Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 25

Revisits: Pho Hoa Huong and Tim Ky Noodle

July 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are a couple of revisits that had been sitting around for a while.

Pho Hoa Huong:

Man, has it been almost three years since I'd last visited? Though Cathy did a post back in November of last year. I still hadn't intended on visiting, but "Junichi" commented about having the Bo Kho here on one of my "What's my craving" posts, that I decided to check the Banh Mi Bo Kho here a few weeks later.

Over my last couple of visits I'd noticed a softer, kinder Pho Hoa, and on this visit they were still quite nice, I was greeted with a smile, and actually handed a menu….this place used to infamous for basically flinging a menu onto the table….but then again, I used to call them the "Fastest Pho in the West".

I ordered the Banh Mi Bo Kho; which actually took a while. This gave me some time to look around and make some observations. No much"older" gentlemen with "wives" at least 20 years or more younger this time around, though the guy on the table next to me managed to work through three Heineken. This was 8am mind you! I also noticed that a fair amount of customers didn't seem to bother to tip? Or maybe they're just leaving the tip with the cashier….I hope so.

So what to say about this? The broth was super hot, but was really fatty and had a bit of a greasy tongue feel. It was decently beefy, but missing in the mild tanginess and slightly pepper/pungent tones I enjoy. The meat was a bit too lean for my taste and there didn't seem to have much tendon; perhaps I'd been gringoed? The carrots were underdone. I liked the lemon, but didn't know what to do with the bean sprouts and all that basil?

The banh mi was nicely heated and crusty; the yeastiness of the bread; standard issue, did well.

And then there was the piece of bone that I nearly cracked my teeth on……no damage done; but a trip to the dentist would have really been a bummer.

I think I'll stick with the fastest pho in the west the next time I visit.

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Tim Ky Noodle:

So, I've been working a few hours on most weekends to keep up with work. I'd usually go in at around 6am and get out in time to do some shopping and run other errands. I'm glad some of these places open rather early; though not many of them in Kearny or Clairemont Mesa do. I needed to pick something up at Lucky Seafood, it was nearly 10am on Sunday, so why not drop by Tim Ky since it had been a while?

Not much going on this morning, but they had 4 guys working in the dining room, so I guess they do get busy. It was a bit too warm to have the won ton egg noodle soup, so I went with the Beef Sate Egg Noodle Soup…dry.

This was much better than the version I'd had here on previous visits. Especially surprising was how tender the beef was and that the sate had hit a decent balance between savory and mildly spicy. The egg noodles were nicely done and all those wonderful savory flavors just went so well together.

The soup was a bit too heavy on the MSG end for me; but spooned onto the noodles it did ok.

Hmmm, now I'm wondering how this place would now compare to the version at Minh Ky? Well, I already did a Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup comparison, so I guess part 2 will be the Beef Sate episode!

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

Stay Tuned for That One!

Clearing Out the Memory Card: 777 Noodle House, Santouka, and Sushi Yaro

June 23, 2016 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Sushi and Sashimi, Vietnamese Restaurants

After all the heat over the last couple of days, it was to have moderate June weather. I figure most of you are enjoying that; so just a short post on places I've done a ton of times:

777 Noodle House:

Maybe just because I get a kick out of the way they always call me "sir".

Though that Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho ain't bad for $5.77.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Santouka:

I've learned that when the Missus hears Santouka calling, She must answer……regardless of the weather.

Definitely not as good as Santouka in Asahikawa. Still, the shio toroniku is our favorite in San Diego.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

I dropped by on an evening where the temps were getting close to triple digits.

While not as good as what I recently had with Ed from Yuma; this was good enough. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'll often drop by when I need a "sashimi break"…..as I did on this visit.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe

June 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe is now Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe

Back in March I mentioned seeing a place named Banh Mi Bakery & Café that looked like it was ready to open. A couple of weeks back, I drove by and noticed that the place had opened.

I decided to drop by and grab a bite. The shop is fairly small, with a few tables off to one side and stacks of pastry receptacles lining the path to the counter.

Even though most of the containers were empty, that these were for grabbing take-out items like spring rolls, croissants, and various salad dishes. There was also a decent selection of VN coffee, boba, and smoothies as well. There was a stack of banh mi and baguettes in a basket to the side.

