As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Here's another one of those C(learing) O(ut) the M(emory) C(ard) posts. Just the same old places that I've posted on a zillions times.
You can figure out where is where, right? Just photos for this warm Saturday night.
Geeez….all the same places. Sometimes it's a wonder that I'm able to post on new places.
The Missus and I were really trying to make the most of our little roadtrip to Little Saigon. We exercised restraint at Song Long with a second stop in mind. Our good friend "Yummy Yummy" had told us that the Banh Beo she had at Ngu Binh was among the best she could recall. So of course we had to stop by.
Though it wasn't even 11 yet, the place was packed. We lucked out and managed 
to get a table right away. The menu is concise, made up of the specialties of Central Vietnam, Bun Bo Hue, Banh Bot Loc, Banh Beo, you get the picture. For us, this was the way. Do what you do well.
We'd already put away a decent amount of food, and "banh" can be pretty filling and substantial. We went with the "sampler" of Banh Beo, Banh Ram, and Banh Bot Loc ($6.50):
I knew I'd like this place when the plate arrived garnished with chicharron. The Banh Beo was right on target with regards to my texture preferences. It's usually either too hard and gummy or soft and doughy. I loved the tenderness, which exerted just the right amount of pull for me. The ground shrimp added nice savory tones….oh, and the nuoc mam cham was nice and strong! The Missus thought the Banh Beo was too tender and not chewy enough. Her favorite was th Banh Nam; that smear of dumpling like rice flour based dough, the nice smokiness from banana leaves, She just loved it. The Banh Bot Loc were good, though a bit more chewy then I appreciate; but overall, this was excellent.
We also ordered the Banh It Banh Ram ($6.50).
Having grown up eating mochi, I've always felt a bit of affection for this rather dense and heavy bomb of glutinous rice dumpling, filled with shrimp, which sits on an a dense fried dumpling whose texture remind me of agemochi. It is quite filling, though the version here is probably the best I've had in terms of execution, flavor, and texture.
In the end, we had quite a day, going two for two. We'll definitely be back to Ngu Binh.
Ngu Binh Restaurant
14072 Magnolia St
Westminster, CA 92683
Ok, so it's in the 90's for a couple of days, then we get the wind and the rain…yikes. Well, at least it makes for some good pho weather. So here are a couple of places I hadn't posted on before.
The Pho Shop:
A couple of weeks ago AlanH sent me an email wondering about The Pho Shop. I guess he'd read through my pho posts and had noticed that I had never been there. He also mentioned that he was curious about the place because Trey Foshee had mentioned that it was his pho shop. There is of course a difference between "favorite" and best, etc, etc, etc. With all due respect, while I really do enjoy his work at George's at the Cove, when it comes to recommendations for pho, his is not the first name that comes to mind.
Still, in order to do my "pho-diligence", I put it on my list of places to try and with the sudden vturn of the weather, pho seemed like a good thing so I headed down Sports Arena and found the shop on the other side of the massive "Phil's nation".
The place is bright and clean offering local brews on tap.
The young man who served me was very nice, there's no hovering over you waiting for you to order. Unfortunately, the first thing that came to mind was Mignon Pho + Grill, a place that's does everything nice except most of the food. There were an interesting number of warning signs, stuff like, here it's not nuoc mam cham, here they call it "fish vinaigrette"…..
I don't know why they left out the "sauce" portion…it really reads as carrot & fish vinaigrette.
So I just had to get me some of that, right?
I was pleasantly surprised at the the sight of my Cha Gio……they're using the right type of rice paper here. It was fried perfectly, with a wonderful crunch.
That's pretty much where it ends. The nuoc mam cham was terribly watered (and dumbed down) to the point that it had some spice, but barely any savory fish sauce or sweet tones. Blech.
The eggrolls themselves was mostly filler with almost no flavor at all.
Nice first impression, no follow-thru. And not particularly good for $3.95.
This left me wondering what the Pho Dac Biet($6.75) was going to be like.
Actually, this was a decent bowl of pho. It wouldn't be on my top 5 list, but if it was in Clairemont it might be on the top of the heap.
Since my FOY (friend of yoso) Jenne always kids me about being, so, well, picky is the right word I guess, let's start with the good. I thought the meat prep was good…even that which I usually get down on, the slices of rare "Tai", which is the usual eye of round was decent. It might be worthwhile to get that on the side. The flank cuts were the best, just tender enough without falling apart, with a nice beefy flavor.
Nice amount of tripe, which was tasteless, but had a good crunch…..there were only a few tiny pieces of tendon though.
