Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 33

Finally got around to Pho from Pho Nhu Y Clairemont

April 13, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Nhu Y is no longer

Taking advantage of that last couple days of rain we had a few weeks ago, I finally made it over to Pho Nhu Y, the Clairemont version for some Pho….well check that. I actually did want the Bun Mam, but had totally forgotten; I was the ummmm, "Korean Guy", that wanted to order Bun Mam before 3pm and scare off all their lunchtime customers. My bad….

I think the garnishes….the single sprig of basil and small amount of bean sprouts are an good indication of Pho in the area and San Diego in general….

The actual bowl of pho looked pretty good. I got number 19; rare steak (usually a mis-steak), well done steak, tendon, tripe, and flank.

The bowl actually looked pretty good when it hit the table. The broth was dark, but clear, and I liked the amount of fat. Another hallmark of San Diego pho is a totally defatted product, which just kills the richness.

Another unfortunate hallmark of San Diego pho is the sodium/MSG level. And of all the bowls I've had recently, this was probably the worst, way too much MSG…..it made the broth unpleasant. Too bad, because the color looked right and all….but man, I really couldn't taste much.

There was an amazing amount of noodles in this bowl….which was a "regular" ($6.69). Which was way too overcooked and mushy. Man, I really couldn't get a break here.

The proteins were decent, though the tendon was way tough and the tripe really hard. The rare steak was even ok.

In total, a disappointment. I'm not going to beat that "can't get decent bowl of pho in Kearny Mesa" dead horse…..well, I'm going to try not too do that.

So yep, 300 more words of pho……

I'm going to stick to the Bun Mam here.

Pho Nhu Y Vietnamese Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Royal

April 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Royal has closed

I tried to hit as many Pho places as I could during the recent cooler weather. I happened to be down in Chula Vista and drove past this place. I last visited when it was Pho 888. Now it's Pho Royal….so that makes it; what, 3 different Pho joints in the last 6 years? Pho-real?

The exterior looks much better now that it's no longer giardia-green. The interior look basically the same, except for the wall of water and the elephant planters…which made it seem more like a Thai Restaurant. There were two young girls working….I assume they're the owner''s daughters….very nice kids.

The menu is interesting; regular or large bowl, then you can choose up to 7 different proteins for your bowl. I went with a small bowl – $5.95 and went with "C,D,E, & F"….that would be brisket, flank, tendon, and tripe.

As is the standard nowadays; the plate of garnishes is kinda sparse, mostly bean sprouts, a sprig of basil, a couple of slices of jalapeno…..

The broth was too light in flavor, slight anise, almost no beef flavor, a bit of sweetness, but not too salty. The noodles perfect, which was nice since most bowls I've had recently included over-cooked and mushy pho banh.

The tendon was MIA, there were but a few strips of tripe which tasted fine. The brisket and flank were cooked to death, just falling to shreds and the brisket tasted a bit "off"….a residual "ice-box" flavor permeated the meat.

The prices here seem in line, the bowl is "pho-not-to-offend" much too light in flavor, but at least it isn't a MSG bomb. I still think Pho Hiep makes the best bowl in the area….let me know if you think there's something better!

I recently received an email that made me crack up……I won't reveal the persons name because they didn't want me to. But the gist of the email was along the lines of "you're the only person I know who can write 300+ words about a bowl of frgiin' soup". Yes, it's true….I can and have done so again!

Pho Royal

635 Broadway

Chula Vista, CA 91910

Hours:

Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Sunday 12pm – 9pm

Pho Ha Noi

April 1, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

As I mentioned last week, the unusually warm winter makes me feel like there's some unfinished business out there….. I really never got my share of soup, specifically soup this past year! So now that we're getting some cooler weather, I thought I'd take full advantage. I also received two very nice emails from "John", the first after my post on Pho 46 telling me about a place right down the street on Miramar Road named Pho Ha Noi, he was nice enough to email me about the place again after I mentioned the Brodard knock-off nem nuong cuon at Pho Ban Mai, telling me that Pho Ha Noi also made a similar version of the spring roll and wanted my opinion on it. So why the heck not, right?

