked her if the owners were from Hawaii? The young lady gave me a blank stare; took my money, turned around and walked away. She did say something to the other woman working who laughed. I guess I just wasn't worth but a single word or response. Strange…..

House of Pho
3120 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Sun – Fri 10am – 9pm
Saturday 10am – 10pm

Pho Van (new 2nd location- in Santee)

November 8, 2018 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog with posts from Kirk or Cathy. Kirk is unavailable today, so Cathy is writing.

At the end of August, a second location of Pho Van opened in the old Pho Santee spot, across the street from the Sheriff office. The change has been a great addition to the Vietnamese choice in this East County city.
The interior is neat, clean and busy almost every time we have stopped in for lunch. There are televisions on each wall.
Two shrimp and pork spring rolls ($3.75) had to be a first order, sort of a 'test'. These were not pre-made and the shrimp and pork were both still warm when brought to the table (very much a plus). Another visit required me to order fried egg rolls (4 for $6.50) {both the spring(#26) and egg (#27) rolls are priced the same per order} and these were very interesting- you can see the elongated shape, nice fry as well as the fillings being plentiful. Great starts to our meals.
During those first three weeks of Grand Opening, all the bowls of Pho were half off. This large bowl of Ga Tom Bo (chicken, shrimp and rare steak) (#16) is normally $8.36. It is worth it. The flavors of everything- broth, beef, chicken and shrimp- were each excellent. The noodles were chewy but not clumpy. The add- ins, though sparse, were just enough with so much else in the bowl.

#98 on the menu, charbroiled pork with bean curd shrimp paste ($8.50) was at first 'warned' to us when we ordered…that it wasn't whole shrimp and that it was bean curd sheets, not tofu. {We know what tau hu ky is; look at the results when you type that in the Search Bar (top left of this page).} Anyhow, this version of shrimp paste stuffed into tofu skin was excellent; crispy, filled and flavorful. The grilled pork is very well grilled and flavored and the rice is a better quality. The vegetables here are always extremely fresh.
#65- Beef stew with french bread ($7.87) was both a wonderful surprise and slight disappointment. The stew was great; tender beef (though not much tendon), carrots and onion. The serving was huge (it's served in a large pho bowl). The disappointment? The bread. It was warm and with a crispy crust, but for some reason the interior/bread part tasted like yeasty french bread and not a bahn mi. Not a biggie, and you can order beef stew with rice, rice noodle or egg noodle.
Bun cha gio (#46, $7.87) was ordered the one time I visited and wanted the egg rolls but also the salad and chilled noodles. The salad part included cucumber, shredded mint and bean sprouts and was served in a fairly large (I'm guessing the small pho sized) bowl. This satisfied my cravings, especially because the pickled radish and carrot along with the fresh chopped peanuts added so much texture and flavor to all of the things under the egg rolls. The 'House Specialties' part of the menu is also interesting. #25- rare lemon beef salad ($13.50) is wonderful- large and lemon marinaded beefy with shredded radish, onion, fresh herbs (mint, basil and sawtooth) and topped with chopped peanuts and fried garlic. There is enough to share on this plate.
Also from the 'House Specialty' menu…the bottom item (#29 C) "Bowl of soup wonton" ($3.50). Small, but just enough if you want to eat light or have a small side dish. The wontons are so fresh, nicely filled with both shrimp and pork and the soup broth is not salty, with a chicken flavor.

If you are in Santee, this is the place.

Pho Van 8790 Cuyamaca Street, Suite K Santee, CA 92071 (619) 631-7878 open daily 9-9

Revisits – Mi Quang Mien Trung and Pho Hoa

November 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It had been about eight months since Mi Quang Mien trung had opened; so I thought it would be a good time to revisit. Plus, they open at 8am, so I can get noodles for breakfast before hitting the office on weekends.

It seems like only half of the menu display was working on this day; but I knew what I wanted. I wasn't very impressed with the signature dish of this place during my previous visit; so I gave the Mi Quang another try.

The pork this time around was vastly improved; nice saltiness, good pork flavor. After that; there was a total drop-off. Still hardly any broth and what is provided is so bland, it might as well be msg flavored hot water. The noodles were nicely cooked and I appreciated the banana blossom, which added a decent texture. The shrimp was really bad; it was over-cooked and had a very musty flavor, not good eats.

Like I said before; it's a pretty nice looking dish and maybe you'd like it….if you've never had Mi Quang before. For me, this is just so bland and lacks soul.

That said; there were a few things on the menu I had wanted to check-out, so I returned the following weekend.

By now it seems the entire menu board is now non-functional. It's back to paper.

I ordered the Bun Hen ($8.50) and Banh Bot Loc (a small order $4).

