Category: Vietnamese Restaurants

As the weather cooled for a couple of days last week, I looked forward to having some noodles…..the hardest decision was, "what to get?" It was still a bit too warm for Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung, on my last visit to Pho King I was accosted by some dude asking me for money twice, once before I went into the place and once leaving…..I also spotted him looking into the windows of my vehicle….man, what's going on here? And while Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho from 777 sounded good, I wanted some soup. So I decided on heading back to Tu Thanh. I'd only visited once, back in December, and really enjoyed the Bun Mang Vit – Duck and Bamboo Shoot Soup. So it was time for another visit.

The place really looks like a proper restaurant now; there were several tables filled when I arrived, a very nice sign. The young gentleman working here will surprise you; he looks caucasian, but speaks Vietnamese….he's also efficient as heck. I also found a couple of parking stalls right past the restaurant, which was nice….I hadn't even noticed those before!

The broth was scalding hot, clean tasting, and fragrant, the bun perfectly prepared, and the bamboo shoots (you need to use dried bamboo shoots for a proper bowl) nicely stepped and rehydrated, adding a nice earthy scent to the broth, but still nice and crunchy.

The "goi vit", basically the duck and "salad", a combination of greens, herbs, and shredded banana blossom proves a nice counter-point. The duck, sliced, nicely flavored with a bit of chew.

And then of course there's the dipping sauce; savory nouc mam cham; sweet, the heady flavors of ginger, I'd say it's almost drinkable.

I did hit the spot!

One of the more interesting things, at least for me, is that I like ot 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….

As I walked to my car, I wondered how Chinese Kitchen was doing without Chi Tu Thanh making the bun mang vit? I guess I'll need to check them out….someday.

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Thurs – Tues 9am – 9pm
Wednesday    9am – 5pm  

Here's the latest in my "circling back" series, where I revisit places that many folks really love, but, well, I'm not quite as impressed.

I've always considered Phuong Trang to be very "middle of the road" Vietnamese Food….as in Pho not to offend. Toning down the flavors, creating a "safe" experience with regards to Vietnamese food in San Diego. There are those who disagree, which is fine, to each his or her own. I've had some decent meals at Phuong Trang and I believe they do a few items rather well…..though it really is a short list. So what I decided to do was to try items that folks have recommended to me. In some cases I also ordered items that I had enjoyed here in the past. I'm pretty sure you're tired of my posts on the pho here…no worries, I'm not going to keep beating that dead horse.

It's probably a good time for a revisit to Phoung Trang as they recently unveiled an updated sign. The interior still looks the same.

I decided to start off with probably the one dish that I think they do well here; the Butter Wings…..though the last time I ordered those wings, they were terrible, greasy, bitter burnt garlic,  just plain horribly made.

This time it was back to what I was used too. Perhaps these were even better.

Light, crisp, moist, nice MSG and all that…….

At least two folks had mentioned the Bo Luc Lac here, so I decided to order it.

In some ways this was a typical PC – PT dish. The steak was nice and tender, I do like my Bo Luc Lac with watercress, but the sizzling plate makes a nice dramatic presentation. The flavors were really weak; lacking anything else than a rather salty flavor….no deep savory tones from fish sauce or even oyster sauce, no sweet tones, no black pepper…… The fried rice was decently prepared, though again the flavor was really muted.

Well, it was a one 'fer two….though picking those wings which I've had many times was kind pretty much a ringer.

The next time around, I just stuck with a single dish, Suon Ram Man. Basically spareribs marinated, then browned in a base of fish sauce and sugar, it is then braised in water, coconut water, or Coco Rico….which by the way, is a winna'. These however were not….

The ribs were on the tougher side, but not inedible. Again the flavors here were less than satisfying. In spite of the looks, this was on the bland side…….gloppy, bland, chewy spareribs.

I was going to stop at this point, but decided on one more meal. It had been pretty hot so I wasn't going for any soup nor anything really heavy.

I started with some Cha Gio, egg rolls. These were usually pretty good as they use the appropriate rice paper. It's also good that, like the wings, they'll do half orders of these.

I think there was a bit of glitch with oil temperature today as the egg rolls were on the hard and chewy side, lacking any crispness, making eating this rather unpleasant. Man, these were disappointing since they are usually pretty good.

Looking for something refreshing, I decided on the marinated beef salad called Bo Tai Chanh.

Where to start with this one? First off, this was a huge salad….it was also really bland, really needing more herbs, and the "dressing" was really watered down. The beef, "cooked" in citrus was actually pretty good, and there was a lot of it. Overall, this really needed a flavor boost, it didn't help that the tomatoes were under-ripe and had no flavor as well.

Well, this one was an "O" 'fer two……

Right before this meal, I sent a text to "YY" telling her that I was going to Phuong Trang one more time, just to do my due diligence….she told me I was nuts. Why would I punish myself like this?

In the end, I did change my opinion of Phuong Trang a bit. Instead of thinking of the food here as being dumbed down; perhaps I should look at the place as being the "gateway Vietnamese Restaurant". One that will lead the more adventurous eater to a wonderful cuisine. Yeah, maybe that's the ticket…..

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

 

As the clouds and humidity swirled on into San Diego….with the weather turning slightly monsoon-like, with rain falling in August, my thoughts suddenly turned to Bun Mam. I'm not sure why, but that funky, fermented-fish based umami bomb broth called to me. So I decided to check out Com Tam Nhu Y, which, if you're keeping score, used to be Nhu Y, then, having been sold, became Com Tam Thuan Kieu, not to be confused with Com Tam Thuan Kieu for a blink of the eye….only to become Com Tam Nhu Y, not to be mistaken for Pho Nhu Y in Clairemont, opened by the former owner of Nhu Y. Really….can you say soap opera in the making? Who needs "Real Housewives of xxxxx", when you can have "Noodleshop Stories of San Diego"?

Well, whatever…..I was here for the soup……

The last itme I visited, I thought the broth had taken a turn to a lighter and an almost sweeter soup. Well…..it was back to the good 'ol Nhu Y broth on this visit. Dark and funky, it was raised by the squeeze of lime and the melange of herbs to cut the thickness of the broth. It was also a bit more spicy…….like a broth that had been steeping for a while. This is one of the few soups that can overcome the rather muddy flavor of low grade catfish……you take in the smooth and buttery texture of the fish.

The stuffed jalapeno really didn't do much for me and the shrimp were slightly over-cooked, but I knew what makes this dish tick….that really rich and funky broth. 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….hey, this ain't your neighborhood or restaurant, sometimes you might want to experience real life….. and real food….

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