Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 20

Pho Be Thui at Pho Saigon Alley

January 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Saigon Alley has closed

Back at the end of October; I was making one of my now quite rare trips to City Heights when I noticed a "Grand Re-Opening Banner on the former location of Asmara Restaurant. Grand Re-Opening? When was the original opening When did Asmara close? Hmmm……I guess I'm getting a bit out of touch in my old age.

Anyway, I made a mental note of the place and like I tend to do so often these days promptly forgot about the place. In December, when we got back from our latest trip, something triggered a recollection. And I decided to stop by Pho Saigon Alley.

I went and parked in the rear of the building and this banner caught my attention.

Pho be thui? That's a new one for me. Man, I haven't had Be Thui on over ten years!

The rear entrance and back of the restaurant; the outdoor area, looks somewhat worn and unkept, not the most welcoming entrance. The interior looks fairly bright, but the floors seem scuffed and there's a bit of haphazardness to the place. Bar type seating, a stage….seems like they were doing karaoke here for a while?

The place was also totally empty when I arrived. But I pushed ahead and ordered the Pho Be Thui; noted as "Smoked Veal" on the menu.

I ordered a small ($9.25). I totally expected to get a plate with be thui along with a plain-Jane bowl of pho. So I was surprised when a good sized bowl of pho arrived with brisket, tripe, tendon, and flank.

The be thui here was thinly sliced like tai; there was no rice powder dusted on the slices of meat like proper be thui; the sauce was super salty nothing like the traditional fermented bean sauce (tuong cu da) or the really clean, refreshing, ginger based sauces I've had with be thui. It was of course, quite lean, pretty darn chewy, and since the broth for this bowl of pho wasn't very hot; it never got beyond basically raw. The broth was very mild, defatted, with just a hint of beefiness and a touch of anise flavors. At least it wasn't too salty.

The noodles were nicely done and were actually hotter than the broth!

The tendon and tripe were very well prepared; just a hint of chew for the tendon and no "off flavors" for the crunchy tripe. The flank was a bit too fatty and tough, but the brisket had a nice beefy flavor. As you can see by the top photo; the basil was starting to discolor.

So, while this was not very good in terms of be thui (also, there wasn't any "smoke" flavor – I'm thinking they mean torched), it wasn't terrible by any means. There are bowls worse than this to be found. I needed to get something for the Missus at Northgate Market a few days later; so I decided to drop by again.

On this visit, there were three other tables occupied. By an older crowd. This time I noticed a grease board on a music stand occupying the "stage" area. It had a bunch of dishes listed. I was tempted to go for the bun bo hue. But after my recent not-so-good bowl of BBH, I decided to just go ahead and ordered the Bo Luc Lac.

This was fairly mediocre; not bad, just nothing special. Like versions of bo luc lac I've had recently; this was on the salty side and lacking in any sweet-sour or deeply savory tones. The meat was a bit overcooked, but still reasonably tender. The veggies were under cooked, though the rice was nice and fragrant. the portion size was fairly small; but reasonable for $8.25. Not much more to say.

The service is typical old-school pho shop……which I thought kinda nice since we now have all these modern, slick, sort of hipsterish Vietnamese places I've been to recently. The clientele on my visits were all older folks.

I may drop by Pho Saigon Alley again in the future…maybe take my chances with the Bun Bo Hue. Or maybe not……..

Pho Saigon Alley
4155 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm

Ginger Pho & Grill

December 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Ginger Pho & Grill has closed

A few months ago I received an email from "SomTommy". He asked me if I could check out a place on Plaza in National City that supposedly made a good Bun Bo Hue. I really hadn't heard of a place in National City making at good BBH; but heck, I did get a fairly passable bowl of pho in the area recently so why not? Turns out the place is actually in the very busy mall that houses Seafood City on Plaza.

I did notice that there's been a bit of turnover in the mall since my last visit. Manila Resto is gone, there's a new, what looks like the ubiquitous Crawfish place, and a few places I don't recall seeing before. Though the veteran restaurants like Golden Chopsticks, Bread Deluxe, and Goldilocks is still doing good business. As was Porky's Lechon.

As for Ginger Pho & Grill, well, there were a couple of tables occupied; all getting pho, but I went with the Bun Bo Hue. This actually took a while to get to me; which had me a bit concerned as I saw everything else just rolling out of the kitchen in minutes.