The noodles were on the overcooked-mushy side. The broth had a mild onion-sweetness to it, not as pronounced as the version at Pho Fifth Avenue, which I think is a bit better than this, having a bit more beefy "umph" and fat.
So while the pho here is not in the class of Lucky, Cow Cali, Pho Hoa, even Pho Hiep or Ca Dao, it's not bad. The place does more of a "pho not to offend" version, but it wasn't bad. Friendly service, clean, well lit, lots of parking…..if all that is more important than getting a top notch bowl of pho, then this is your place. Or heck, if you're a sriracha and hoisin "pho-natic" then it really doesn't matter anyway, does it?
The Pho Shop
3760 Sports Arena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11am – 10pm
Sat 10am – 10pm
Sun 10am – 9pm
Pho Point Loma:
I'd been meaning to try Pho Point Loma for a while but had really put the place on the back-burner after Dennis told me about having a pretty mediocre bowl of pho there. Still, I was on my way home from my usual Sunday visit to the San Diego Farmer's Market and I decided to stop by for an early lunch.
While clean and bright in its own right, this seemed like a more traditional pho shop to me….all business and rather spartan looking. What that POS system is doing as you walk in the front door, I'll never know.
After looking over at the bowls of pho on other tables I made my decision to go with a "small" #3 - well-done steak, flank, brisket, tripe, and tendon ($5.95).
The broth here reminded me of Pho T Cali and not in a good way. It was salty, but lacked much of anything else.
The tendon was decently tender as was brisket, which really lacked flavor. The flank was tough and the well done steak was both tough and dry.
The noodles, found in the usual clump on the bottom of the bowl was prepped well.
But that's not enough to have me return for the pho.
Pho Point Loma & Grill Restaurant
2788 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Open Daily 930am – 930pm
**** Pho Nhu Y has closed
Just a couple of weeks after my visit to Pho Cali in Clairemont for my Kearny Mesa pho round-up, FOY (friend of yoso) MrZ told me that the place was under new management. I wasn't quite sure what they meant by "new management"….was it the same name, just new folks, or what. So imagine my surprise when I drove on over and saw a very familiar name.
Of course that location became Thuan Kieu, then turned back to Nhu Y again. Of course, the first thing I thought about was the Bun Mam. We're sorely in need of something other than Pho in the area…..heck even the Pho isn't very good around these parts. A friend of mine, when mentioning another Pho shop linked a comment from that four lettered site. Basically that poster said something along the lines of, "I know good Pho, I worked in the mecca of pho in San Diego…." wait for it, wait for it…. "Kearny Mesa….." yikes, really? Wrong Mesa……
Anyway, if you just took a peak into the restaurant, you'd never have realized that an ownership change had taken place.
Much like the other Nhu Y, there are specials listed at the front of the menu. Unfortunately, the dish I wanted wasn't on the menu. The young man working here was very friendly, perhaps a bit too much for me, but I'm sure other folks appreciate him.
So I decided to settle for the Bun Cha Hanoi which was priced rather nicely for San Diego at $7.95. I was really interested to see how this would turn out.
As a whole, this barely passable. Actually, the best part of the dish was the mildly spicy pickles. The pork meatballs were bland and the marinated pork slices, though better in flavor was on the tough and dry side. Everything else was fine, the greens and herbs fresh, etc, etc……
Still, I wouldn't have been motivated to return if hadn't seen the greaseboard specials……where Bun Mam was prominently displayed.
So I returned a couple of days later and ordered the Bun Mam……and time seemed to stand still. The young man looked at me and really didn't seem to know what to do with me. So he walked over to the older gentleman eating at a nearby table….returned and told me, "sorry, no Bun Mam until after 3 pm." Say what? "Oh, okay, why not?" Reply: "because the smell disturbs our lunch customers…." Really? Bummer……
Let's call that strike one.
Strike two was when the young man told me, "I didn't know Korean's like Bun Mam!"
Strike three was Com Tam Dac Biet, the House Special Broken Rice ($9.95).
You can tell by the photos how this was, right? A symphony of dry; the com tam (broken rice), bi (shredded pork), and the pork chop. Greasy; the Tau Hu Ky (bean curd wrapped shrimp paste) and the shrimp. Bland; the cha (steamed egg and pork). Perhaps I should have complained and sent this back…..so in the end it was my fault…for:
1 – Ordering the Bun Mam before 3pm
2 – Looking (at least to the server) Korean
3 – Ordering the #1 item on the specials menu.
