Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 36

Breakfast of Champions: Banh Mi Ba Chi (pork belly) from Cafe Dore

August 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Cafe Dore has closed

Man, it been a couple of years since I've been here and even longer since I last posted on the place.

Not much has really changed here. Older gentlemen gather, have coffee, chat….and do guys gossip? For lack of a better word, let's just call it that. It's the coffee culture of Vietnam translated here….mostly men, each with his group. Hey, it's almost like high school huh? I'm thinking that it is….only the topics of conversation have probably changed, or perhaps not?

What really motivated me to visit on this bright Sunday morning was a conversation I had with FOY("Friend of Yoso") YummyYummy. Her dad is a regular here so she really has a inside track on the food. She told me that the pork belly banh mi…Ba Chi had really improved over the last year or so. Pork Belly? I'm so there…..

As I walked from my car to Cafe Dore, guess who I see? It's YY's Dad! It was nice seeing him. it had been a while. I told him that the reason I was here…..his daughter's recommendation. He invited me to have coffee with his "group"….very nice, but I had errands to run and food to prep on this morning. He also told me the Ba Chi here is "famous"….

I couldn't wait to have at it. So I opened it eagerly upon arriving home. It's pretty interesting, even though the bread for the banh mi here are from the same source as every other place that doesn't make their own, it's usually pretty fresh and flakey.

The pork was rather thickly cut, not a bad thing, and very moist. The flavor was pretty good, mildly sweet, with a slight swiney flavor. YY had told me that's it's getting better and I'll agree with that.

The pickles are a lot sweeter here than what I remembered and there was some major "jalapeno roulette" going on, with some slices being very mild, but a couple of slices were just explosive. All in all, a nice sandwich, one that I'll return for.

The service was very typical Cafe Dore, guys still play on those "machines" in the back….middle aged guys….hmmmm. It was a nice sandwich for a sunny Sunday….I'd like to tell you the price, but YY's Dad somehow paid for it without me even knowing…… Sneaky, but very nice, it made my day. Make sure to thank your dad for me YY!

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Feeling Lucky? Revisits to Lucky’s Golden Phenix and Pho Lucky

August 3, 2013 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I didn't even notice the connection until I sat down and tried to decide what to write about tonight. As you can probably tell, by all my grammatical errors I do things "stream of consciousness" style. Most of the time, I have no idea what keys I'm gonna hit on the keyboard. The photos of my meals drive the blog post…..and apparently this one is no different! So here goes….

Breakfast at Lucky's:

**** Sadly Lucky Wong passed away at the end of 2024

There's nothing really outstanding about the food at Lucky's. SYSCO sausages, rehydrated hashbrowns…..though he does know how to get the eggs right for me.

The key ingredient, other than the really low prices….everything under five bucks, is Lucky himself. If this were a play, it would be a one man show…..on most days, Lucky does it all himself, serving, cooking, busing, all the while leaving us pearls of wisdom, some of which I've noted in my previous posts on the place. Yet, if you visit enough times, you'll start to notice the humble person behind all of this. You'll also start noticing other things……my buddy Candice noticed that Lucky has a thing about waste…..leave one piece of toast uneaten and he'll make sure you finish it, or take it home with you. Very telling…. As the Chinese Philosopher Cheng Chan-Pao said, "Know you that your bowl of rice each grain from hardship comes?"

Lucky's Breakfast (Golden Phenix)
3804 Grim Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Pho Lucky:

I just recovered from a rather prolonged bout with laryngitis…I felt fine in the mornings, except for some major hoarseness, which kind of wore me down by the end of the day. All I really wanted was something salty, soup, and noodles. There were just so many times I could have ramen…..so one evening, the Missus told me She was craving Pho. It's strange, the Missus was never a big fan of Pho….but something changed this past year.

So we headed up to Pho Lucky and the Missus got Her bowl.

I was a bit torn, would it be Pho or my favorite Banh Mi Bo Kho. I really wanted the tendon, anise, and tomato tones of the beef stew, but I wanted noodles. The solution, Pho Bo Kho……

I'd always kind of avoided this because I thought it would be kind of a halfway, non-committal kind of dish. Which it was in a way….but on this evening, it was just what I wanted and needed.

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

So whaddya know. I got "Lucky" twice in a row!