Eventually, it did arrive. First thing I noticed was the strong orange color of the broth; orange, not red, and how cloudy it was.

The plate of herbs and veggies were very fresh; though mostly lettuce and purple cabbage with a sprig of mint thrown in.

The broth was quite spicy, an in your face blast of chili heat. There was a mild richness-fattiness to the soup. The rest of the broth seemed so plain in comparison; very little lemon grass flavor, no beef or pork notes, no sour or savory (shrimp paste) tones; it was basically just spicy.

The meat was well prepared; the rustic cuts were think enough, but not hard, there were two pork hocks in soup; one was wrapped in a nice, toothsome piece of skin; the other tasted slightly off, so I passed on that. The two pieces of tendon was well prepared and pretty tender.

The bun was cooked well, slippery, with a decent stretchiness to them.

If the broth had a bit more than spiciness going for it; this might have been a pretty good bowl.

Recently, I had to drop by Seafood City, so I decided to try the pho at Ginger.

I went with good 'ol #4; the well done steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripe. I went with the small size priced at $6.99.

This was an interesting bowl. First off, the broth was really mild and severely defatted. It was also barely over lukewarm. The basil had brown spots, but there was a generous portion of bean sprouts. To illustrate how warm the broth was; I placed half of the bean sprouts in the broth and they never softened.

I like my noodles "al dente", but this was too hard for my liking. I'm thinking the broth wasn't hot enough to finish cooking the noodles and what I got was on the too hard and chewy side.

The best part of this pho was the proteins; other than the tripe which was MIA. All the meats were fairly tender, especially the brisket and tendon.

There was a generous amount of noodles and meat in this $6.99 bowl of pho. I think this illustrates what the folks at Ginger believes folks are looking for here; large portion sizes and more meat.

Service was typical; perfunctory without being rude; efficiency rules. The restaurant is nice and clean, prices are reasonable. For me; there is better pho…and Bun Bo Hue out there.

Ginger Pho & Grill
1420 East Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open 9am – 9pm Daily

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Meals from THH, Kolache Factory(Tustin) and Johnny’s Shrimp Boat (West Covina)

December 9, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for once again stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes (like today) shows the events surrounding the acquisition of meals. Kirk (and His Missus) are still on vacation and Cathy is writing.

Less than a month before the Tournament of Roses and float decoration has begun. The Mister and I were awake early last Saturday and got to the Phoenix Decorating Company barn in Irwindale before 8:30. So did a few hundred other people. We were there to do 'dry' decorating (fresh flowers and other fresh products start after Christmas).

I've been showing you road tests of the 2018 floats for the past few months (prior road tests linked at the top of that post), so you know in general what you are going to see. You can see artist renditions of these floats at this link.

If you'd like to read more about the Tournament and all its activities, this link to The Rose Examiner, is an excellent resource.

The Opening Unit, displaying the banner of the Theme of the 2018 parade- "Making A Difference" will be the first float you see.
The statice, in three colors, was ready for cutting. (In the background is the End Unit; last float you'll see in the parade). The statice petals (as well as other materials) are then blended in one of these BlendTec blenders and the powder is glued on parts of the float-makes the product be used efficiently. All visible parts of every float must be covered with natural materials. The scaffolds weren't set up and people were working at the lower levels on the City of Alhambra's float, "Story Time"
This material is 'paper bark'- it is prepared using stainless steel scrubbers, to be smooth- the product in the boxes in back is ready for application on the float.
Even rice is put in those blenders. The powder covers much more on a surface.An excellent example of rice powder- the inner ceiling of this three-part Honda float,which looks like this… The powdered rice is applied to the backs of the 'clouds' on the bottom the float; if it is visible, it has natural materials.

Palm bark is also used for decorating. The useable product is in the small box on top of the table.
The design on the back of the "Armenian Roots" float is similar to the Armenian Orphan rug, woven by Armenian genocide victims as a gift to President Coolidge – the tassels are raffia grass.