Admittedly, I usually have a place in mind when I'm around this part of Miramar Road and really don't pay enough attention…..Geez Louise, I'd probably not have found this place at all if not for John. I'm trying to recall what used to be here before. Some kind of Chinese Fast Food joint? The steam table set-up is still in place.

Anyway, the nice young lady handed me a menu and I started with the Nem Nuong Cuon ($6.99).

Now if the version at Pho Ban Mai is, say a cousin of Brodard, this would be some distant relative twice removed. It's not very good, too loosely wrapped, the meat was kind of greasy, along with being kind of sparse with salad mix carrots and such. There was that little crispy strip, but the sauce was kind of bland as well.

As for my pho, I ordered the #9 – Well-done steak, Brisket, tendon, tripe ($6.99). For some reason, I just didn't feel right ordering rare beef here, better to try the other proteins first.

At first glance, I didn't find the look of the broth to be very impressive; too cloudy, too low in oil, it just kind of reminded me of Pho T Cali. Like the appearance, the flavor was light, slight anise flavor, and not quite savory enough for my taste. At least it wasn't too salty. The noodles were perfect, nicely prepped, with a mild pull to them. The proteins were passable; the tendon was chewy, but not too bad, the brisket was tough, and the tripe had that mild, almost soapy aftertaste of something that hasn't been prepared the way I like.

I thought this was ok, nothing to go out of my way for, and I think Pho 46 has a ever so slightly better broth, though the noodles here were better.

Still, it was nice to try someplace new……I'm hoping to try a couple more places while the weather is still on the cooler side.

Pho Ha Noi
6904 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Midweek Meanderings: Pho Hut opening and some other silliness

March 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Just a couple of quick and rather silly things for hump day.

Pho Hut and Grill Opening:

Actually, when I first saw the sign, I thought it said Pho' What…which might be a great name for some of the pho shops I've eaten at. But no, it's Pho Hut……

This is in the former Quizno's location near the corner of Balboa and Genesee.

Kind of neat in a way as it seems these businesses are now moving further away from Convoy.

I'm still not sold on the name….say "Pho Hut" five times real fast….what does it sound like????

5252 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Caption this photo:

"Luke, I am your mother…."

"You know, I always really wanted to be a welder…."

I'm sure you can come up with something funnier. I actually turned around and saw this woman….which startled me. What ever happened to good old sunglasses….tho' I guess she might have wanted protection from the sun. and sunscreen just didn't do it for her? After the inital shock, I just coudn't stop laughing….she actually did her shopping in 99 Ranch Market with the darn thing covering her face….indoors!

From the "why bother" files:

For some reason I find this amusing……

I mean, if you wanted a wheat flavored chip, why not make them out of wheat? Why would you make rice chips taste like wheat? Is it some kind of gluten thing? I dunno….it just seems a bit absurd to me.

I hope you're having a great week!

Pho Ban Mai revisited

February 26, 2014 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of weeks ago, the Missus was in the mood for some Banh Xeo. I thought She'd enjoy the version at Pho Ban Mai. Though I'd been here several times in the past, they were solo visits.

So we braved the weekday evening traffic and drove up to Mira Mesa. The place looks the same since they opened back in 2011.

Something has changed since I first visited way back when, the Nem Nuong Cuon and the Chao Tom Cuon, which were straight out of the Brodard playbook, down to the fried spring roll wrappers tucked inside…..sort of a sign of freshness since you really can't make it this way ahead of time.

The Nem Nuong, the pork "sausage" was better in our opinion, more flavor, nice texture. The shrimp cake was too rubbery and had little flavor. Actually, the Missus preferred this to Brodard for one simple reason; Ban Mai uses a touch of herbs in the rolls. I will say that the dipping sauce here is fairly bad, very bland, weird texture….I'm not a fan of the version at Brodard, but it is much sweeter, with a more silken texture. We'll get the nuoc mam cham next time…..

The Missus did enjoy Her Banh Xeo.

The version here is crisp and light and not super-stuffed……like a Banh Mi, it's all about balance and proportion. The pork is decent as was the shrimp, though there's not a whole lot of it. It's still not as good as the first one I had here in 2011, but it's still my favorite. I'm also glad they don't water down the dipping sauce either.

I decided to go with something I hadn't had here before and had the Banh Mi Bo Kho – Beef Stew with bread.