Pho Fifth Avenue revisited

July 16, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I know, we've been having a bit of a heat wave, what the heck am I doing having pho? Yeah, I guess I've gone around the bend in my old age. Actually, I was recently in the Hillcrest area for a meeting that ended at 1030. I was hungry and having not been back to Pho Fifth Avenue since February of last year, I was kind of curious to see how the place was doing……..

The place served up what I considered to be a decent bowl of pho….and yet I wondered, had they "jumped the shark" or was the pho here still pretty good?

I decided to take my chances on the hope that there would be an open parking space nearby. I lucked out and got one right outside the shop. This must be a good omen, right?

The pho for me here is the filet mignon version. It's not cheap at $9.95 for a small and $11.95 for a large. The other protein offerings seem to favor the gringo's….lot's of meaty cuts and not so much tendon and tripe.

The herbs and bean sprouts were kind of scarce, I asked for some additional basil to bump up the anise flavor in the broth and was gladly given more. The broth had a nice hue and was low-oil. As I previously noted, to me the soup tends to be on the sweet side, though unlike other versions elsewhere, there is a beefy component to it.

You must get the beef on the side for this and the broth must be at the right temperature to lightly, barely cook the meat. Check and check on this visit.

Even the noodles were prepared well, nice chew without being overcooked.

I hate to beat that ol' dead horse, but even the pho in Hillcrest is better than what I've had in Kearny Mesa? There's something just wrong about that.

Pho Fifth Avenue
3807 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

The second location of Paris Bakery opens

July 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Back in April, I mentioned that Paris Bakery was taking over the old Thanh Son Tofu location. Two weeks ago, I noticed they were open. So having to work this past weekend, I decided on dropping by for a "breakfast/lunch" take-out visit.

Having not set foot in this shop in about six years, I'd forgotten just how large the place was. There seemed to be so much open space. It's a far cry from the other location. Yes, I said other location. I recognized the older woman, who was always so chatty. She and the young woman making my sandwich, her daughter, were very talkative on this morning.

Apparently, they've been in need of much more space for a while now, so this location fills the gap. I was told that the other location will still be open, which I found odd since you can literally see the other Paris Bakery if you walk out to the street. Her son will be running that location, her daughter gets the new shop. I mentioned that parking….oh boy…..that triggered a discourse about how bad the parking situation is/was at that location. "People come in to buy a bread and spend two dollars, they walk outside a minute later to find a ticket on their car….it was bad!" No wonder those little old Vietnamese ladies would rush out of the place practically running me over. You don't mess with them; they're tough. In their hands, a simple baguette becomes a deadly weapon.

I ordered two sandwiches ($3.50/each) eating half of each for breakfast than lunch.

Starting with the Dac Biet. The bread for this sandwich was decently crusty and slightly bready as is standard for their baguettes. If you've had a Banh Mi from any shop that makes their own, you've either had it from here or Le Chef Bakery. It's still a bit more dense than I prefer, but not bad.

I'd forgotten that Paris tends to be somewhat heavy handed in the application of mayo at times, which was the case with this sandwich.

With regards to that most enjoyable game of jalapeno roulette….this one was pretty spicy!

There was a good amount of pickled vegetables, which were nice and crisp, though on the mild side. The meat was decent for a banh mi, except that it as ice cold. In terms of proportion, I thought it was good.

I also ordered the Jamon, which I thought was better than the "special" for a couple of reasons.

Apparently the young lady started on a new baguette for this sandwich as the bread was still warm when I got to work. It was nice and flaky/crusty and fairly light.

The amount of "Jamon" was on the small side and it was also very cold, but the flavors of the meat, pickles, cilantro, and pate blended pretty well together. All in all, a decent banh mi.

I actually thought the sandwiches here were better than I remembered. Which means I'll be returning soon. Heck, at the least you'll know that the bread is fresh…or should be fresh. I was told that both shops have the same hours, which means opening early, like around 5am and closing in the late afternoon as well.

Paris Bakery
4616 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Now I've got to check out the Thanh Son Tofu in their new location! Stay tuned!

Another Roadtrip Two-Fer: Pho Tau Bay (Santa Ana) and a revisit to Ngu Binh (Westminster)

July 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

After striking out a couple of times when ordering Banh Cuon from Nhat Vy, the Missus was, well, how to put it……a bit bitter, perhaps? So we decided to jump in the car and head to "the OC" for another one of the those "two stop" roadtrips. Recent trips to Banh Cuon Tay Ho have left us less than satisfied, so I thought a visit to Pho Tau Bay was in order.