If you can enlarge, the black parts of the butterfly are black beans. The edge of the hearts are covered with red straw flower petals, which were not powdered: texture.Enlarging this photo shows the orange parts of this unique butterfly are lentils.
These yellow with orange edged roses are being covered with powdered yellow straw flowers. There will be about 30 of these flowers on the City of Hope Medical Center float, "Transforming Lives with Hope".
Rotary International's float, "Sowing the Seeds of Service" was being decorated from the climbing scaffolding- the hat is covered with Pac-Pac, a braided straw (you can see some Pac-Pac on the top step).
Here is the front of "Armenian Roots", depicting Mother Armenia and pomegranates, a symbolic fruit of Armenia.
Shriners Hospitals, "Caring for Kids Around the World" will be filled with details.
Lions Clubs International, "Preserving Our Environment" has multiple details, like these cattails, partly covered in dried parsnip. The Oddfellows and Rebbekahs float, "Sacrifice to Serve" has pictographs on both sides of the float. Much detail work will be completed over the next few weeks.
Kiwanis, "Racing to Serve Children" is so cute!
These are the red straw flowers, mentioned above.
The Lutheran Layman's League float, "Bringing Christ to the Nations". The Mister and I volunteer with their group, the Petal Pushers and are assigned to assist on whichever float needs assistance; our volunteering helps pay for this float, the only Christian themed float in the parade, now for the 68th year.
Detail for the Western Asset float, "Oceans of Possibility".
The United Sikh Mission float, "Serving Kindness" depicts the Sikh Langar, the worlds largest free kitchen, which serves over 100,000 meals a day and is in line with the theme of this parade "Making a Difference"
This is a 'tag along' to the Trader Joe's float,
which was still undergoing some mechanical corrections last week…the title, "Hats Off"…you'll see.

On to the food portion of this blog.

Tustin, the same parking lot and indecision for breakfast. The Mister went to the business on the left, Kolache Factory and I went to the business on the right, THH Sandwiches. An apricot and a bacon-cheese kolache from The Factory. A chicken and a pork pate chaud from THH. Enough protein to sustain and some nice carbs to enjoy.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We brought lunch, enjoyed in the industrial park area surrounding the decorating barn, consisting of sandwiches brought from home…

Worked until about 5 p.m. and started driving South on Vincent, one signal light East. The street name changed at some point to Glendora and we were in West Covina. We had passed here a few times this year, but Johnny's Shrimp Boat doesn't open until 9:30 a.m.. Look at it. We had to stop.
The menu is simple- there are specials for $6.95, $7.95 and $8.95. All have the option of a side consisting of rice with beans, gravy, chili or fries (or just fries) (and pretty much any combination of those items). Menu items consist of shrimp, fish, hamburger steak, pork chop, short ribs and teriyaki (beef, chicken or shrimp).
You order, pay, have a seat. There's no tipping jar. The young man out in front as well as the chef are very nice and know the 'regulars'. Your food is handed to you over the counter.
We tried the two fish, four shrimp combo with rice and beans ($7.95). The beans were plain and needed to have hot sauce added (there were condiments on the counter).

Both the fish and the shrimp were a good size, and perfectly batter fried.

There was a window sign for a $5 shrimp cocktail. It had five large, plump shrimp, was in a nicely spiced sauce with cucumber, onion, tomato and avocado…a great deal.

Good food, nice people, a great find. (Trivia: A scene from Cobra, a Stallone film, was filmed inside the Los Angeles location of Johnny's Shrimp Boat)
Johnny's Shrimp Boat 803 S. Glendora West Covina, 91790 (626) 813-3818 Open daily 9:30-9

Thanks for reading!

Saigon Pho & Seafood Restaurant (revisits)(City Heights)

November 28, 2017 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, back at mmm-yoso!!!, reading about food. Kirk and His Missus are having a memorable time together and Cathy is doing the blogging.

These chilly mornings and warm afternoons have been pleasantly 'Autumn/Summer' for the past few weeks. Food choices are something The Mister and I have great discussions about each day near lunch time…hot or cold; spicy or mild; forks, fingers or chopsticks…

We've returned again to Saigon Pho & Seafood. (Kirk has been here, too.)

The signage hasn't changed, nor have the dual 'one way' entrances (both going in the same direction).
The giant fish tank is still here. The Goi Tom Thit ($12.99) pork, shrimp and jellyfish salad-always refreshing and vegetable filled. I do really enjoy celery and this salad has it, along with bamboo, carrots, mint and peanuts. The pork and shrimp are chilled and the meld of flavors are just right.
The soup, Mang Cua ($4.95 small) crab meat with white asparagus was just the right amount of flavors to have in one meal. The soup has egg, peas, carrots, bamboo, cilantro and onion and the small size is just enough for a light meal.