Still, I left on a mission. I was now determined to get that Bun Mam, or die trying……. I explained my mission to the Missus, who thought I'd gone nuts. But I'd be damned if I didn't get me a bowl of that Bun Mam. So I returned about a week later…….after 3pm……. The friendly young man remembered me. and so I finally did get my Bun Mam ($10):
The Bun Mam at Nhy Y/Thuan Kieu on El Cajon Boulevard had changed over the years. It had gotten much more sweet and spicy. This was the version I had back in 2006. Pungent and savory with a touch of spice….it was very hearty. The Bun and the vegetables/herbs added a nice texture and took a bit of the edge off the fermented fish flavor.
There was a generous helping of eggplant and more important pork belly.
Overall, a nice and hearty meal. I explained to the server that I really enjoyed the complex flavors, the combination of salty-sweet-spicy-pungent…umami in this dish. I'm even willing to suffer through the catfish that is served in it. I order stuff that I'm curious about, or enjoy, and I do like the Bun Mam at Nhu Y and recommend that folks give it a shot. Dont take my word for it Ed from Yuma enjoys it too. Apparently other folks do as well. A couple seated behind me ordered a two-fer…Bun Mam and Durian Shakes!
I'd found out from my good buddy "YY" that the older gentleman is actually Nhu Y. So when I went to pay at the register I asked him how his other restaurant was doing. He told me he had sold that restaurant ans was now here.
I guess one day I'll have ot try the pho here. I'll probably do it if I decided to have a meal here before 3pm.
Pho Nhu Y Vietnamese Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Daily 9am – 9pm
Haven't done one of these for a while, so I thought the time was right.
Moby Dick is now "70 Bobcha – Taste of Korea?:
Whatever that is…..
From the day I first saw the sign to actually eating there, I just had a feeling this incarnation was doomed. The owner seemed to have a thing about creating and opening places. The menu was all over the place, the quality of the seafood was decent during my visits….it should be, the guy who owned the place also owns Ocean Harvest, a seafood wholesaler. The spot was humongous and rather difficult to maintain, even with Kazumi manning a sushi bar in the back.
I have no idea what's up with this place now….I'll have to find out soon.
As for Kazumi. He was last sighted at the Snooty Asian, per Eater San Diego.
4805 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
What's up with Viet Bakery and Pho?:
It's actually kind of spooky. I first mentioned noticing this place in the same post as Moby Dick.And just like Moby Dick, this place just didn't do it for me. The dishes were uneven, as was the service, by the time I actually had a chance to try the pho the entire menu had changed. Everything that made the place seem special was gone.
The place isn't "officially closed" though, as you can see by the sign. I know for a fact that at least one offer was made to take over the spot, but it seems that the owners want to try again. They are currently using the kitchen for catering and such. As for the "we'll be opening soon", I wish them the best, but we know that this is often the kiss of death.
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Paris Bakery and Thanh Son Tofu does the shuffle:
So I'm having a really lousy bowl of Bun Mang Vit and notice that Kien Giang has been replaced by Thanh Son Tofu?
5296 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Which got me wondering…..what's going on with the (former) Thanh Son Tofu spot. So I actually drive all the way down there to see. And to my surprise……
I see the Paris Bakery coming soon sign. So either Paris Bakery is moving here, or this will be a second location. There's a good deal of space in this place, so I'm sure they'll be cranking out banh mi and baguettes like crazy. The parking kind of sucks though……
4616 El Cajon Blvd Ste 15
San Diego, CA 92115
Time sure flies. Back in mid-February, the Missus and I did a two-fer road trip to Little Saigon. Both destinations were recommendations. The first was made by "Kha" commenting on this post. It was in regards to Cha Ca Thang Long, which is basically fish which uses two items not often mentioned with regards to Vietnamese cuisine; dill and tumeric. The dish is a specialty of Hanoi and we ate it at Cha Ca Thang Long Restaurant in Hoan Kiem District. We've had it at what I thought were the two, Vien Dong and Ha Noi best Cha Ca restaurants in the Little Saigon area. So when Kha mentioned a place called Song Long, which someone else inquired about before, mt curiosity was piqued. Kha then added that he'd had Cha Ca Thang Long at the namesake restaurant in Hanoi as well and his parents thought the Cha Ca at Song Long was better, well…….
Song Long Restaurant:
The interior of the place look like a diner/coffee shop and there was a funny combination Tet/Valentine's day display that was hilarious.
The menu is French influenced Vietnamese, with Bun Cha on one page and Nicoise Salad on the next. Since this arrived just after we sat down, I guess everyone get some bread.
Of course we got the Cha Ca Thang Long ($16.95) and guess what?