The Bun Hen is by far the best item I've had here so far. While not nearly as well seasoned or spice as the version at Mien Trung, the clams had a nice mildly chewy texture, had a mild savory flavor, without any sandy-grittiness. That mam nem did it's magic on the dish as a whole; adding a wonderful deep-funky savoriness to the dish. The chicharrons were fresh, light, and crunchy. The bun was perfectly prepared and there was a good amount of banana blossom in the dish. It was very satisfying…..

I can't say the same about the Banh Bot Loc, which was ice cold, really, tough, and flavorless.

You can't win 'em all I guess.

CC recently visited Mi Quang Mien Trung as well.

**** Mi Quang Mien Trung has closed

Mi Quang Mien Trung
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

As for that "vehicle" parked in front of the 7-11….well, you never know what you'll see on ECB…..

For some reason yesterday's time change kind of messed me up….as in, I was up at 4am messed up. After trying to sleep for a few more hours; I gave up and decided to go into work for a while. But first I needed some breakfast….and perhaps some pho. I've had some pretty lousy pho recently and just wanted something decent…..plus it was 645am in the morning. I decided to head up to City Heights and have my breakfast at Pho Hoa, after all it had been over 2 years since my last visit. Plus, they open at 7am.

Not much going on at 7am on a Sunday at Pho Hoa; just a few "old-timers"; me included. The lighting gave the place a rather eerie look.

The drill was as expected. The menu, placed on the table, is basically symbolic, a formality, as the guy taking the order is already standing above you, pen poised in hand, impatiently waiting for you to order before you even open it.

But there was no mistaking the freshness of the basil, ngo gai (yea!!), and sprouts when it hit the table. And man, apparently there's no national shortage of basil as other pho shops will make you believe.

It was good 'ol #4 for me. As I mentioned in a previous post; I'm not a big fan of the rare steak here….it usually has a rather metallic taste to it.

The broth was decent; a slight beefiness, a bit richer than usual, clear, with a nice mildly pungent-anise flavor. Not overly sweet like much of the pho in San Diego is these days.

The brisket was slightly beefy if a bit on the dry side; the flank wasn't overly fatty, the tripe crunchy, but it was the tendon that took the gold medal. Nice and buttery in texture.

Not an amazing or great bowl of pho; but passable and it hit the spot. With the state of pho in San Diego, this will just have to do these days.

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

Pho La Jolla Revisited

October 25, 2018 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

My 3 hours of meetings ran a bit late, I was starving, and wanted something to eat before heading back to the office. It was then that I recalled that Pho La Jolla was close by….and I hadn't been there in nearly half a decade. Some pho sounded good, so I decided to grab some lunch.

The place was empty when I arrived; though folks quickly came thru to pick-up take-out orders. The Hispanic guy working the front of house was really nice to the "regulars"…..but quite, ahem, perfunctory to me. I was somewhat relieved to know it wasn't personal as he was the same to anyone who came in to eat that he didn't "know".

What I wanted to order was quite simple; well-done steak, flank, tendon, and tripe….except there was a problem; they don't serve tendon and tripe anymore. It's been replaced by meatballs. Ok, how about the bo kho….nope, that's off the menu now as well.

So, I finally settled for the Bun Bo Hue….that would be the "Vietnamese Spicy Beef Soup" on the menu; not the rather strange sounding (in a Vietnamese Restaurant) "Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup" (well, maybe not since there weren't any Vietnamese working on this day as my order was called back in Spanish to the kitchen).

The sprouts and company was pretty much what I expected; sparse, but fresh. The BBH arrived in a rather large bowl; I took a sip and holy ms-heebie-geebies Batman! Man, it was super salty; I ended up using the two slices of lime trying to temper the saltiness. I had expected doctored up pho (obviously no pork tones) broth, but this was kinda funny….basically slightly metallic tasting pho broth with chili paste and voila, Bun Bo Hue! No deep savory flavors from shrimp paste; no lemongrass tones….lots of onions though. I guess they tried to balance the scales by using a ton of cilantro and scallions.

The beef and there was plenty of brisket and well done steak in this was decent; quite beefy, no off flavors. The cha lua of the "ga" (chicken) variety was passable, except for being cold. Of course there was no pork hock. But man, that bun was over-cooked and really mushy.

I've had some mediocre bowls of Bun Bo Hue over the years; but this might have been the worse. And with a $11.75 price tag and unfriendly service. Add no tripe, tendon, bo kho, and who knows what else? I don't think I have any reason to return.

Pho La Jolla
3211 Holiday Court #102
La Jolla, CA 92037

The Pho Shop Revisted

September 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, what to eat near Sports Arena at 10am on a Sunday morning? I had to do a bit of shopping and it was a bit too early for lunch at most places. Then I remembered the Pho Shop. I thought it would be good to check them out again since it had been a while. But man, I hadn't realized it had been over five years already! How time flies.