This wasn't bad, though it's not as rich and full of flavor as the version at Lucky. It does taste a bit watered down, the meat is decent, but still a bit more chewy than I prefer and there's not as much tendon in it as well. The bread, which looked like a standard "Le Chef" version was nicely warmed. Not bad, but I won't be having this again.

The service was meh….bunch of guys more concerned about "talking story" but not terrible. What I'm thinking is, maybe there'll be some Banh Khot on the menu next time. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Check out Jinxi's post on Pho Ban Mai here

Phuong Nga

February 24, 2014 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** This location of Phuong Nga has closed

Does this storefront ring a bell? I wouldn't blame you if it did. Other than the signage, everything about the place look exactly the same as the shop it replaced, Cam Ky. A few months back, I noticed the new sign with a different name and made a note to check it out. My good FOY "YummyYummy" beat me to it, probably because of the Banh Cuon sign. Her verdict? Well, not so good. While YY has impeccable taste when it comes to Vietnamese food, I decided to check them out myself, just to see.

The place looks basically the same. In fact, if you didn't pay attention to the sign, you'd walk in thinking it was Cam Ky. It becomes clear fairly quickly it is not. In spite of the sign; there's no "BBQ", no steam table, and just a couple of items on the regular menu. It becomes quite apparent that the place wants to focus on catering as prices for "trays" are posted prominently in the window and on the walls.

The prices really aren't bad by San Diego standards, so I went with the Banh Cuon, U'ot Dac Biet ($7). The portion was more than sufficient.

So what did I enjoy the most of this smorgasbord? Honestly, if I had to make a choice, I'd probably go with the blanched bean sprouts, really, I'm not trying to be a jerk or a smart aleck….but this was probably the blandest version of this dish I've ever had, and I've had my share from Vietnam to Little Saigon to San Diego. The Banh U'ot was thicker than I prefer and stuck together; the Cha Lua – pork roll was totally devoid of flavor, though I enjoyed the texture. There's usually a hint of flavor from the banana leaf and a mild porkiness to it. The nem chua, lacked the cured sourness that I really enjoy.

The pork in the Banh Cuon was dry and hard and the filling basically tasteless. The thickness of the rice itself, though thicker than I prefer in this case was decent. Usually, a good nuoc mam cham will save the dish.

Though this looked good, other than a decent amount of spice, it tasted watered down….bummer.

So, my search for good banh cuon in San Diego continues…..and I'm afraid all is for naught.

Phuong Nga
4141 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Pho 46

February 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

On my way back to the freeway from one of my meals at Motor City Deli, I noticed Pho 46. I recalled eating here when it was Cafe Kashmir, which was not a good experience and I was kind of glad those photos never turned out. Pho, on Miramar…….I wasn't quite sure since my experience with pho on this stretch of road hasn't really been good. Still, nothing wagered, nothing gained, right?

So a couple of days later I dropped by for lunch.

And the winner of the "most generic pho shop design is….." I mean really. However, I wasn't here to admire the feng shui, design, or anything like that, nor was I here to enjoy The Price is Right which was blaring away on the television.

The guy working here; who really looked familiar was quite friendly, the prices for most (not everything) was quite inexpensive. I'm sure you could get a mixture of proteins, but as a whole, it's either rare beef OR well done beef OR meatball. When I mentioned this to my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" she said, "just like Vietnam….". I'd gotten so used to American Pho, I'd forgotten…..

So I got the Pho Chin ($5.75):

I was somewhat surprised by this bowl, it caught me off guard. It was much better than I thought it would be. The broth, though light on beef flavor, was fairly low on salt/msg, which made all the other flavors, be them ever so faint come through. The beef seemed ot be brisket, had not fallen to pieces, and had good flavor. The noodles was a tangled, overcooked mess, and the sprouts and herbs sparse, but I expected that. Still, this was not bad at all.

While I was eating, three Vietnamese women came in, one of them was really loud. apparently they had ordered before arriving and once the food came out proceeded to attack this plate of chicken wings with loud, somewhat scary, finger-lickin' good aplomb. I had ot find out what they heck that woman was attacking so I asked the guy. He told me it was Butter Wings. Based on how the trio were enjoying their wings, I just had to have me some of that, so I did. The wings ain't cheap, $4.25 buys you four. They are very standard in crispness, perhaps a bit on greasy side and mild in flavor. By no means bad, in fact decent, but definitely not worthy of such a reaction by the three woman wrecking crew. If I were the owner, I'd have these three back everyday….they'd either get you the upsell, or nauseate the heck out of you.