This was really good. The fish, which we were told was catfish, something that I usually won't order in the US, wasn't muddy tasting in the least. Tender and moist….and with a lot less oil than the stuff in Vietnam which is literally swimming in two inches of oil, topped with a liberal amount of fried shallots and dill, and a base of onions was delish with the huge amount of the usual suspects of bun, fresh herbs, and vegetables. The mam nem, a heady and wonderful mixture of fermented shrimp paste, a touch of chili, a sweet component, and acid was addictive and the Missus couldn't get enough.
So Kha, as far as we're concerned, your parents are totally right about the Cha Ca Thang Long.
Curiosity got the better of me as along with the fish I ordered the Escargots de Bourgogne ($6.95). Vietnamese love their snails and whelks so I expected this to be pretty good, but it was not.
This was rather cold, the herb butter greasy, and the snails were beyond rigor mortis. This was not good eats.
Overall, the service was decent, not particularly attentive, but this was Bolsa Avenue, so I didn't expect much. I'll be back for the cha ca thang long…..and I saw a bowl of Banh Mi Bo Kho walked pass me that was calling out to me. No more snails though.
Song Long Restaurant
9361 Bolsa Ave Suite 108
Westminster, CA 92683
Hours:
Open Daily 9am – 10pm
Thanks for the recommendation Kha! Thank your parents as well, they know how to pick 'em.
As you can tell, we really didn't load up here as we had another stop after this one.
Stay Tuned!
What the heck is going on with the weather? Overcast for this time of the year is semi-normal, though it usually doesn't get that way until the end of April. But what's with the morning drizzle? It's not "cold" per se, but the breezes kind of chilly…..at least to my wimpy San Diego bones.
The Missus was craving some Banh Nam and I some Bun Bo Hue, so we headed on over to Mien Trung, which was doing pretty good business on this Sunday morning. Seems we weren't the only ones craving some soup.
We've really come to enjoy Mien Trung over the years, it's been a good seven years since we first visited. There are some inconsistencies we've noticed over the years. Sometimes the Bun Bo Hue will be too MSG heavy, at times too spicy, but for some reason, the place never fails to satisfy.
I gotta say, by my reckoning, some of the dishes have improved. Specifically the Hen Xuc Banh Trang, a chopped spicy clam dish that has evolved from somewhat fishy and gritty, to a spicy Cinderella of sorts.
This dish has definitely improved over the years. Served with Banh Trang Me, sesame crackers that have been slightly toasted this is delish, salty-spicy-pungent-savory. It doesn't look like much, but there quite a bit of in the little bowl. I especially enjoy taking the left-overs home and having it over rice.
For some reason, the Missus has been craving Banh Nam.
Ever since we visited Ngu Binh back in February (I know, I'm really late with that post), She's been asking for this every other week or so.
This one is a bit on thicker side and is more tender and less elastic than most versions. The Missus loves the light smokey flavor that banana leaves impart. It's also a plus that Mien Trung doesn't water down their Nuoc Mam.
The only complaint the Missus had about the Bun Rieu is that Mien Trung changed their noodles maybe a year or two ago. It's now ultra-thin noodles, not the thin rice noodle that is standard for Bun Rieu. Not sure why…..
And of course, my Bun Bo Hue. Didn't get the Dac Biet this time, we had the other stuff.
There's nothing to add that I haven't written before about the Bun Bo Hue on this blog, or elsewhere. There's something very comforting about this soup that just gets me going "aaaaah".
It's always fun watching folks who enjoy spicy food have the bun bo hue here for the first time. Recently, my co-worker YZ joined me for lunch at Mien Trung. She mentioned that the Bun Bo Hue (Dac Biet) was too large, but proceeded to finish everything off…..down to sucking out the marrow from the pig's feet! Now here's someone who can eat with me anytime!
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
The Missus and I got up pretty early after spending the night in Hacienda Heights. After some contemplation, we decided to head on to Little Saigon for some breakfast then head on home. The Missus was missing Da' Boyz and all that.
We decided to stop in at a place we hadn't been to in years, the renowned Brodard's.
We always think about stopping in when we're in the area, but the place is usually packed to the gills with several lines, folks practically tripping over each other, the service being very perfunctory as the folks working here often seem like they are just trying to survive. Frankly, I'm too old for the circus.
But, since it we got there right when they opened (8am), the place looked like this. I bet you've never seen Brodard's this empty, have you?
There used to only be one reason for coming to Brodard's. It was for the Nem Nuong Cuon and the Chao Tom Cuon, the pork sausage and the shrimp paste spring rolls.