I gotta say, the folks working here were really friendly, though the turnaround for orders were a bit slow. The great thing I found out was that they bake their own bread here! Nice! Competition for Cali Baguette Express?

I decided to try the Dac Biet, the "special".

Priced a bit more expensive than other Banh Mi shops at $4.49, I was immediately aware that the sandwich was a bit more "hefty". Returning to the office, I noticed that there was a bit more meat in this. First things first, the bread here is more crusty than flakey and is on the chewy side. It also doesn't keep very long, getting almost rubbery after a short time….I'd find out that for myself when I bought a baguette during another visit. Paris Bakery currently makes my favorite bread for Banh Mi and even to have with cheese in San Diego.

And while I've always said that it's about proportion rather than fillings when it comes to Banh Mi, I really liked how this was put together; the amount of pate was perfect and the meats' especially the cha lua, which can be rather rubbery when sliced too thick was excellent. I thought the carrots and daikon weren't pickled enough to cut the richness of the meat and pate, though the jalapeno was nice and sneakily spicy. Typical stringy cilantro.

Pretty good sandwich overall, so a couple of days later I decided to return. Calvin was interested and decided to join me.

I love eggs in my Banh Mi and the menu said they make Banh Mi Op La ($3.49), typically fried eggs, but here they told me it was easy over. And when I opened the sandwich, you could tell by the mess it was!

Egg yolk oozed all over my paperwork, but that's ok. Initially, I thought they hadn't sliced the sandwich, but then I noticed it had been sliced 2/3 way through. I realize a lot of people are freaked out over runny egg yolk, but this was pretty good, if a bit messy. As a bonus, there was a nice thin slice of ham and a good smear of pate as well. As I ate this rather quickly, the bread held up pretty well.

Calvin ordered the Xiu Mai, the meatball, which, after many bad versions, I'm leery of, but he told it was better than average.

Having to work on a recent Sunday and wondering if three time's a charm , I decided to head over and get the Banh Mi Cha Lua ($3.99).

Nicely set-up sandwich, though the bread was a bit chewy and perhaps because it was Sunday seemed to be a bit on the stale side. Pickles were still a bit too mild for me, but like how thin they slice the cha lua and the amount of pate on the sandwich. The cilantro (I know folks tell me I'm kind of weird about that) had more leaves than stems this time around.

Overall, my three visits were satisfying. It's good to have another decent banh mi option in the area that makes their own bread. While I prefer the bread at Cali Express, I prefer the egg banh mi here. Also to note; if you order egg on a banh mi as an extra, it'll be fried well done, but you can tell them you want the egg easy over they'll do it for you. Be forewarned, it'll be quite messy. I think I'll check out the beef jerky papaya salad and perhaps some of the other dishes in the near future.

Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite H1
San Diego, CA 92123

Ly Heng Asian Restaurant Revisited

June 8, 2016 mmm-yoso Cambodian Restaurants and Cuisine, Vietnamese Restaurants

There were a couple of fairly cool (for San Diego) mornings during April, so I decided to give Ly Heng as visit on a Honey-doo weekend morning since it had been a while since I'd eaten there.

I was in for a couple of surprises. First off, the configuration of the place had changed, with the register and counter now on the west side of the place.

Another big surprise; was the menu. There was a larger variety of dishes, with items like Bo Luc Lac and….gasp…Hainan Chicken!

So you know I just had to order it. I wasn't sure what I was going to get and was a bit shock at the portion size of this as it was just eight bucks! Man, that chicken was succulent and tender, but the flavor was really lacking in chicken flavor, nor the mild ginger or salt. I'm used to two different sauce with Hainan Chicken, the scallion-ginger sauce, which was absent, and a chili based sauce, with lime, chicken broth, and a touch of sweetness. This sauce really lacked zip. The worse part of the whole thing was that it was served with regular jasmine rice…..a ton of rice mind you, but I really missed the typical chicken-mild ginger flavored rice.

I was bummed, but the pork bone soup, porky and salty saved the meal for me. Ly Heng serves a falling off the bone chunk of pork rib in the soup which is just fine by me.

