Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 28

Whats My Craving? Bun Mam from Com Tam Nhu Y

December 27, 2015 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

I'd been craving Bun Mam from Com Tam Nhu Y for a while. I finally got a chance last week. Funny thing, Calvin had never heard of Bun Mam, neither had his wife who grew up in Westminster! He had to ask his mother-in-law…. So I made sure to invite him to try some Bun Mam.

It seems that Bun Mam here is evolving. This version was sweeter than what I had last time, rich, lots of shallot and garlic tones, definitely not as spicy, nor nearly as pungent as what I had at the original incarnation of Nhu Y. Still, the flavors are complex, there's a ton of greens and herbs and bun. 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!

Not a fan of the catfish, it was way too bony and muddy this time. The eggplant was fine, the portion size generous, and like mentioned above, it's not nearly as potent as it used to be, but you can't say it's bland. Not a huge fan of the tough pork and shrimp as well…….but, that's not why I order this. It's that broth that keeps me coming back.

Calvin finished all his bun and soup….I guess he liked it! I have a feeling he'll be back, as will I, when I get that itch….

Com Tam Nhu Y
4712 El Cajon Blvd Ste A
San Diego, CA 92115

What’s My Craving? Bun Mang Vit from Tu Thanh

December 14, 2015 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Great thing about colder-wetter weather? Well, it's noodle soup time. And it had been over a year since I last visited Tu Thanh. Time to reacquaint myself to the Bun Mang Vit.

I have to thank the young lady who helped me out as the folks here spoke no English this time around. I was asked a question that I couldn't answer. Turned out it was whether I wanted duck leg or duck breast. I'd always had breast before, but thought I'd get the leg this time around.

For some reason the portion size seemed much larger than I recalled.

The bun was cooked perfectly, the dried bamboo shoots well hydrated and fragrant. I noticed no blood this time around and the soup seemed to have a bit more MSG than I recalled, but was still fairly "clean" in flavor. The greens and herbs were fresh and crisp with a bit more banana blossom than I recall.

Then there's the sauce…..that wonderful sweet-savory-gingery elixir that I can literally drink. To quote something from an earlier post on how I utilize the sauce:

"I like to eat this a number of ways…dip the duck in the broth, add a touch for the dipping sauce. dip the salad into the broth, then the dipping sauce, just go for the duck in the dipping sauce, just the veggies in the broth, just the dipping sauce like a true salad, add a touch of the sauce to the broth about halfway thru……heck, just drink that sauce…." Once upon a time Chi Tu Thanh actually taught me the dish was supposed to be properly eaten, but that was over 9 years ago and I kinda like this multi-level approach.

As for the duck. I think I'll stick with breast. The leg was nice; much more gamey, but also tougher, and the bones made for ponderous eating.

Even though it was just a few minutes past 9, the place was almost full! Good for them.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 9am – 9pm
Closed on Wednesdays

Revisits: Pho Cow Cali and Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista)

December 6, 2015 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It seems like our trip was sort of bookended by pho.

Pho Cow Cali:

My director always kids me about my habit of getting a haircut the week before any trip. "I see you're ready for your vacation now……" As I noted in my previous post on the place, the guy who cuts my hair is close by in Mira Mesa, so why not stop in for breakfast before my pre-trip ritual?

I was surprised how busy the place was at 8am on Sunday.

I went with the usual.

Pretty much the same bowl as previous visits. Well flavored proteins. A couple of things did get my attention; while the broth was a bit more rich than before, with some mild beef flavor, it was also several steps below hot. Also, they're really starting to get stingy with the herbs and sprouts here.

Service was as before. All business.

Overall, still better than almost everything else in San Diego.

Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista):

It had been ages since I'd had pho at Pho Hiep, though I visited two years ago to check out the Bun Mang Vit and Bun Bo Hue. A bit under the weather, I hadn't been able to eat in over two days, so I thought grabbing a bowl of pho when I started getting hungry might set me straight. Nothing too far away. Since my last visit to Pho Paradise was a bust, I'm back to the "there's no decent pho to be had in Kearny Mesa" stance.

It had been ages since my last pho visit here, so I decided on trying the rare beef…….which was cut too thick, was overdone by the time it hit the table, and was tough. I ordered the #2, which I thought should have had tendon and tripe, but both were MIA. The flank was really bad, tasteless rubber, though the brisket was tender and had a decent beefiness. There was quite a bit of nicely prepped noodles; considering this was a small bowl. The broth was interesting, too sweet and too much msg for my taste. The broth was a bit more cloudy than I prefer as well. There was quite a generous portion of herbs and sprouts, something I hadn't seen in a while.