The Bo Bia ($4.25)- daikon and carrot rolls with Chinese sausage and egg are served with a peanut sauce. I've been trying sausages of various ethnicities lately and these Chinese ones were very flavorful and still warm when served. An amazing amount of flavors; different from the 'plain' shrimp and pork rolls we usually get. Trying different items from the menu has always been a winner here. Cha Banh Xeo ($8.95), a crispy crepe filled with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, onion and mung beans is ordered before we look at the menu. Each Vietnamese place uses the same ingredients, yet each plate presented is unique in flavor. The sprouts here are very lightly steamed and the crispiness, combined with the crepe, pork and shrimp, wrapped in lettuce with some mint, dipped in the fish sauce is clean and bright in flavor.I tried this Bun Tau Hu Ky Thit Nuong ($8.95). Char grilled pork, rolled and shrimp in bean curd skin with cold vermicelli and salad greens, sliced cucumber and mint as well as pickled carrots, radish and chopped peanuts. This is so fresh, refreshing and flavorful on a hot day. The Mister ordered the stir fried shrimp and vegetables and was asked if he wanted crispy noodles and he answered in the affirmative. The carrots, broccoli and cabbage along with canned corn and the plump shrimp coated in a velvet 'gravy' on top of the crispy egg noodles was quite a comfort food. I decided to try the Tom Tai Chanh ($11.99)- rare shrimp salad served with lemon sauce. This was wonderful- the vegetables (carrots, cucumber, celery and radish) were thinly sliced the 'long way' with a potato peeler or mandoline and were just so very different. The shrimp were so plump and had been cooked in lemon (or maybe lime, it appears) juice. The addition of the fish sauce based 'dressing' enhanced all of the flavors.

It's always a fun and tasty adventure trying out the menu here.

Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant 4455 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego 92115 (619)284-4215 Open Sun-Th 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri-Sat 9a.m.-11 p.m.

Revisits – Tim Ky Noodle and Cali Baguette Express (Mira Mesa)

November 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of more working during the weekend breakfasts.

Tim Ky Noodle:

It had been a while since I last visited. And even longer since I've had the Beef Sate Noodle here. So, I decided to drop before having to trudge to work on a Saturday morning.

This was better than what I've had here before.

While still fairly "light" in flavor compared to; say Minh Ky, the beef as fairly tender. The broth had just enough "edge" to it; that it went well with the beef. As you notice; I put a little broth in the spoon a piece of meat, and eat. Not bad at all. I do wish it had a bit more oomph…..and onions; but at least there was a "powdery residue" on the meat. The noodles were nicely prepared and the portion size very nice.

I left satisfied.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Cali Baguette Express:

Sunday has kind of been like the new Tuesday or Wednesday, or even Thursday recently. The days just kind of string together. Though I don't need to go in at 630 on Sundays. I get to have some breakfast. I hadn't been to the Mira Mesa location of Cali Baguette Express since we did our Mira Mesa Banh Mi challenge back in 2011. At that time the Bamh Mi at Cali Baguette tied for the favorite. Since then they've expanded a bit and have taken over the former location of Mama Testa.

Much like the City Heights location; this shop is pretty crowded with "stuff".

And keeping some of the décor from Mama Testa makes things look like a bit of a mish-mash.

I ordered the Banh Mi Thit Nguoi ($3.75).

I'm not sure what's going with all my old favorites falling by the wayside these days; from Izakaya Sakura to Pho Lucky. Amd now Cali Baguette Express? The bread was the biggest problem; pale, dry, lacking crustiness, and almost stale? Poor quality control.

With banh mi, it's all about proportion, when a key part of the sandwich fails; it drags the whole thing down. Maybe I should be happy that K sandwich is reopening.

Cali Baguette Express
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92116

Unlucky at Pho Lucky?

November 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

My revisit to Pho Mignon back in September had me wondering about Pho Lucky, which has been a regular stop for me over the years. Recently though I'd noticed that the pho here has seemed to go downhill a bit, which had me sticking to the Banh Mi Bo Kho.

So, a few days after my visit; I dropped by Pho Lucky. It had been awhile; in fact, I don't recall seeing the "No Fried Fish Welcome Sign" on the door before.