I returned a couple of weekends later, with the thought of trying something else new from the menu, but decided to just stick with the Pho Nam Vang……

Which turned out to be the right move on this day as I've mentioned before, in spite of tending to overcook the noodles a bit, of all the places that serve this in the area, Ly Heng is my favorite.

And that bone soup on this day was delicious.

And at $5.99, I ain't going to complain too much.

Perhaps I'll try some of the other dishes one of these days, but right now, I'm happy with that Pho Nam Vang.

Ly Heng
4451 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 8am – 8pm

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test #1 -Tan Hoang Huong (Tustin), Copenhagen Pastry (Pasadena) and Burger Basket (Corona)

May 21, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Banh Mi, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with contributions about food consumed from various places under various circumstances. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today. Cathy is writing about her circumstances.

Yes, it is that time of year again. The President, Theme (Echoes of Success), Marching Bands and some float designs for the 128th Tournament of Roses parade were announced not long after the 127th Parade ended on January 1, 2016. Floats are in the beginning stages of being built and a "T-1" (first float road test of mechanics and maneuverability) of floats built by Phoenix Decorating Company (who built 22 of the 44 floats in the 2016 parade) was held on Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

Listening to traffic reports, an accident had the North 5 with all lanes closed, so The Mister and I left home before 5 a.m. and stopped at Tan Hoang Huong (THH) in Tustin, since we were there before 6 a.m. (when Cream Pan (our usual stop) opens). Located just West (under the 5) of Cream Pan, it is good place to grab a sandwich and other treats. I knew about it because of several posts on CC's blog.

We ordered two egg rolls (@65¢) and a pork pate chaud (85¢) to eat while we waited for our bahn mi to be prepared. Yes, that's a 'spam' and egg sandwich ($4.25).

Fresh items, great tasting. Not the same as K Sandwiches, but very good. 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 detoured around the accident (which blocked the North 5 for more than six hours) and arrived at the Road Test just after 7 a.m.

Raymond Street is the place. The floats were lined up. The Rotary International float is in a very basic stage. You can see exactly where the driver and spotter are seated. They are communicating via headsets, as they will during the parade. The spotter on the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float is the lady to the left in the photo. She will be seated below the floor of that gazebo-like structure. The Kiwanis float is taking shape. The City of Alhambra float has a fire engine being driven by both a fireman and a fire dog… Lions Clubs International is celebrating 100 years of Service in 2017. I can tell this float will be even more magnificent once it is decorated.

There were more details, but you get the idea. We were off to our next stop, Copenhagen Pastry (again, I knew about it from CC's blog), located East on Colorado Boulevard. The truck (and a few cars) parked in front of the otherwise quiet street made the subtle storefront easy to find. The fresh selections were so tempting- yes, that's about everything offered- We bought a loaf of Rye bread ($6) the dense, chewy style, made with rye berries, sunflower and black flax seeds, a Spandauer ($1.95) flaky pastry topped with almond paste and custard and a slice of Kringle ($1.95) also filled with almond paste, custard and sugar. We will return.

Copenhagen Pastry 3731 Colorado Blvd Pasadena 91107 Open Tues-Fri 7-5, Sat-Sun 8-4 Website

This location of Copenhagen has closed

We began heading home, stopped at a Super H-Mart for some items and then hit another accident prone area of the 91 freeway, exited and decided to stop at
Burger Basket, which we have driven past during prior sidesteps from traffic. Order, pay, have a seat…watch the char grill happen. A double cheese burger- (charred to perfection)($5.49) Gosh, I haven't had such a great burger since Sima's. My semi-usual morning order of an egg sandwich with sausage ($5.89). Let me say, this was heavy and huge with unexpectedly large tasty breakfast sausages (skin slightly burned), a lot of egg and lettuce with tomato and mayonnaise. Burger Basket has been at this location since at least 2007 and again, wish we had stopped here sooner. We will be back.

Burger Basket 1058 West Sixth Corona, CA 92882 (951) 734-1331 Open 7 days 6:30-9:30 Website

It was a long morning and we were home before noon. I hope you are having a good weekend!

Revisits: Pho Hut and Ramen Yamadaya (Clairemont)

May 7, 2016 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits for today.