Barely passable pho. It also shut me back down for another day or so……..

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Hoa (Huong?)(I Eat Pho!)

November 17, 2015 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is out and about, in a different time zone. Ed (from Yuma) is also in a different time zone and Cathy is in the here and now, blogging.

When I started to write this post, checking on whether or not I had written a prior post (to link) was a bit tedious. Of this location, I saw that Kirk had blogged about it twice now, calling it Pho Hoa-Huong', but the signage now has …"I eat Pho!"…

In addition, there is also a Pho Hoa located on El Cajon Boulevard, about which Kirk has also twice posted.

Then there is Pho Hoa Hiep, located on the other end of this same parking lot as "I Eat Pho", which is anchored by Thuan Phat supermarket. Anyhow, this pho shop has been here a long time, the interior hasn't changed, the food is consistent and gets to the table extremely fast once you order.Delivery from the kitchen this visit was so fast that the Pho Tai ($6.30, small) raw beef still wasn't cooked in the hot broth when it was placed on the table. We like the pho broth (herbal-meaty) and noodles (not in a clump) here. You can order Cha Gio as a full or half order ($3.50), which is nice. The rice paper fried wrapper is my favorite. The fresh fried spring rolls have a good meat to veggie filling ratio. For years, I've been trying Bo Kho (beef stew) ($6.65) at various Vietnamese restaurants, even though I know the best is at Pho Lucky. The stew here is my second favorite in the County; it's rich and satisfying, with tender meat and a multi flavored broth.

Hot foods on a cool day, what a nice feeling. Hope all of you are enjoying this weather.

Pho Hoa 6921 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 (858) 492-9108 open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Lunch Revisits: Pho Paradise and Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori

November 2, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

After having the hottest October on record, we've kind of settled into milder weather. Which means pho and ramen can be shoe horned back into lunch.

Pho Paradise:

** Note: Pho Paradise has closed

When Pho Paradise first opened, I thought it had some potential, even thinking that we'd finally get some decent Pho on Convoy. Even though my follow-up visit wasn't quite as good, I still believed they might have been the best pho in the area. So now, over six months later, I was wondering how things would be.

I started with the chicken wings, which looked very pale.

This wasn't too bad, the wings were fairly light and crisp, though sogginess set in rather quickly. A bit too much MSG for my taste, with that strange very salty edging on sweet taste and tongue sensation.

The pho was a disappointing.

This reminded me of the stuff Pho T Cali puts out. Barely any flavors other than being very salty with a very mild hint in the background. It was much too low in fat, the noodles, of which there was a healthy amount of, were over cooked, the proteins had no flavor and the tendon was too hard.

Well, at least the basil and bean sprouts were fresh, right?

In case you have doubts. Here's a bowl from Pho Paradise back in February.

Sad, huh?

Pho Paradise
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I needed a break from the office one Friday and ran over to Yakyudori for an early lunch before the place got too crowded and the Servers too surly. It had been a while since I'd had lunch here and I went with the Friday combo. Chashu Gohan with a Shoyu Ramen.

The pork and rice came in a medium sized miso soup bowl….lots of rice in this though the chashu was good in comparison to what I'd had recently at Okan during lunch. It was tender, had some flavor, and was lukewarm rather than cold. The corn and bean sprouts added texture….but this was mostly a whole lot of rice.

I hadn't had lunch here in a while so I was surprised at the size of the "mini-ramen"….it was more mini that I recalled.

Not that I needed more carbs, but there were maybe three bites of noodles and I really wanted more soup. Overall, this was a decent bowl, just edging on too salty, but quite satisfying and the noodles were prepped well. I should have just gotten the ramen instead of the lunch special.

Since I did it with Pho Paradise, it's only right I do this here too. Here's what the mini ramen used to look like.

No wonder they give you so much rice now. They need to fill you up somehow.

At least they were a bit nicer here than on my previous visits.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

What My Craving? Minh Ky

October 25, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Love the cooler temps in the morning. It means I can grab a nice bowl of noodles for breakfast. I'd been wanting some Sate Beef Egg Noodle "Dry", so I headed over to Minh Ky. It has been a good 7-8 months since my last visit and it never fails to amaze me how this place can pack it in at 815 on a Sunday morning….for noodle soup.

The tables turn over quickly and there were twice as many take-out orders….

My usual here; the Beef sate Egg Noodle Soup "dry" – soup on the side. Still nicely priced at $6.45.