As I left, the gentleman told me that the best wings they have are the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt…..hey, talk about just up my alley.

So I decided to return a couple of days later……..the television yet again tuned to the Price is Right.

I ordered my wings, but it was too hot for soup so I went with te Shrimp Fried Rice ($6.50).

Much like the pho, this fried rice left me surprised. It wasn't fantastic by any means, but was a good by-the-book fried rice. There were 8 shrimp and though I thought it needed a bit more soy sauce, I felt it was a good value for the money; I'd have it again.

As for the Wings ($4.25):

These were much better than the other wings I'd had; a lot more flavor, less greasy, though I could have done without the wok-scald. It won't make me forget about other versions I've had, but was definitely not bad…..though at this price, over a dollar a wing, I'm not sure it's worth it. Still, not overly battered, a bit of spice, decent flavor, these weren't bad at all.

So, if you have hankering for some pretty inexpensive shrimp fried rice and some kind of expensive wings, or have the need to watch the Price is Right, this might be the place. Nothing fancy, nothing amazing, but many items are simple and a decent value. The guy working here is on the friendly side, though he wasn't too amused when he revealed where I'd seen him before; Com Tam 75….I had a real foot-in-mouth moment when I replied, "oh, is that place still open???"

Pho 46
9508 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Revisits: Pinoy Fiesta, Grandma’s Tofu & BBQ , and Tan Ky Mi Gia(yet again!)

February 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's our monthly dose of revisits……

Pinoy Fiesta:

It had been a while since I last visited, so I thought I'd drop in and grab a bite. Nothing really called to me and I wasn't super hungry, but then a tray of lechon kawale came out of the kitchen, so I went for that.

It was hot, the exterior hot and crisp, but there was something strange about this…..the meat was on the spongy side and very bland….actually the texture of the meat wasn't very pleasant. I just can't quite put my finger on it.

Pinoy Fiesta
550 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ:

I know, I just did a post on the Heokyumso Jeongol – the black goat stew a couple of months back. But the recent rain and colder weather had us craving this again. Instead of going on and on about the dish, I'll let you in to a little secret….our "goat strategy" if you will. As good as the Heokyumso Jeongol is, it's even better when spiced up a bit….so when the panchan comes, we quickly, but sneakily dump all the baechu kimchi and the sauce from the cucumber instantly into the broth….it makes it that much better! The nice ladies then bring us refills…we eat the kimchi, but make sure to dump the sauce into the stew….and so forth. We usually take home about 2/3 of this…..and we hit Zion on the way home for sesame leaf or wild spinach, then I'll get some tofu from Nijiya on my way home from work the next day….we always have Korean bean paste and gochujang and this ends up being two more meals.

Which is why we'll usually get something like the Kimchi Dolsot Bi Bim Bap with our meal.

Sshhh, don't tell anybody……

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tan Ky Mi Gia:

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

Here's another one we've posted about in the last couple of months. Work has been brutal, but I've been enjoying the challenge. Still, I had been feeling a bit run down, meaning I needed something on the salty side to give me that "aaaahh" effect. During that time we hit up Tan Ky Mi Gia.

For me, this is comfort food……

For some reason, the Beef Sate Egg Noodle "dry" does the trick for me

Though the Bot Chien really wasn't worth the effort……

I guess I'm still chasing what I had at Kang Lac Bakery in Westminster. Instead of being crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, this had a hard exterior with a cardboard like texture and flavor. They probably bought it at Lucky Seafood next door.

The Missus strangely had a Banh Xeo which She enjoyed…….the pork in this version is braised which makes it more tender than others…..still, it's far from my favorite.

We came back a couple of nights later and I had the Egg Noodle Soup with Roast Duck…….

The duck can be hit and miss….on this visit it was super tough, definitely a miss, but the hot and salty soup really did the trick.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126

A revisit to Pho Lucky

February 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It's been a wonderfully fun and busy weekend for me, here some stuff that I've had queued up while I catch up on things.