Pho Hut and Grill:

Back in January, I had a decent bowl of Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup at Pho Hut and Grill. So, on a recent weekend morning, returning home after the weekly shopping mission, I thought I'd drop by and grab a bowl of the Mi Sui Cao. This time around I noticed that there were forks in the chopstick dispenser….I guess it speaks to the clientele?

And while my last go around with Pho Hut wasn't bad; this was disappointing.

Well, at least the egg noodles were decent, not overcooked. But the broth was basically MSG water, lacking any depth, the char siu was tough and tasteless, and as with previous visits, the dumpling fillings just floated away from the wrappers….I guess you could look at the wrappers and say it's just another noodle and this should be pseudo meatball egg noodle soup.

Pho Hut & Grill
5252 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Ramen Yamadaya (Clairemont):

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

So, my coworkers, JohnF and Calvin were having a discussion about Ramen and Ramen Yamadaya in particular. And while my recent visits to Yamadaya have not been particularly delici-yoso, I still thought you could get a decent bowl if you followed a specific "template". That would be Kotteri Ramen, noodles "katame" (extra firm), with kakuni pork. So we decided to see if this worked out.

And it did to a certain extent as the chashu was low on flavor and tough, so the kakuni pork did quite well. The noodles were nice and firm. Calvin loves the fresh pressed garlic with his ramen, while I think in this bowl it kills all the other flavors. I still think the broth could be hotter as it cooled quite quickly. The egg was decent, but the broth is not what it was when Yamadaya first opened…..lacking in flavor and richness.

The guys really enjoyed the Tori Nanban; the "Chicken Tartar" more.

Crisp, nice ginger tones, with a dose of vinegar……..really good this time around.

As a bonus, John and Calvin treated me to lunch! Thanks guys!

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Revisits: Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant and Pho King

May 1, 2016 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

A few more revisits as I completed my weekend morning "honey do" lists.

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant:

It was just after 9am when I decided to see what was up with Hoai Hue. I think it's been about a year and a half since I last visited. And like my last visit, the place was doing bang-up business at 915 on a weekend morning.

Man, this place sure has come a long way since they moved from their old location a couple of blocks down ECB.

I ordered my usual, the Bun Tam Hoai Hue, basically Bun Bo Hue but with the crab cakes that are usually in Bun Rieu added. As usual, the broth, while steaming hot was on the sweeter side, with the presence of lemongrass or real pungency missing. In this morning the pungency was easily remedied with that huge squirt bottle of Mam Ruoc, fermented shrimp paste.

Don't get me wrong; the BBH is not terrible, it's just a little lighter in flavor and spice than what I really like in a bowl of Bun Bo Hue. I did enjoy the thick slices of Cha Lua. The pork hock was also quite large and fun to gnaw on. The tendon was much too hard to enjoy on this visit. Those slippery, spaghetti like noodles were done well and the sprouts, greens, and herbs were sparkling fresh.

It was a very filling, generous portion.

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho King:

Man, has it already been almost 9 years since PK opened? I hadn't visited in over a year, so I thought I'd head back. This little strip mall has gotten kind of odd over the last couple of years. On one of my visits back in 2014, some guy kept asking me for money as I entered and left. I even saw him looking into my car windows while I was eating. I notice that there are now a couple of homeless folks living in the corner of the strip mall.

PK is slowly starting to look its age and the menus are showing some wear and tear.

But my favorite dish at Pho King, the Hu Tieu Mi Kho is still a solid choice. From the Chinese Celery, which adds that intense celery flavor and a nice crunch, to the pork studded mildly sweet soy-sauce mixture, to the broth on the side, it's a nice combination of flavors and textures for me.

For some reason, I also like the combination of having the stretchy Hu Tieu to go along with the more crunchy egg noodles, but that's just me.

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

I'd like to finish up the post by thanking "Hien" for the very nice email. He mentioned that he was born and raised in City Heights, but moved away for college and now work. He says that he enjoys reading our little blog because we often post about places he went to when he lived here and have a special spot in his memory. Hien, I'm glad you enjoy our posts and that they bring back nice memories. Thanks for reading!