A nice portion size, the beef relatively tender. I always say the sate could use a bit more "oomph", but those places that are a bit more spicy tend to not have that nutty-pungent-onion-y flavor. The egg noodles were a bit past perfect this time around, but nice and hot. The soup on the side was slightly porky – I can say this since it was much less salty than usual. So was the sate as well.

For under seven bucks….I'll take it.

Minh Ky Restaurant

4644 El Cajon Boulevard

San Diego, CA 92115

Open at 8am

COMC: Aqui es Texcoco, Pho Lucky, and 777 Noodlehouse

October 18, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

The recent shifting of the weather (a bit, it's still waaaay too hot for October) meant a shift in our eating as well. We've posted on these places many, many times, so I thought I'd C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard).

Aqui es Texcoco:

A lovely Mixiote and a milky, salty(in a good way), Quesataco with huitlacoche, which added a nice earthy flavor to the crunchy, oozy-gooey, texture.

And of course I've noted how much the Missus loves the Plato Azteca. The Missus almost considers this combination; nopales with two choices which are always huitlacoche (of course) and flor de calabaza (squash blossom).

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky:

Of course.

Full of tendon, tangy, savory, richer than usual……

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

777 Noodlehouse:

While I think Ly Heng now makes a better version of Phnom Penh Noodles, I still think this place is quite a bargain.

The Shrimp Fried Rice is very "old school".

And the simple Pig Intestine with Preserved Vegetable, which has become comfort food for me.

Sour from the preserved mustard greens, which along with the bean sprouts add a crunch. I love the earthy flavors from the intestine. Nothing fancy, not earth-shattering …….just good cheap eats.

Plus, I love the folks who work here…….

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

I hope you had a great weekend!

What’s My Craving? Mien Trung

October 14, 2015 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

Talk about the post that never wanted to be….I was working on this post last week when my PC, which was all of over a decade old decided to finally kick the bucket. When things were up and running again, the weather got so hot and muggy that I felt guilty about even doing a post on Mien Trung.

Mien Trung has been a favorite of ours over the years, though the Missus doesn't get the Bun Rieu anymore because they stopped using the correct thinner noodles and I've been noticing some inconsistency, as "Mom", the older woman who owns the place gets older. So a couple of weeks back, when the heat turned for a bit the Missus and I decided to visit Mien Trung. Strangely, we didn't recognize any of the folks working….we've been coming here for years mind you.

The service was odd, we got the wrong order, and my bowl of Bun Bo Hue was waiting….sitting on our table because they forgot to bring the greens. And my Bun Bo Hue looked wrong and even smelled a bit different as well.

It was missing the cilantro and onions. The noodles were soft and mushy. The broth was very spicy and was really salty, and where was the red hue from the annatto oil? This was bad. The first thing I did was text my good friend "YummyYummy" asking if Mien trung had been sold or if "Mom" had retired. No one knew……

At least the Missus's Hen Xuc Com – spicy baby clams over rice was spot on. Very peppery a bit spicy, with nice savory tones.

Regardless, I was a bit worried…….Mien Trung had been a staple of ours for years.

I decided to return, but the weather once again got too hot. I did receive a text from "YY" telling me they had dropped by MT and "mom" was there. Still, I decided that I needed to drop by and check things out for myself.

And yes indeed "Mom" was in the house.

And while this was much better; it was still not quite the same. While the nice bracing flavor of lemongrass was back, and things were now the status quo, there was something missing….the flavors just seemed dulled, the dish lacked the vibrancy that made MT a stop on our rotation. It's easy to see the difference in this vintage shot of the Bun Bo Hue.

Sadly, Mom might be winding things down and passing the torch. Time does pass….it used to be that when Mom wasn't around MT would close. I do hope that the next time I visit I'll see that bright bowl of BBH and have those wonderful fragrances wafting through the air….but if it is not to be, Mien Trung had a great run.

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

Asian Noodle House

September 7, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Asian Noodle House has closed

I was taking a weekend morning drive along ECB, checking things out when I noticed that Nhat Vy was gone and replaced with "Asian Noodle House"….talk about a generic name……

It was just past 8am and I was contemplating checking the place out when the car in front of the shop left….giving me a perfect parking spot. This must have been some kind of "sign" right? So I pulled a U-turn and parked.

The place looks totally Spartan and generic….

The older gentleman working here was very friendly. I was handed the menu and had that "deja vu" feeling. I knew I'd seen this menu somewhere before……. Yeah, strange, kind of weird. And then it came to me; it looked just like the menu from the now defunct Hao Vi. So of course the first thing I did when I got home take a look at my Hao Vi post. Take a look and tell me what you think.