I wonder what event triggered that?

I went ahead and ordered my usual; the #4, flank, tripe, tendon, and brisket.

Things looked fine and that tendon was really good as were the noodles, just prepped perfectly.

The problem was the broth……

It was a lot more defatted than I recalled; gone was the nice anise tones I enjoyed, and worse of all, it was strangely "sweet". Egad! Was Pho Lucky joining the ranks of "Sweet broth brigade"?

The main reasons I enjoyed the pho here was for the flavor of the broth and the tendon. This just didn't cut it.

I intended to return fairly quickly to see if this visit was a fluke, but then we entered into that cycle of records temperatures. And then, when things cooled down; the amount of work heated up. My life right now include weekend morning conference calls. But, unlike regular work days; there's a short window of time before my call and I decided to drop by Pho Lucky to see if my last visit was just an off day.

I ordered the #4; went to wash my hands and this is what I got.

What the pho? I didn't order rare steak? Had they changed the numbering on the menu? I had just a short window of time before I needed to be in the office, so I just went ahead and had my bowl.

The rare steak was actually not bad; much more tender than I recalled; though I missed the usual amount of tendon and tripe. The broth was better; a bit richer, but more importantly, not overly sweet not too salty. I do think the days of nice anise and onions tones in the broth are gone though. Sad. The noodles were nicely prepared; the portion of sprouts was smaller than I recalled.

I rechecked the menu while waiting to cash out.

Hmmmm……#4 looks the same to me?

Maybe the Server didn't get enough of a caffeine fix before taking my order? I saw him chugging this down whenever he had a chance.

Well…whatever…it seems to be slim pickins' with regards to decent pho in San Diego these days. I guess I'm back to the Bo Kho here.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Revisits – Mignon Pho + Grill and Red Moon Noodle House

September 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, our office was set to move after years in the Serra/Kearny Mesa area. We'd be heading a bit North. Thus, I decided to revisit a couple of places before we left.

Mignon Pho + Grill:

Or as Calvin's wife calls it; "pho for folks who don't like pho". I dunno, it had been a couple of years, so I decided to check them out again.

I went with the "Trolley Bowl" ($10).

The noodles were decent, though in clump, and the herbs and such were sparse though fresh. Still not sure why they serve ngo om (aka rice paddy herb), with its distinct flavor with the pho here.

The soup always seems to have kind of a bitter – tinny flavor to me. It's also quite weak and overly defatted. The proteins were tough and lacked flavor.

But, this place still seems to do good business. Perhaps it's the service which has always been friendly. Or perhaps it's the Lemongrass Fries, which is the best (only decent) thing I've had here.

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Red Moon Noodle House:

**** Red Moon has closed

Another place that I haven't been to in a while and haven't had great luck with. Though one of the folks that I used to work with really enjoyed the Singapore Noodle at Red Moon. So why not?

The really nice guy working brought me a fork to start? I had to ask for chopsticks? The dish, when it arrived, piping hot, looked quite impressive as it was topped with fried eggs.

Once you got past that though, it was a disappointment. The pork in this was really tough, almost hard.

There was way too much curry powder….it was definitely powder because it left a grainy, bitter residue on my tough. This was actually rather unpleasant to eat.

The noodles were too hard as well.

I took most of this home and had the Missus taste this……big mistake.

Folks have mentioned a "secret menu" (I've had the XLB, it's definitely bought frozen from somewhere else), but I've never received recommendations. So guess what? Singapore noodles….maybe that fork should have been a clue?

Really nice folks here too though….

Red Moon Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

I really liked the folks working at both places; but man, the food really didn't and hasn't been my thing here.

Pho 7 Cow

September 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Guess I really don't get around that much anymore. I didn't see this shop until I dropped by Royal Mandarin to pick up some salt-and-pepper chicken wings for a pot luck.

It was close enough to lunch time like 10:15 or so and I was feeling a bit hungry.

In spite of the rather "old school" name and logo, this place is really nicely put together. Well spaced tables, none of which are sticky, brightly lit, clean….Servers smile and wave you to your tables.

The menu has all the usual suspects. And while I'd usually go for a bowl of pho during any maiden voyage, it was still really hot and unusually sticky. And I saw someone having the Bo Kho as I walked to my table, so I went with the Banh Mi Bo Kho.