Pho Kitchen – Linda Vista

April 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Recently, I was picking up my dry cleaning, when the nice lady who runs the place asked me what I thought about the new pho place that opened up nearby. I hadn't even noticed! I guess I kinda forget about The Village at Morena Vista. So I drove by and saw a grand opening sign for "Pho Kitchen". For some reason the name sounded familiar. A couple of days later I returned to try them out.

It's a very nice and clean little shop. There's both wood paneling and vintage Vietnamese black and white photos here. I guess they're not taking any design chances!

The young lady who took my order on both my visits was an absolute joy; kind, friendly, and efficient. What more could one ask for? Other than good pho, right? I also asked her if they had another restaurant in these parts since the name sounded familiar. She smiled and said "yes, Pho Kitchen in Oceanside". So there you go. I thought the name rung a bell.

The pho here was not too bad; definitely "pho not to offend", very mild, not too beefy, low in oil/fat, no anise/pungent flavors, but not terrible. The MSG level was not too high, the broth was super hot; like scalding hot, which I enjoy. The proteins were decent; the rare steak was actually pretty good, not the usual slices of cardboard, though everything else was just ok; the tendon was too tough and the rest pretty bland.

As expected with the target pho audience here; the place was light on the sprouts and herbs, though both were sparkling fresh. The noodles weren't in the usual clump, which was nice, but over cooked and a bit too mushy for my taste.

It was actually a not bad bowl.

Which meant I needed to revisit and try something else. After the pho, I was interested in the Bo Kho, so I got he Banh Mi Bo Kho ($8).

Much like the pho; this version of beef stew was rather mild in flavor, no tangy-anise tones, though slightly beefy, the carrots severely undercooked. The stew was on the thin side, but there were 5 rather large pieces of fork tender beef. Only one piece of tendon, which was not bad in texture. I would have enjoyed a bit more cilantro and onions. The bread was interesting as it reminded me more of a bolillo than a typical banh mi and had a mild sweetness to it. It was nicely warm and toasted though.

So here's the deal. Pho Kitchen and Pho Hut are about equidistant from my house and in opposite directions. In this case; I'd choose Pho Kitchen. If I'm looking for pho as I know and enjoy; I'd choose one of the more traditional places in Linda Vista, though I don't think they've held up well in recent years. If I want a relaxing pace, with middle of the road pho, but really nice service, it's Pho Kitchen hands down……unless I want to get the hell out of Dodge in 20 minutes or less. In that case, I'd go with the "fastest pho in the West". The prices are in line with all those "modern pho" places that seem to be popping up recently.

Pho Kitchen
5375 Napa St
San Diego, CA 92110

Revisits: Pho Fusion, Pho Express, and the “Sign of Doom”.

April 17, 2016 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

To get this out of the way. Yes, today we had record high temperatures, and yes, I'm still going to post on pho……

Pho Fusion:

It's been a good three years since I last visited, so when the last storm system moved in, I decided to drive on over and see what was up with Pho Fusion. Apparently I wasn't the only one as the place filled up pretty quickly.

I was quite hungry so I started with the "Popcorn Chicken"

The batter t meat ration slides on over to the batter side on this one. If you like that kind of thing, you might enjoy this, as it's very crunchy. The "spicy mayo" was typical. It's not overly salty, but does get a bit crumbly as it cools. The would be pretty good beer food.

The Pho – #14, was decently priced for the area (small – $6.49.)

The sprouts and herbs were minimal, but like previous visits, a request for more was nicely accepted. The broth was slightly cloudy, but not heavy in MSG, the flavor was light, not veering too much in anise nor sweet flavors, though rather light in the beefiness department. It was rather light in protein, of which there was shortage of tendon and tripe. The noodles were in the typical clump, though not over cooked. This was "pho not to offend" on the right side of the scale as was quite evident from the crowd.

The service was nice…..even when that D-Bag of a customer knocked over a glass of water and while the guy was mopping it up told him, "don't forget to get me another glass of water".

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Xpress – Mission Gorge Road:

Man, it's been five and a half years since I last visited, though Cathy's been here about four years ago. I was in the area on a recent morning with some time to kill. A bit hungry, I decided to drop back in to Pho Xpress. The whole strip mall was undergoing an exterior refresh at the time of my visit. This being around 0900, I had the place to my self.