It had been years and I wondered if Brodard had aged well. We ordered the combination ($7), which included two of each.
There was of course, the signature crisp egg roll wrapper in the center of the spring roll, which adds wonderful texture and is also a sign that these are made to order. The wrapping is done perfectly, neither too tight and stretched like Joan River's face, nor too loose and falling apart.
There was one thing I did notice. For some reason, both the shrimp paste and the nem nuong seemed really bland. It seems like something had changed over the last, oh, almost a decade. I can't put my finger on it, but these were nowhere as tasty as I recall.
The Missus really wanted to try the Banh Khot ($6.95) and I'm happy we did.
The Banh Khot were light and crisp, the shrimp moist and plump. The Missus went crazy with the greens and herbs and really enjoyed Herself. I thought this was an enjoyable version of Banh Khot. I'd gotten used to dry and tired looking Banh Khot and this was definitely not that. I'm thinking that arriving before the mad crush of bodies may have been to our benefit this time around.
We had a decent meal and made it back home before lunch.
Brodard Restaurant
9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844
It had been a while since we'd visited Hoai Hue Restaurant, and a good amount of time since I last posted on the place. The Missus was craving some Banh Nam, so we decided to return to see how the place was doing. Business looked good as the place was half full when we arrived and filled up totally by the time we left.
I can't help but remember how the original Hoai Hue Deli used to be.
The folks here have always been nice to us and today was no different. The older gentleman brought over extra bowls for us to share everything.
The Missus got Her Banh Nam.
Loved the flavor imparted by the banana leaves. The Banh Nam seemed pretty thin, but the texture was very good. This was the best item of the meal.
We also quickly noticed that the fish sauce here is super watered down.
I went with the house version of their special Bun Bo Hue…..can't call it Dac Biet, because there is already a Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet on the menu. This is called the Bun Tom Hoai Hue.
This has basically stayed the course over the years….you gotta give it to them for consistency. THe meatballs are still on the bland side, as is the Cha Lua. The other cuts of meat are a step above Mien Trung, the thick cuts of pork more tender, the pork hock has nice flavor, and the tendon chewy, but not too hard.
As for the broth, it still doesn't bring the heat and is lacking in the lemongrass tones as well. They seem to serve it a notch below what I think is optimal BBH temperature. The broth just seems kind of timid….something I'd usually never think of saying with regards to Bun Bo Hue……
It's not a bad bowl, just not quite up to Mien Trung.
The Missus also ordered the BanhIt Ram, basically glutinous rice dumpling on top of a fried glutinous rice base "dumpling" two ways.
The Banh It, the top "dumpling" was not bad, decent texture, slightly elastic, nice shrimp, though I'd like more pork, pretty good overall. The Banh Ram was not very crisp and much too chewy, even for Banh Ram, which really doesn't have much flavor anyway….if it's even harder then what we deem as normal, then yikes. Add to that lousy nouc mam cham. This stuffs sinks to the bottom of your belly and stays there.
I still think Hoai Hue has the (very distant) second best Bun Bo Hue in San Diego and the flavor and the rest seem pretty consistent. And the Missus enjoyed the Banh Nam, so we may be back sooner than I think.
Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
It was fairly cold and rainy a couple of weekends ago and I found myself in Santee. It was still too early for Sab E Lee 2, but I was kind of hungry. So I decided on heading down the street a bit. I had never been to Pho Ca Dao in Santee, so I thought "why not"? Though I didn't make that decision without some hesitation since my recent luck, with pho hasn't been that great. Still, there wasn't much else that I really wanted in the area at 9 in the morning.
The place was a lot larger than it looked from the outside and the fragrance….or should I say the pho-ray-grance of soup hung in the air. Nice,bright and clean. The young lady who showed me to my table was very nice as well.
I decided on the eternal #4….everything but rare steak.
Though there was but a single sprig of basil, there was Ngo Gai (Culantro), and the young lady told me if I wanted more basil.
The broth was pretty neutral, slightly beefy, not as much anise and clove hints as I had experienced at the other locations. Still, it was not bad.
The noodles were fine…typical clump and all.
What was really surprising for me was the amount of tripe….well prepped tripe, crunchy, without soapy or foul flavor. The tendon was good, though not quite as tender as the ECB location.
All in all, I thought this place better then the Mira Mesa location. Even more surprising…..I thought this was better than any Pho I've recently had on Convoy. Kind of sad actually……
Pho Ca Dao
9535 Mission Gorge Rd
Santee, CA 92071
Mon-Thu, Sun 9am-9pm
Fri-Sat 9am-9:30 pm