I arrived just as the "open" sign went on. There were fans running in the place. I was obviously the first customer of the day and the only customer during my entire visit.

I just went with the Pho Dac Biet. The herbs and sprouts soon arrived….. as expected the amount of basil was miniscule and just starting to brown.

My bowl of pho quickly arrived thereafter.

The broth was a lot lighter than on my previous visit. It was also, like most of the pho in San Diego these days on the "sweeter" side, though it still had some nice onion tones. Not much beefiness and also highly defatted.

The tai; rare steak was very lean and once past rare quite tough; like on my previous visit, the flank and brisket were nicely done and beefy, the brisket being very tender. There was nary a piece of tendon in my bowl; though there was a lot of tripe; which was crunchy, and had no off flavors.

The noodles were cooked decently this time around.

While obviously not among my favorite pho shops in San Diego and navigating the course of "pho not to offend" this was not terrible. I can't think of any better pho in the area; though I haven't made the rounds in a while.

The Pho Shop
3760 Sports Arena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 10pm
Sunday 10am – 9pm

Banh Mi Hoi An

September 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

If you're headed down Rosecrans to Liberty Station, you can't miss the sign.

In fact, I first saw the "Grand Opening" sign on one of our trips to El Jardin, which I need to post on one of these days.

On one Saturday, I decided to drop by. I parked in the back and not paying attention almost walked into this guy……

Whom I also saw on my other visit as well. Very sad…..

On both visits; Hoi An was fairly empty. The guy at the counter was quite friendly, the menu had the usual suspects, Banh Mi (priced from around $4.50 – $5.50), Bun, Com (rice plates), Spring Rolls….you get the idea.

I decided to get the Hoi An Special….basically the Dac Biet ($5.50).

Now, I've heard some grumblings about folks complaining the banh mi here was on the small side……I beg to differ. I mean really, this decently sized.

The proteins in the sandwich were on the dry side; though the pickled veggies were decent; sour-sweet enough. Those huge slices of cucumber ruined the ratio of vegetables-pickles-meat-bread. I tasted the meat separately and they just about status quo. Now I know this is pretty much a "Westernized" banh mi shop; but I sure would have enjoyed a bit more pate. The bread was dry and on the stale crumbly side. I actually thought they didn't put any jalapenos in my sandwich; but I found some……for some strange reason they weren't spicy at all.

Just a so-so banh mi.

I returned a few weeks later……and really wasn't sure what to order….so I had a brain fart and ordered the "braised pork", which turned out to be barbecue pork (char siu), duh!

The bread was better this time around, though standard issue, it had been toasted well and was nice and crusty/flakey. The first thing I looked for were….the jalapenos; which again were really mild. Not sure what's going on with that.

I enjoyed the amount of cilantro in the sandwich and the pork was so dry and bland, I could actually taste the pate.

The pickled radish and carrots were crisp, with a nice balance of sour-sweet. Remember those huge slices of cucumber in the previous sandwich? Well, this time there barely a sliver. Go figure.

The banh mi here isn't bad. It just isn't worth going out of your way for.

To me; the perfect banh mi is a symphony of crusty/flakey bread that isn't too chewy; cilantro without too many stems, nice thin slices of peppers for that "jalapeno roulette". The proteins; there needn't be a huge portion, it's all about proportion, should be moist and have flavor, the pate should be somewhat rich with that touch of earth-funkiness. It's something I keep searching for.

This guy working was again quite friendly and asked me to drop by for Happy Hour….hmmm…..chicken wings……..hmmm….

We'll see.

Banh Mi Hoi An
3145 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Sat 1030am – 9pm
Closed Sundays

Revisits – Luong Hai Ky and Homestyle Hawaiian (Tierrasanta)

September 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Plate Lunch, Vietnamese Restaurants

I should actually call this "weekend procrastination lunches"……two revisits where I took the "long way" to work.

Luong Hai Ky:

On the Sunday that I took the "really long way" to work; I decided to drop by Luong Hai Ky since it had been over three years since my last visit. Let me just say things haven't changed much….the service was perfunctory at best; and that Beef Sate Noodle; well, with all that iceberg lettuce and all that basil….check out all the stems they included; would you like to eat that or perhaps reach into your bowl with your hands and remove them? Sheesh, it's pretty much an egg noodle salad these days.

And that broth that tastes like msg water.

This was basically fifty percent iceberg lettuce which made the dish get cold quickly, the egg noodles were over-cooked. Too little sate was used on the beef. Too bad, because the beef was rather tender.

I think it's back to Tim Ky for me.

This is quite sad because once upon a time before the original owner passed away, the location on Convoy did a pretty good job. But that was over a decade ago…..