As with our previous visits, the pho was decent, though it's not as rich, nor quite a beefy as it used to be. While the herbs and sprouts were lacking, the basil was especially fresh. The rare steak was presented nicely, not yet overcooked and dry and as a whole everything else was quite good. Not amazing, but quite solid if slightly heavy in MSG. The noodles were perfect.

A decent bowl of pho overall. The service here is still "A-B" – all business.

Pho Xpress
6533 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

While leaving the strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard after my visit to Pho Fusion I took a quick look at the strip mall sign and was quite surprised. Take a look…….

Most of the restaurant listed are gone; some of them have been closed for quite a while…..

In fact, we've posted on the three places listed on the sign that are no longer there, Cathy has done Sushi Hut and I've posted on Aria and Mercury Grill, places that have been gone for years! I think Sushi Hut is not Hielo, Aria is now Chaba Thai and has been for almost three years, and Dumpling Hut took the place of Mercury Grill last June.

What's up with the sign? Could it be the mall owner is being cheap? Could it be that being on the sign is a curse….and they're hedging their bets by just saying "Mexican Restaurant"? Or….perhaps…maybe we're the curse since we posted on those three places and they closed? Hmmmmm…..I think some of the other businesses are gone too……strange…..

Char House Saigon Grill & Pho

April 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Char House has closed

This place sure took its time opening. I first noticed the place back in September of last year. Since the build out was taking so long, I got into the routine of passing the place without taking notice. Unttil one afternoon, seemingly overnight, the Grand opening sign was up.

I visited soon after….finding the place….. well, quite bright, in a very Green China Grill kind of way.

I guess orange and green is replacing wood paneling as a design preference? I do like the old style Vietnamese black and white photos on the wall though.

The menu was quite interesting. True to the name, Char House was serving up grilled items, and there were items like Banh Khot of the menu as well.

I was curious about the Fish Sauce Chicken Wings ($6.95), so I started with that.

Man, those were some pretty hefty wings. Personally, I'm more about smaller wings with a nice skin to meat ratio, but these were quite moist, and the glaze wasn't too sweet or salty. This was obviously deep fried, then sautéed, a bit too long in my opinion, which caused two of the drumettes to burn, thus making it a bit bitter….another product of taking a bit too long was that the crispness of the wings suffered a bit as well. Not bad though….I should get around to trying the butter wings in the future.

I saw Pho Filet on the menu, but went with the Dac Biet, not cheap at $8.25 for a small….we're starting to head into ramen pricing here.

The bowl was quite fragrant and the flavor of the broth was very, very, familiar. There was some nice anise, with a sweet edge to it, so I had to ask…..yep, same owners as Pho Fifth Avenue. This was actually the best pho broth I've had in Kearny Mesa in ages! Perhaps a bit too defatted; but very clear, bright flavors, and not too much MSG.

As you can see; like Pho Fifth Avenue, things were kind of light in the Sprouts and Basil area……I will say, because of the flavor of the broth, I didn't need to add any lime.

The proteins were really good; even the rare steak, while a bit overdone by the time the bowl reached the tableswas still fairly tender. The tripe was clean tasting and crunchy, the tendon adequate….nice beefy flavors from the flank and brisket as well.

There was one rather humorous instance. My bowl arrived with a regular metal spoon! I thought this was kind of odd……the thing is, it's just not the right tool for the job. So I walked on up to the counter and asked for a soup spoon. Grand opening hiccups and all that, right?

One other thing….I went to pick-up some noodles, which were in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl and the entire bunch of noodles, in the shape of the bottom of the bowl arose! The noodles were well prepared, but it seems to have been sitting around in that bowl for a while because it wasn't very hot.

Yes, a few hiccups, and while I've been called "too picky" by some other Food Bloggers, I really did enjoy my bowl of pho as a whole. In fact, I actually took to Twitter and sent out a tweet, "The best pho in Kearny Mesa may just be at the newly opened Char House on Balboa". It seems that Sage Olson, who is nice enough to comment on our blog every so often went on over to Char House and basically agreed! Nice.