Pho Tau Bay:

A very nondescript, one of a million, type shop in (of course) a strip mall. This one actually in Santa Ana and kind of on the outskirts of all that is Little Saigon, at least for me.

A look at the interior and you quickly realize that this could be but one of hundreds of restaurants in the area. The service is to the point, you sit, are dealt a menu, and you order.

There's really only two items to get here and really only two basic savory items on the menu; pho and banh cuon, which we love….."do what you do and (hopefully) do it well".

Of course we came here for the Banh Cuon…Dac Biet – Lon (large – $7.25).

If you're after a huge plate of thick banh cuon topped with all sorts of fried stuffs, you've come to the wrong place. The banh cuon here is wonderfully thin, tender, with a nice stretch, served at a nice warm temp. The two types of cha lua were fine, but I've had better. It's all served with blanched bean sprouts, very nice, "not from a bottle" fried shallots, and pork sung (pork floss). And even though, like Kirbie has said, that I'm perhaps "the one non-vegetarian she knows that doesn't care for pork sung"……it was not bad here…really Kirbie, really!

The Missus and I each had an order.

Pho Tau Bay L.T.T.
3610 W 1st St
Santa Ana, CA 92703

Isn't it nice when a dish takes you back to another time and place? No, it wasn't as good, but good enough to trigger some images…..

You know what? I thought this pork sung was ok too……

Ngu Binh:

The Missus had also been craving the Banh Nam from Ngu Binh. So, of course this was our second "snack" of the roadtrip.

You can read all about that stuff in my previous post. All I have to say about it is, that the Missus loves the rather thin smear of rice flour dough and the flavor of the banana leaves.

As for me….well FOY (Friend of Yoso) "TFD" mentioned the Com Suon Tom Riem….all I knew was this had rice and shrimp, but I took a flier and chanced it. This was a combination of a wonderful high – the rice was perfect, fragrant, and hot. The spare ribs, aren't really "grilled" but braised to a nice tender, but not falling apart stage. The flavor is the wonderful salty-sweet that elevates pork.

The low was that the shrimp was very one note in flavor; spicy and that's it. No nuance, no balance. It was also fishy, overcooked, and tasted like it had been kept past its "due date", if you know what I mean. I'd love to have that pork again. But no on the shrimp.

Still the Missus got Her Banh Nam….and Her Banh Cuon. All was good in the world, at least for the next few hours!

Ngu Binh Restaurant
14072 Magnolia St
Westminster, CA 92683

Nhat Vy Vietnamese Restaurant revisited

July 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Nhat Vy has closed

I first posted on Nhat Vy back in November when they had just opened, and while only one dish stood out, the Banh Cuon, the prices were right and the folks working here were very nice. Over the next couple of months we visited a couple more times. Here's what we found. After a few months they moved things around and even had a grease board put up. Unfortunately, it's hidden behind the palm…..

As you can see, there's a nice representation of items I really enjoy listed, bot chien, banh xeo, and of course, what they make to order, the Banh Cuon.

I brought the Missus right after my initial post and She was sold……granted, not the best Banh Cuon in the world, but good by San Diego standards. That would be thin, slightly stretchy……

The goi cuon, on the other hand is nothing to write home about……

Too much bun…with iceberg lettuce (!). Dirt cheap though at $2.25 for two.

We returned for the Banh Cuon, but were shut out on subsequent trips, which gave us a chance to try other items on the menu.

The Bun Tom, vermicelli with shrimp was quite good according to the Missus.

Shrimp plump and juicy and the bun prepared well.

On this trip I tried the Bun Mam ($7).

In the case of Bun Mam, I expect a rich, funky, complex, almost heavy broth broth, full bodied with the flavor of fermented shrimp paste almost bubbling to the surface creating what I call an "umami bomb". This was pretty weak. The broth seemed to be the kitchen's standard issue soup broth with some mam nem dumped in it. Not much else to say, other than this really isn't bun mam.

We returned the following week, hoping for Banh Cuon…..my pronunciation of certain Vietnamese words can be almost tragically funny. Like I've often said…."I barely speak English and you want me to try a six-tone language?" So I've started typing the words out on my iPhone showing the folks working here what I want. Well, no Banh Cuon on this visit either…….

So the Missus ordered the Banh Xeo.

We were both surprised when not one, but two crepes were brought out. Along with the veggies and herbs, this was quite a bit of food. These were ok, the scant pork really tough and the meager shrimp overcooked and rubbery. If I recall, this was like about five bucks….really cheap. But we'd have preferred a smaller portion with a better product.