Pho Lucky:

Yes, yet another post, among perhaps a half dozen or so done by myself and Cathy over the years. This little shop ajoining Lucky Seafood has been our go to shop. So naturally, when the Missus wanted some pho recently, this was where we headed to.

Notice the jalapenos that the Missus adds to Her version…….not something I enjoy, but at least She doesn't dump in a boatload of hoisin or sririacha….

My intent was to have pho as well; but while walking from our car the fragrance of grilling pork permeated the parking lot. So I order the house special broken rice.

And while the rice wasn't as fragrant as I prefer, the pork chop was well flavored and fairly tender, the "bi" had been tossed with rice powder and was also good….the Missus poached the shrimp, which She enjoyed. We probably had good timing on this one…….and I'm not complaining.

What good stuffs did you have to eat recently?

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

Pho Thyme and Pho Little Saigon

January 27, 2014 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

There seems to have been a little "pho-splosion" in the Midway/Sports Arena area. I really don't get down here very much, so I tried to pay a bit more attention when I drove down to Embargo Grill. I noticed two, well actually three (more on that later) more pho shops in the area. Since I had already done a post on The Pho Shop and Pho Point Loma, I thought why not do the other two, right?

Pho Thyme:

*** Pho Thyme has closed

Pho Thyme? Why? Well, I guess there's already a Pho Time in PB. I truly hoped that they weren't putting thyme in their pho. This place was strange enough when it was Jiggle Jiggle Korean Grill.

The interior of the place is pretty much the same.

The menu is a single sheet thing; you can order Pho Bo or Pho Ga and add 3 proteins for $6.25 for a small bowl, $7.25 for the large. Or you can be lazy like me and order the Dac Biet, which ain't cheap at $8.25. Remember those salad days when Pho was like five bucks?

The herbs and sprouts were limited as expected.

The best thing about this bowl was the broth; while the kitchen went a bit too far in defatting it; the broth had a nice clear, rich color. The flavor was on the mild side, but you could make out the beef flavor, and it wasn't very salty.

The worst thing about this bowl were the noodles, which were terribly overcooked and mushy.

The protein was a mixed bag. The rare steak was ok, but the flank was really tough, and the brisket mushy, with a slightly "off" flavor. There was however, to my surprise, a couple of pieces of decent tendon, perhaps a bit on the chewy side, but not bad.

This was a fair bowl, very middle of the road, but not terrible. A safe choice.

Actually, the best thing about this place was the very friendly and accommodating young lady who was so nice, even to some really trashy and rude customers. And then there was the guy who looked like Larry the Cable Guy on a bad day, who ordered his pho "dick bite". Now if you don't even have a chance at pronouncing it right, why bother? Though I almost snorted broth out of my nose…….I wish they would have given him "dick bite". I won't go into the parents who left their kids in the car while they shared a bowl of pho…..

Pho Thyme
3146 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110

Pho Little Saigon:

Man, this one is easy to miss, tucked between a Payday Loan and a Acupuncture Shop.

This shop is very tiny, though it could really pass for some generic pho shop anywhere in the US, it seemed to have all the trappings, from the wooden tables, to the green chopsticks and combo spoon holder…..I'm sure there must be a number and name for it in the pho owner's catalogue somewhere.

The gentleman running the place was very reserved but efficient.

Of course I ordered the Extra Large Combo – $6.95.

To get to the point; this broth was not to my taste, it had that bitter flavor that happens when the shallots and onions are too charred when making the broth. It also lacked even the mildest of beef flavor and was on the salty (msg) side. This had ot be the worst bowl I've had since Pho Mignon. The color and the murky look of the broth should have been a warning sign.

The beef cuts were ok and the noodles were prepared adequately.

But when all of that is in a broth like this it's hard……

Nice enough folks and all….but perhaps less said the better, huh?

Pho Little Saigon
3445 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110

So for my money in this area it's:

1 – The Pho Shop

2 – Pho Thyme – corny name and all

3 – Pho Point Loma

4 – Pho Little Saigon

So what about the other shop…..well for some reason, I'm having a mental block…..

Sushi Pho Sure? Pho-real?