A few days later, I took two of my crew, Calvin and JohnF to lunch and thought it would be nice to try Char House again.

On my previous visit, I saw the grill set-up, so we decided to order some skewers. The nice gentleman, who I believe kind of manages the place told us that some of the items weren't quite ready for prime time. He told us since they didn't quite have what we wanted; he'd give us three filet mignon, three octopus, and four shrimp for $8! How could we say no?

The filet was tender and reminded me of Bo Luc Lac, though it was very mild in flavor. It came with a nice salty-sweet-savory dipping sauce that was a good accompaniment.

For JohnF, it didn't get much better than the grilled shrimp. It was prepped simply, but was very tasty, moist, head-sucking goodness. Very pure shrimp flavor.

Both Calvin and I enjoyed the Octopus; which were baby octopus a lot more.

Nicely grilled, great flavor, especially if you like baby octopus, toothsome without being tough. Make no mistake about it; this ain't refined and grilled over bincho like Taisho, but it's simple and good, street-side fare.

We also decided to try the Banh Xeo ($8.25).

More hard and lacquer than light and crisp, this could have used a bit more color. Not enough pork and shrimp and the bean sprouts were still slightly cold as well. Not even close to the version at Pho Ban Mai that we enjoy, though I've heard things have changed there recently. We did like the Nouc Mam Cham as it wasn't too watered down and not overly sweet.

There is the option to create your own bowl of pho here ($7.25), where you can add three proteins; so I chose Brisket, Flank, and Tendon.

This being the sister restaurant to Pho Fifth Avenue, I decided to add a plate of the filet ($5) as well. The broth was even better this time around, still quite sweet, but a bit more beefy. More sprouts and basil and the noodles, while still in a clump wasn't sticking all together.

The one nitpicky thing I experienced on this visit was that the temperature wasn't hot enough as it took quite a while to lightly "cook" the filet…which caused some scum and cloudied up my broth. Still, the beef was very tender.

I noticed something quite interesting….most of the customers were older Vietnamese folks. I guess they were trying out the new place in the 'hood. Also, we recognized the guy working the grill as formerly working at Pho T Cali. And no "pho-pas" with the spoons this time either.

The Boys enjoyed Char House so much that the both took their wives here that same weekend!

Meanwhile, I returned for lunch during the week to try the Cơm 7 Món ($12.95). My favorite part of the whole meal was the broth, which was quite flavorful.

The rice was really good, nice and fragrant, the shrimp plump and tasty, the "cha" (Steamed egg "meatloaf") moist, but quite mild in flavor, lacking the "porkiness" I enjoy. There wasn't much grilled pork or grilled chicken which were fine but nothing special, the "bi" (shredded pork skin") was under represented and bland as well, not enough rice powder and a bit dry. Was not a big fan off the shrimp paste in egg roll wrapper; I prefer the versions that use bean curd skin.

I can't really give this my seal of approval….it's kind of on the fence.

On my last two visits, I'd noticed a lot of folks getting the Banh Khot. I wasn't sure if I should check out the Banh Khot ($7.25), but what the heck. Plus the folks here are so darned nice. I decided to hedge my bets with a bowl of the Pho Filet (small – $8.95).

This really wasn't ready for prime time. And while the shrimp were really delicious, the "mini pancake cups" weren't crisp enough and the centers still doughy and gummy. I prefer versions that are more like what you get at Brodard:

Also, I think they need a bit more perilla and mint as well. The nuoc mam cham is pretty good. Nice try, but no cigar….yet it was still better than the last version of the dish I had in San Diego, which was terrifyingly bad.

The Pho Filet however, was quite good.

The broth had a bit more fat this time around; was less sweet, more anise and beef flavor. And most of all, perfectly hot…..you want just enough of a boil as to not agitate the broth making it cloudy. It got the tender beef to the desired doneness in perfect time.

So after almost 1480 words, it comes down to a simple, "I'm glad to finally have some decent pho in Kearny Mesa".

It's been really nice to see a lot of older folks checking this place out. I'm sure they're going through some growing pains here, but hope they keep getting better. I have a feeling the broth might be a tad too sweet for some. Really nice people working here, friendly and accommodating. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Char House Saigon Grill & Pho
7765 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111