Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 21

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.

Bolsa (revisit)

August 26, 2017 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. This is a quick Saturday post, since Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy are each out and about (in their own way) and still, there is some sort of food item that should be shared. This is Cathy posting.

Cha Ca Thang Long, turmeric coated, pan fried fish. This is one of my favorite meals, so much so, that I chose it as one of my birthday meals during 'birthday week' last year (the Mister and I were born seven days apart and our tradition is to go out to eat on each of those eight days).

We were on Mira Mesa Boulevard, avoiding traffic, and decided to stop at Bolsa before the final few miles home.

On this day, my dill and onion topped freshly pan fried turmeric coated fish plate ($15) was accompanied by the 'traditional' sides- lettuce, mint, chilled rice noodles, peanuts and a few pieces of Bang Trang Me (sesame rice crackers). Again, everything was perfect. The individual as well as combined flavors of this dish are cravable. The Mister wanted a salad of some type on this (another) hot day, and the shrimp, pork and jellyfish salad ($8) matched his cravings. The jellyfish is marinated in a vinegar/fish sauce and the resulting salad is sweet, spicy and sour at each bite. The lettuce, cucumber, mint and peanuts round out the vivid flavor combinations.

I hope your weekend is relaxing and not too hot!

Bolsa 9225 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 693-3663 open 9-9 daily Website

Noodling Around – Revisits to Minh Ky and Pho King

August 20, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

It's been noticeably cooler the last couple of days. So, I thought I'd grab some noodle soup. As my post on Tu Thanh indicates; I'm trying to refamiliarize myself with City Heights.

Minh Ky:

I've done posts on Minh Ky so many times over the years. Though it's been maybe a year and a half since I'd visited. It was 830 on a Saturday morning; I'd be driving up to the office right after. I thought a bowl of egg noodle soup would do the trick, rather than my usual Beef sate Egg Noodle Soup "dry". Not quite knowing what to order; I went with the Combination Egg Noodle Soup.

Things were pretty quiet on this weekend morning. With the staff prepping condiments and stuff.

I couldn't believe the how much "stuff" was in my bowl of egg noodle soup ($6.95). Way too much noodles, I couldn't finish……

Good lord.

Like before; the char siu was decent in flavor if a bit tough. Squeaky fish balls, not a fan of the shredded chicken, he sliced fish cake was pretty good. But lordy, so much noodles! Which were nicely prepared, a bit of crunch and pull to them. The broth has gotten a bit weaker over the years and this was no exception.

I'd never been able to finish a bowl of noodle soup here…..until this day.

Service was a bit friendlier on this day. Maybe because when I arrived, the young lady had her hands full of produce and stuff and I helped her? Maybe that's why I got the jumbo noodle soup treatment?

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho King:

Can you imagine; it's been over a decade since that "Pxx Kxxg" Restaurant has been open?

And this parking lot has become just as bad as Minh Ky's right across the street.

I drove by at about 1030 am on a weekend and the place was pretty busy.

Noticed the 'B' in the window and also that when the couple complained about the blower over the door going full blast; the guy took a chopstick out of the receptacle, used it to press the switch to turn it off and returned it right back into the container! And….no one blinked an eye.

I ordered my usual here; the Hu Tieu Mi Kho; but apparently I didn't do a good job ordering and received the Hu Tieu Mi Nuoc. The place was super busy; so I decided to just have my noodle soup.

I'd never really enjoyed the broth at PK in the past, but this was not bad. Not too salty, a hint of pork, with a slight background umami. The fishballs and ground pork (hard for me to enjoy in a soup) were totally routine. The char siu tasted pretty good, but they serve it sliced really thin and almost shredded, so it's hard for me to enjoy. I enjoy the contrast of textures between the slightly crunchy egg noodles and the stretchy rice noodles. I'm also a fan of Chinese celery which is provided, along with bean sprouts.

So maybe I'll start ordering the noodle soups here again……

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

Funny thing, I went and did a quick search for previous visits to link to while typing up this post and found the same two 'fer, at least it would have been, if I got what I had intended to order at Pho King. Guess I'm a real creature of habit.

Pho SaiGon Bliss

August 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Saigon Bliss has closed

Yes, the name of this place is Saigon Bliss, go figure. A couple of friends who live in Serra Mesa really like this place, so I decided to give it a try. If I recall, this used to be Kinkos….I think. This strip mall sure has changed over the years…..

Much like Pho Kitchen and other shops, the décor is what I call "modern pho"…..bright colors, clean, and a few enlarged photos of Vietnam and pretty girls to create a sort of nostalgic connection.

The young man who runs the front of house is really, really, nice….though he really doesn't need to call me "sir" every time he speaks to me.

The folks who recommended this place to me told me I "needed" to try the Nem Nuong Cuon. So I did and it was obvious they've never been to Brodard, or even Duyen Mai for that matter.

The ratios were off in the spring roll, the pork sausage wasn't grilled enough and while I admire the place giving you a hefty slice, it made the texture lean to the rubbery side. There was a single sliver of fried egg roll wrapper in this, not enough to make much of a difference. The sauce was really thin, too sweet, and lacking in that subtle savory flavor that makes so many folks enjoy Brodards.