This was not bad at all. While not quite as rich as I prefer; there was a hint of beefiness to the broth. Anise and black pepper tones were more pronounced. Likewise, more of a soup than a "stew". I'm thinking things were done to not offend as there was only one piece of tendon to be had, but it was decently tender. Lots of beef, some with rather chewy connective tissue, but still rather tender, moist, no off flavors.

The bread was standard issue, but prepared well, crusty, nicely hot and toasted.

So it comes down to the "little things"; the two pieces of carrot were basically raw; I could have used more onion, and the broth was a bit too thin. But overall, this was pretty good, better than most I'd say.

I made a note to return…well, because you know how I am, right? Though I waited until things cooled down.

And I went with good 'ol number 1……while I'm usually not a big fan of the rare steak served at most pho places in San Diego (even my favorites), I usually order this just to get a view of how all the various proteins are handled.

I was rather surprised when I noticed there was Ngo Gai along with the usual basil, spouts, jalapeno, and lime. It was also very fresh, crisp, and fragrant.

The broth was on the thin and light side, though it wasn't as sweet as many versions I've had recently. Very faint beefiness and like the bo kho, nice anise tones. No MS-heebie-geebies for me.

A decent, passable, albeit overly defatted broth.

As for the proteins; the rare steak was passable, not overly dry, but still without much flavor. The flank and brisket were good, nice beefy tones, not overly tough. The meatball was the standard issue squeaky orb.

There was but one piece of tendon, which was nicely prepared, adequately tender.

The tripe had that somewhat soapy flavor that I'm not very fond of. And like the tendon, there was but one (thankfully) strand of it in the bowl.

Catering to their customer base I guess.

The noodles were done perfectly; decent chew, not mushy, and not in a tight clump at the bottom of the bowl. Some folks don't understand, that yes, it does matter to me. And yes, I will write 200 words to describe that bowl of pho I just had….. Because it does matter to me.

And, I was pleasantly surprised. As this was a totally decent bowl of pho. Man, it does seem like pho in these parts is getting better.

Nice service, there quite a bit of staff to customers, so things seem to get done quickly. The folks are pleasant. They seem to cater to kids and families. There was a play area at the back of the restaurant.

I'd certainly come here every so often if I lived in the area.

Pho 7 Cow
1025 Highland Ave
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing. Small snack at Cream Pan-Tustin. Breakfast at BMC Pho-Hacienda Heights.

August 28, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog, usually has a story about how a meal or meals occurred. Today, Cathy is writing. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy with meetings and appointments and 'check off the list' stuff.

Saturday morning, leaving the driveway at 5 a.m., heading North. After about an hour, getting to the parking lot and stepping inside Cream Pan,

for the first time this year. It's mostly the same,

other than the slight (10¢) price increase for the strawberry croissant… …and the new, secondary check out area. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website
We purchased a ham and cheese croissant ($2.60) and a cheese crisp ($2.50) and jumped back on the freeway, heading to Irwindale and the new location of Phoenix Decorating Company, arriving before 7 a.m.. We passed the new Construction/Decorating 'barn' and saw some of the floats which were tested last month.

We noticed only three floats were lined up for testing this morning. "Story Time", the entry from the City of Alhambra features a bookworm reading the book 'Tales from the Alhambra', ladybugs flying, zinnias, leaves and lily of the valley.

The openings in the above photo are where the 'observer' and the 'driver' will be seated when the float is driving down Colorado Boulevard on January 1.

The colors are painted on the floats as a marking for the decorators and also in case of weather (in the event of rain or wind, the float might lose some of its natural decorations and people on the parade route will still see color).

The road test is for both mechanics and maneuverability of the float. Each float has at least three tests, the final test that everyone can get off of and out of the float in 45 seconds or less.
The Lions Club International entry to the parade, "Preserving Our Environment" will have a water feature- flowing around the rotating water wheel. The colors have not been marked yet.The third float tested on Saturday was this one from Trader Joe's- interesting in that there is a long hitch on both the front and the rear, which makes this a part of a multi-piece float.

Now you've seen floats in three stages of testing!

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706 Website

Since this float builder location and part of Los Angeles County is 'new' to us, The Mister and I began to drive South and explore, looking for breakfast places as well as possible places to eat after we decorate floats in December.
Noticing this at the corner of Gale Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard,we stopped.