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
10606 Camino Ruiz #2
San Diego, CA 92126

Homestyle Hawaiian (Tierrasanta):

HH has spread out quite a bit since Homestyle Hawaiian opened up near Mesa College nine years ago. With 6 locations; though they disavow the Point Loma location, it's now a nice little kingdom. On a recent weekend; I decided to sleep in and drop by the office in the afternoon. It was nearly 1130 and I was starved, so I decided to take a detour, and wouldn't you know it…somehow, I'm not sure how….I ended up here.

I'd only been to this location once; but it was close to the 52……

The young lady who waited on me was a joy; she humored me when I asked that my combination plate be served in a take-out container. I knew there was no way I'd be able to finish it. I ordered the chicken katsu; Korean chicken combo. An old favorite of mine from back when I could put away a whole lot more…..

The katsu was nicey fried this time around. It was crisp, moist, the breading wasn't peeling off, and of course I do enjoy the "local-kine" katsu sauce…..I grew up eating chicken katsu with a ketchup based sauce. The Korean chicken seems to have changed over time; the sweet-salty flavors, now tend toward the sweeter side. The batter was more hard than crisp this time around and the chicken, while moist, was on the chewy side.

Like, I've mentioned before, never been a big fan of HH's mac salad, but this wasn't bad, nicely chilled, it seems to have gotten better over the years.

Of course I managed to eat less than half of this. I took the rest to work and wouldn't you know, there was someone else who decided to come in on this day…..he was rewarded with a rather hefty container of food.

Homestyle Hawaiian Pub & Eatery
10601 Tierrasanta Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92124

Pho Duoi Bo from Royal Garden

September 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Royal Garden has closed

I found myself back in City Heights this past weekend and decided to drop by Royal Garden to see what was going on.

I believe there was some kind of event going on later in the day as chairs were arranged, though all the tables near the window were occupied. Seems like they are doing some decent business these days.

I hadn't had a bowl of pho in a while and I recall thinking it was pretty good on one of my previous visits. So I ordered the Pho Duoi Bo – oxtail pho.

The sprouts were really fresh; though the basil was just starting to turn color. No ngo gai (cilantro) on this visit.

The bowl that arrived was quite huge.

There was one very large piece of oxtail and three smaller pieces. The texture of the meat was perfect; tender enough to be able to remove from the bone with chopsticks, but not falling to pieces. It was obviously cooked in some other liquid since it had a nice slightly sweet, winey-soy flavor, with a hint of ginger, edging almost toward a pork braise. There was also some decent slices of flank and brisket in the bowl; but it really was all about the oxtail.

The broth was darker this time around and more beefy with hints of anise…..it was also a bit on the sweeter side, but not overly salty. It wasn't quite as clear as on my previous visits either. Still; at least there was some beef flavor.

The noodles were cooked perfectly, but for some reason, there was a bunch of smaller pieces of noodles…..I'm thinking I got the "bottom of the package".

Regardless, this was a decent bowl. Looks like I found another place to get my "pho fix". And of course, like I mentioned in my previous post; there's much more to explore on the two different menus.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Wed – Mon 9am – 9pm
Closed Tuesdays

No Pho at Pho 46

August 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

I was just about to finish up another post when I luckily checked the news and decided it wouldn't be appropriate to do that post today. So here's something I had on the back burner for a while.

When our office first moved back to the area, I started checking out a bunch of different places. I recalled having a decent meal at Pho 46 a while back, so I decided to return.

There seems to be a different set of folks working here these days. That woman who works the front of house often takes orders, buses, and delivers the food all by herself….yet she was very pleasant on both my visits.

I recalled the Shrimp Fried Rice to be decent; in an "old school" kind of way so I ordered that – it was not bad for $7.50.

The rice was not as evenly stir fried as on my previous visit; though the shrimp was nice and plump, good job there. Typical frozen peas and carrots and this needed soy sauce to ramp up the flavor a bit; but not bad at all.

I also ordered the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt again; this one is now $4.95 for four good sized wings.

A bit sweeter than I recalled; the crispness didn't last for very long, and there was a bit greasiness to these. It was decently fried; perhaps a bit on the dry side. Again, not terrible, not great…..I'd probably not have these again though.

The menu at "46" is pretty darn large…….105 dishes at last count….enough to give you "Vietnamese Menu Overload Syndrome". On my last visit; I decided to try out the combination stir fry with XO sauce ($7.95). I kinda cracked up when it arrived at my table.

It looks like the "tai" for pho is doing double duty here. Sadly the shrimp was overcooked as was the chicken….and even the onions. The sauce was a really watered down XO sauce cut with soy sauce and sugar….I also got the "ms-heebie-jeebies" from this as well. Not good eats.

It was on this visit that I noticed Bann had opened in the structure in front of Pho 46. The food there seems much fresher and the ingredients better. Though you really can't complain much about the prices here. And who knows when I'll have a craving for "old school" fried rice?

Pho 46
9508 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126