I decided to try the simple bot chien, but it was a "no go". So I went with the Bánh canh giò heo ($7) a clear broth soup with pigs feet.

This was their standard issue clear broth with some well prepared and slippery rice/tapioca flour noodles. There were two smallish pieces of pig's feet which was pretty tender, but nothing special. The broth was light on flavor, but kind of heavy on the MSG as I started to puff up a bit after the soup.

After striking out twice on the Banh Cuon, the Missus and I concocted a strategy. I'd park in front, motor running, the Missus would walk in the door and ask if they had Banh Cuon today. If not, She'd thank them and we'd be on our way. That way, we'd minimize wasting time and calories on dishes we really didn't want.

After coming up empty handed three more times we just gave up. The folks here are nice, but there's just really one item on the menu we want, and they never seem to have it anymore. Too bad…….

Nhat Vy Vietnamese Restaurant
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Noodling Around: Revisits to Pho Tay Do, Santouka, Minh Ky, and having something that’s “just wrong” at Pho Cow Cali

June 23, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Somewhere at about the half-way point during our trips, the Missus always asks me, "are you missing anything?" And usually, it's noodles. Strangely, on our last vacation we ate so well that I only started missing noodles, at the end of our trip……yes, I realize we were in Rome and all, but it was Asian noodles, in any form….

Anyway, here's a short collection of revisits…..

Pho Tay Do:

**** Pho Tay Do has closed

I first posted on Pho Tay Do back in 2010, Cathy followed up a year later. For some reason my mind just blanks out places in this strip mall; I'm not sure why.

I actually hadn't been back here in over a year and was wondering what the state of the Bun Mang Vit – The Duck and Bamboo Shoot Noodle Soup was.

There were a couple of tables occupied when I arrived, but the interior was pretty dark. I guess they're trying to keep the energy bill down.

I ordered the Bun Mang Vit which arrived in the blink of an eye.

I don't know how business is, nor how the current state of the economy or anything else is affecting this place, but in terms of what I had it seems to have fallen.

The broth wasn't hot and had very little flavor. There was hardly eny of the earthy reconstituted dried bamboo and maybe 2/3 of the noodles of the bowl I last had here. The portion of dipping sauce was smaller and though it still has a nice hint of ginger, it too tastes watered down.

The slices of duck are smaller and very dry. Even though the place never provided an abundance of herbs in their greens, this was just about all cabbage……

This was pretty sorry overall and a mere shadow of what I'd had in previous visits. Sad…..

Pho Tay Do
5296 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Santouka (for the zillionth time):

Yeah, I know…I won't even post the links. A couple of weeks back, I took my coworker, "YZ" to Yamadaya, I was interested in what She thought.

On this visit, the pork cheek was spot on, tender and full of flavor. The noodles were done perfectly as well. Hard combination to beat.

So when I quizzed Her, the opinion was pretty much the same as ours. Pork and noodles Santouka, broth Yamadaya. So I guess it depends on what you're in the mood for, right?

The Missus asked me if the perfect ramen existed? I could only shrug my shoulders……

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

Minh Ky:

Yes, Beef Sate Noodle – Dry, again:

Needless to say….it delivered as expected.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho Cow Cali:

Before we left on our trip, the Missus was strangely craving Pho….something that rarely happens as I'm the Pho eater in the family. The craving lasted for a couple of weeks and there's just so many times you can go to Pho Lucky. The Missus can be a rather hard nut though…..once She finds something She likes it's hard to convince Her to try something else. I did explain to Her that Pho Cow Cali's protein was better and that they had Filet Mignon Pho!

Which was just fine for Her….however, once She saw this on the menu:

She determined that I just had to have the Com Tam Dac Biet….without com tam (broken rice). And so it came to pass that I had mine with brown rice.

First, let me explain that I'm not a fan of brown rice. Then to add insult to injury, they charge you $1 more. Of course they probably don't sell too much brown rice, so this took forever……it was also very low quality. The Bi was good, the pork chop and cha ok, the brown rice, just wrong. Nuff said….I tried it once.

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

COMC: Revisits to those same old places – Izakaya Sakura, Pho King, Minh Ky, Kayaba, Pho Lucky, and Buga

May 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

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.

Roadtrip two-fer Part 2: Ngu Binh Restaurant – Westminster (Orange County)

May 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants

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

Pho Weather: The Pho Shop and Pho Point Loma

May 6, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

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