So much is offered here, but the banh mi menu (to the far right, just behind the cash register) caught my eye. I'm always on the lookout for a good banh mi (nothing in San Diego satisfies me any more since the fire of August 4, 2015, destroying the now almost reopened K Sandwiches). We were very pleasantly surprised. BMC has a 'buy two, get one' deal, so all three sandwiches cost a total of $7.50. We chose the #2, #4 and #6-BBQ pork, shredded chicken and egg. Each was prepared on wonderful, fresh, crispy crusted light bread, a spread of mayonnaise and topped with pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro and fresh slices of jalapeño. We were impressed with the char grilled flavor of the (plentiful amount of) pork and flavorful shredded chicken…oh but the egg… Crispy whites, solid yolks and just a perfect breakfast sandwich.

We will be returning here at some point to try out other menu items.

BMC Pho 1104 S. Hacienda Boulevard Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (626)330-3765 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Bun Mam Thru the Years from Nhu Y

August 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

We had a bit of cool down recently, which was great for having noodle soup. For some reason, I'd been craving Bun Mam; I hadn't had it in a while, so I decided to "scratch that itch" and headed to Nhu Y.

After being Nhu Y for a number of years, it seemed that the place went thru a couple of name changes over the last couple of years. Now, I think they're back to being Nhu Y. In spite of those changes; the heart of the menu has been the same for me. And the one item I get here is the Bun Mam, which has also gone thru a number of changes over time….I'll get to that at the end of the post.

Here's the Bun Mam circa August 2017.

I'm going to mostly stick to the broth on this post. Which was much "redder" than I recalled; more than the 2012 version. While it still has that rather swirly, darkish, cloudy, almost thick look and feel, this was much lighter than other versions. It was also less funky; I believe they don't use as much fermented fish paste as they used too. This had less of a savory punch and was more sweet and spicy.

As for the rest; well, I'm used to the catfish being on the muddy side here these days; the shrimp was actually deveined on this day. The eggplant was soft and velvety, the pork belly a bit on the chewy side.

I wore dark clothes and was careful to not spill any broth on my shirt.

After all these years; still a pretty good soup to have when you want something hearty and rich.

And I think they've gone back to being Nhu Y again….I think.

Nhu Y Restaurant
4712 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Open Daily: 7am – 9pm

As mentioned in the title and first paragraph of the post. The Bun Mam at this location has changed over the years. And just looking the photos tells the story.

From the first bowl of Bun Mam I had here in 2006.

Dark and pungent. The broth hit you from the first sip….perhaps not in the most pleasant way, but you just kept on going because it seemed to just get better and better. The catfish was quite good in those days and the pork belly was very "swiney" and tender.

In 2010 Nhu Y became Com Tam Thuan Kieu though the Bun Mam didn't change much.

To quote – "The broth was as before, salty, slight sweetness, pungent, and spice, all converging in a bowl."

Then, in May of 2012 my dry cleaner lady told me that Thuan Kieu had changed the recipe, so I dropped by and noticed that yes, it had indeed changed.

Less pungent fermented flavors and more spicy, sweet, tangy, and lighter. Though in terms of fragrance; "For the two women who stopped and sniffed the air and the one kid who actually whiffed his armpits when I walked past you at Nijiya after my meal. It was just me….'ol Mam Tom breath………."

By 2014; the place had become Com Tam Nhu Y. And it seems that the recipe had reverted back to a facsimile of the original.

This wasn't quite as thick and there's the addition of the stuffed jalapeno. It was still pretty potent though: "This was actually pretty close to what I had recently at Nhu Y Clairemont and I didn't have to wait until after 3pm to order it. Though that Hispanic couple who came in and sat behind me, then moved after my soup arrived may want that 3pm rule implemented here…."

And then the version I had at the end of last year.

Kind of on the "oily" side; a ton more shallot and garlic tones, the broth had started down the road of more sweeter than pungent tones. "It's quite a savory concoction……you want to make sure that you don't spill any of it on your clothes. Sammy will often follow me around the house after I eat this….must smell great to him!"

Who knows what the Bun Mam here will be like the next time I get that itch? I do hope it'll head back in the direction of that first bowl I had in 2006. At the least; I'm sure it'll be interesting.