I also got some pho; just the regular "combination" ($8.50).

The basil was starting to brown on the edges and there was hardly any sprouts, so I asked for a bit more. Of course the nice young man immediately got it for me!

Over the years, I've notice the typical "San Diego pho" broth has changed. It used to be pretty heavy on the msg……now it's typical to have the broth severely defatted, taking away the richness, with a flavor that's noticeably on the sweet side. This fits that bill.

The tripe was the best protein, nice crunch, no off flavors, not much tendon in this, the rare steak was on the dry side, and I'm not a big fan of overly squeaky beef balls. And the amount was on the scarce side.

The noodles were adequately prepared; though it was clump city all the way.

Still, the folks here seemed to be trying hard. And so…..I returned of course. But I really wasn't sure what to order. The young man told me that the Bo Kho was his grandmother's recipe.

This was actually half way decent. Though the stew was way too thin and defatted for my taste and could have used more acid to bring out the tanginess, it was fairly beefy.

Sadly, there was no tendon to be found; but the chunks of beef were tender and there were no off flavors.

The bread was light, warm, and standard issue stuff.

If you don't like a rich bowl of bo kho and hate beef tendon, you might like this. Sort of bo kho not to offend. Not terrible though and the best thing I've had here.

With this under my belt….no pun intended; I decided that perhaps a third time might be a charm and the young man had told me to try the Bo Luc Lac ($13.95).

Man, look at all those onions! I mean, I understand they need to stretch the dish and such, but golly. The beef was on the tough side and too salty for my taste. The sauce provided was sort of Muoi Tieu Chanh, but it tasted strange….perhaps using bottled lemon juice. The butter rice, colored with what seems to be annatto was moist, tender, and the flavor not too bad. I think it was the best thing about the dish as the bo luc lac seemed like something one would throw together at home, it lacked finesse.

Still, the service here is really nice. I heard that they really take care of military and veterans here. It's a decent neighborhood pho shop and I actually think it's better than some of the places around Convoy and Kearny Mesa. So I hope they do well.

Pho SaiGon Bliss
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm
Sunday 1030am – 8pm

This strip mall right off Aero Drive has always been a bit of an "odd duck" to me. It still holds a Sizzler and I think the taco shop might be the only business that's been around for a while. I remember back in the early 2000's the cook at the Chinese Restaurant in the mall was from Hawaii and on weekends they'd serve stuff like loco mocos and other stuff. Man, that seems like so long ago now.

Bun Mang Vit from Tu Thanh

August 13, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

It's seems like things are cooling off a bit. So, I decided to reward myself for working a weekend morning by heading up to City Heights. I'd make up my mind when I got there….and since it had been about a year since I'd last visited, an early lunch at Tu Thanh seemed perfect.

The menu here has expanded over the years…..

But I stick with the one dish that I first started having back…..well golly, in August of 2006, at Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang, aka Chinese Kitchen.

The Bun Mang Vit.

I love how the earthy crunchiness of the rehydrated bamboo shoots as it contrasts quite nicely with the bun. These days, I don't drink the broth which is very light, until near the end. Once you finish dunking, saucing (that wonderful gingery and sweet nuoc mam gung), the herbs and veggies, and that duck into the broth, the flavor is transformed. The duck, which I think is the source for the broth is toothsome, but that gamy flavor is still quite pronounced. And of course that little bath in the nuoc mam gung just adds another wonderful layer.

Man, this looks like a lot more duck than I used to get here. There's still rau ram in the salad, but not as much banana blossom.

Still, this is comfort food. And I always leave feeling like I'd had a meal at a friend's house. And all this is still eight bucks.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105

Parking in the area can be a bit of a pain. On this morning, because Mucha Fruita (Cathy's post from 2015) was grilling stuff, there wasn't much parking close by. So I parked two blocks away. It gave me a chance to take a photo of this place.

Sent Cathy a text with the photo and she mentioned that this was one of three locations of the "Leaning Tower of Pizza" chain. Now it's a dive bar and tattoo parlor.

That's City Heights……

Pho 87 Noodle House

July 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho 87 has closed

I mentioned this revolving door of a location back in March. It had been Van Hoa for over a decade and Cathy and I had done mulitple posts on the place. And then overnight, they were gone; first replaced by Pho & Banh Cuon Ha Long Restaurant, which was gone in a few months, to be replaced by "Pho Huong Viet"….I saw a sign go up, but don't think the place actually opened. And now, it's Pho 87.

The name sounded familiar. After doing a quick search, I found there's a Pho 87 in LA Chinatown and Las Vegas. So perhaps?

As for this location, they've moved some things around and the place looks even more odd than before. Big gaps between tables and front register with one table on each side….at least you can't complain about things being crowded together, right?

I'm not sure what it is, but I really didn't feel comfortable eating here….and I've eaten in some pretty strange places over the years!

The menu is very straight forward; spring rolls, egg rolls, rice, hieu tieu, bun….and pho of course. Just about all the combinations had rare steak, no combination featuring both tendon and tripe, though I'm sure I could have asked….but why be a pain in a place I'd never been to before?