If I had any doubt in my mind; that was erased when the Hu Tieu Nam Vang ("kho" – dry – $6.50) arrived…..

It was the soup that sold me…instead of a leg bone, it was a couple of ribs. The soup was just like Hao Vi's porky, with a slight sweetness from the MSG.

The Hu Tieu was a bit overcooked and mushy, though it was nicely seasoned….the rest was routine, shrimp tough, ditto the pork, though that chicken was nice. The portion size a on the smaller size, but perfect for breakfast. I think the version at Ly Heng while being on the salty side is better and cheaper.

I did decide to return the next morning since the Missus was sleeping. This time I got the Beef Sate Egg Noodle "dry" ($6.50).

Again the noodles were on the overcooked side. This was pretty spicy though. The sate sauce was quite strong, it obviously wasn't diluted down, but it had a powdery texture to it. The beef was nice and tender. It was fine, but it won't make me forget the version at Minh Ky.

In regards to Hao Vi; the nice woman working here seemed not to understand when I asked. That's ok, I'll find out one of these days. Really nice folks here….. I'll drop by again in a couple of months. I like that they open at 8am; it does give me another option for breakfast in the area.

Asian Noodle House
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Bolsa-Mira Mesa (lemon beef salad time)

August 18, 2015 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Well, well, here you are again, looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is still overwhelmed with lists of things to do. Ed (from Yuma) has lists of places to see. Cathy is writing today, with a list of favorites.

It's about time for me to rotate locations and cuisine to Mira Mesa and Vietnamese. Bolsa has been located in this same mall that holds the storefronts of QT Pot and Tapioca Heaven at the SouthWest corner of Mira Mesa Boulevard at Black Mountain Road for more than ten years. Kirk wrote one post about Bolsa in 2008 and he didn't like the pho. Let me say that after 7 1/2 years, the pho here still is not the best. But so many other menu items are. The interior is always clean and we've always been seated immediately.The fried squid appetizer ($9.95) can be a meal or can be shared. Lightly seasoned and breaded and properly fried, the crispy batter combined with the tender squid is always a good choice.The version of cha gio ($6.50) are made with my favorite, rice paper skin. The deep fried egg rolls are filled solidly with a variety of vegetables and just bit of pork. Six are served with a good amount of fresh mint and lettuce; more than enough for wrapping. The nuoc cham dipping sauce here really has the sweet, sour, salty, savory and spicy hints of flavor that compliment the rolls.Then again the order of spring rolls ($4.25) are also multi vegetable filled, tightly wrapped in fresh rice paper with my preferred filling of pork ball and the accompanying peanut dipping sauce.Banh Xeo ($7.95) is ordered before opening the menu. The crispy sizzling rice batter, flavored (and colored by) turmeric needs some extra time to make. The filling of sliced pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and mung beans are all part of our 'ritual' of cutting up the savory pancake and placing a bit of everything on a piece of lettuce along with some mint and dipping the wrapped morsel into the nuoc cham sauce.

It's gotten to the point that one of the waiters merely tells us that they have begin preparing the Banh Xeo because they saw us in the parking lot…The version of chicken curry ($6.95) here is excellent. Savory with some sweet, the curry sauce is thick and always has such deep flavor. Served with a warm loaf of banh mi that is used to soak up the sauce after eating the (large amount of) chicken along with the onion, carrot and noodles that are in the bowl, this is a great meal, especially on a cooler day.The turmeric marinaded fish ($13.95) is so good. The accompaniments in the upper photo include lettuce, sesame leaf, cold noodles, peanuts and sesame studded rice cracker…but those are hardly necessary for the first bites of these fried thicker pieces of moist fish with a light turmeric seasoned crust and fresh cooked dill. The flavors of just those basic pieces could be enough, but I end up making small lettuce filled bites using all the other ingredients to continue the enjoyment of the flavors.Last summer, my obsession was lemon beef salad. The version here is called lemon sauce beef ($9.95) and is listed as an appetizer. The salad, with its lettuce, onion and mint along with some crushed peanuts and the lemon cooked thin slices of beef seems to be exactly what I crave on hot, humid days. However, I still seek out other versions, just to be sure I have found my favorites.There's also a 'Stir Fried Egg Noodle' section the menu. You can ask for the noodle to be deep fried instead of stir fried and sometimes (like rainy days) the crispy noodle, topped with a combination of everything ($9.95)…beef, pork, shrimp, squid and vegetables..along with the addictive flavorful gravy is just perfect here.

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