So, I went with the combination; in these days, $6.50 for a small bowl of pho is cheap these days. Soon enough, my basil, sprouts, and lime arrived.

At first glance, this looked fairly sparse and the sprouts were starting to brown. Then I noticed something and turned the basil over.

This was definitely not going to be used.

My bowl arrived soon after.

The broth looked low in fat; which it was, and had quite a bit of onions. And in fact, the broth had a strong, rather pungent onion flavor…not overly sweet as many bowls seem to be these days; but somewhat on the bitter side. It was scalding hot though. As for the meats; well, the tendon was decent, a bit on the hard side but not bad. The rare steak was far from "rare" by the time the bowl hit the table and it looked like beef that had scum on it that congeals when cooked; not the most appetizing looking thing. I hesitated in trying it; but as is not the norm, it was pretty tender and not dried out. It did have a bit of a metallic taste to it though.

The noodles were in a giant clump in the bottom and terribly overcooked and mushy. The worst I've had in a while.

The young man serving me was very nice as was the young lady…..but I really didn't think I'd be back or even do a post on this place.

However, a few weeks later, I went to check out a new restaurant in the area, but it was closed. After pondering my options, I recalled seeing an interesting fried rice dish as I left Pho 87. I asked the young man what it was. He told me Bo Luc Lac Fried Rice. So, I decided to give it another go.

And got the Com Chien Bo Luc Lac; a bargain at $8.95.

That's a good portion of beef for the price. The beef was surprisingly tender, though very salty and lacking in any sweet or even sour tones….very one dimensional as a whole. The stir fried vegetables looked nice, but were too raw, and not stir-fried properly. The fried rice was somewhat old school; the rice nicely separated. I didn't expect much and got just that, with the peas and carrots from the frozen food isle. The fried rice was also quite salty and I ended up chugging a good amount of water after I got home.

So what to say about Pho 87? Well, it's very inexpensive. Do you get what you pay for? Perhaps. The folks here are on the quite side but nice enough. Me, well, I think I need to move on.

Pho 87 Noodle House
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Mon – Sat 8am – 8pm

Cali Baguette Express (Mira Mesa)

May 25, 2017 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! will be written by Cathy this Memorial Day weekend; Kirk is very busy and Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying Yuma and this long weekend with Tina.

A few months ago, I was in the Mira Mesa area, craving a banh mi and some strong coffee and missing K-Sandwiches which burned almost to the ground on August 4, 2015. Remembering one of Kirk's many sandwich posts favorably mentioning Cali Baguette Express, I stopped at the small storefront which Cali Baguette Express had occupied for about seven years,

only to see it had moved a few doors down, to the larger space formerly occupied by several failing restaurants.
The order/pay area is straight ahead when you walk in, but there are so many shelves and displays showing choices which aren't displayed on the menu.
The fresh spring rolls with shrimp ($3.99) were made to order, had more lettuce (rather than rice noodles) as filler and were nice. The fried rolls and pate chaud were on display in the hot area and tasted fresh, although the meat fillings seemed to be a bit sparse.
The bean curd wrapped shrimp plate ($7.75) was quite large, fresh made, but the overall flavors weren't there for me.

On one of my friday visits, I ordered a tuna banh mi ($4.75) and it was great. The fresh bread, tuna salad and banana peppers just blended together perfectly. A more 'traditional' banh mi-grilled pork ($3.75) on another visit was just as perfect with its freshness and blend of flavors of the pork along with the pickled vegetables and fresh cucumber ssticks topped with (stringy) cilantro and sliced fresh jalapeño.
The display case to the far left as you walk in holds dessert items (these are 'donuts', four for $1 but there had been some thin waffles flavored with young coconut in the case when we arrived.

In any case, these delightful, light, crispy edged hollow sesame topped things were quite tasty and a perfect little dessert. The iced black coffee ($2.50) is very strong and you can ask for it to be made without sugar…making it even stronger.

I'll be returning to try other menu items as well as some of the pre-made items on display.

Cali Baguette Express 9225 Mira Mesa Boulevard, Suite 106 San Diego 92126 (858) 695-8888 Open Mon-Sat 8 am-8:30 pm Sun 8 am-8 pm Website

777 Noodle House Revisited

May 24, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

I've finally found a bit of time to get back to City Heights and start making the rounds again. On this day, I wanted some Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho. Now, I honestly believe that Ly Heng has surpassed 777 in that category, Ly Heng now opens at 9am and it was just past 8 on a nice Sunday morning. So, I headed over to 777, which I've now been visiting for over seven years, time surely does fly.

The place looks pretty much the same as when I first visited all those years ago……though on this day, there were two Servers I didn't recognize….so perhaps I haven't been around in a while.

The Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho is still amazingly priced at $5.77.

The noodles were nice and "stretchy" and this seemed like the status quo; but there seems to be a few cracks around the edges. The pork bone in the broth now features a lot of meat, but it was rather tough and flavorless and the broth was rather weak. The pork slices were dry and tough, though everything else was on par with what I've had on previous visits. No lime slice this time as well. Overall, not terrible, but not quite what I've been used to over the years. I'm hoping this was just a bad day.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105