Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 37

Revisits to Da Nang Food to Go and Pho Viet Cali almost seven years later….

February 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It's quite easy to fall into a routine, going back to those places that have proven to be "tried and true" or convenient. This year, I'm trying to make it a point to revisit some of those places that had kind of slipped from my mind for one reason or another. Here are two places that I last visited in….are you ready? 2006……man, I've put a whole lot of miles on the odometer since then. What were you doing in 2006?

Da Nang Food to Go:

**** Da Nang Food to Go has closed

It's easy for this place to just kind of slip your mind. Located in a teeny spot next to a 7-11 and a jewelry store on El Cajon Boulevard, it's one of those blink and you'll be past it kind of places. Add to that the fact that there now only seem to be five parking stalls(down from 7) now available…….

The place looks just about the same as our visit back in 2006. Same wood siding, same tables, same chairs…..

Menu prices seem to have gone up about a buck….not bad really.

The food is based on Central Vietnamese specialities; Bun Bo Hue, Banh Beo, Banh Bot Loc, that kind of thing. Feeling kind of hungry I started with some Banh Bot Loc ($4); which I thought were pretty good all those years ago.

These were huge by Banh Bot Loc standards and the tapioca flour based wrappers were way too gummy for my taste. There was a nice piece of shrimp inside, but these dumplings were just too much wrapper.

Of course I had to try the Bun Bo Hue ($5.95), which arrived appropriately steaming hot.

Strange, but I noticed that the usual pork hock was MIA in this bowl. The noodles were pleasantly slippery and firm, and the herbs, sprouts, and vegetables were fresh, though it was mostly bean sprouts, lettuce, and cabbage.

The soup seemed a bit odd to me; it was very sweet and lacking in spice. The thick cut meats were in attendance, but there was nary a piece of tendon to be found…… I wonder if they "gringo-ized" this? I still enjoyed the Gio Lua here, the nice peppery flavor and meatyness makes it one of my favorite versions.

I do want to try other items on the menu, if I can remember to return. Funny thing, I mentioned this place to MrQ…..even though he grew up near by, he hadn't a clue this place existed. Da Nang Food to Go is funny in that way I guess.

Da Nang Food to Go (aka Quan an Da Nang)
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho Viet Cali:

*** Pho Viet Cali has closed

Here's another place that I visited back in 2006. I really didn't care for the Pho, but I was on the West side of Mira Mesa Boulevard, so I thought why not?

Like Quan an Da Nang, this place looks just like it did in March of 2006.

Pho Viet Cali has remained in my memory because it was the first place where I saw Pho for over six bucks….a threshold that's long been passed by most places. So now a $6.95 bowl of pho doesn't faze me.

I got the #4 – Well Done Steak, Flank, Brisket, Tendon, and Tripe.

Man, other than the noodles….and the soup being hot, this was pretty bad. The soup was on the unpleasant side, bitter, and quickly gave me the MS heebie-geebies…..I've got a decent tolerance of the stuff, but this was too much. I recall the bowls having a good amount of meat, but things have apparently changed.

I guess the tripe and tendon were out sick on this day and the flank had that stale "ice-box" flavor that made it inedible.

Instead of going through this in excruciating detail….I think I'll stop here. I'm sure you get the picture, right?

Pho Viet Cali
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. #113
San Diego, CA 92121

I'm hoping for better luck next time……

COMC: Never made the cut edition

February 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs, Korean Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Just C(learing)O(ut the)M(emory)C(ard) time again. Here are a bunch of dishes that never quite made the cut for one reason or another.

Along with not making the cut for a post, these were rather "undelicious" if there is such a word.

Anyway, here goes……

This Banh Xeo looked plastic……

And pretty much tasted it……

Since folks already know I'm not a fan….I don't feel like rubbing it in.

Even one of our favorite Korean Restaurants is not immune. This Kimchi Pajun was greasy, soggy, and tasted off.

So is our favorite Thai place…. This Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice was indeed spicy; more like 10 then the 5 I ordered.

It was like the rice had just been passed quickly through oil….though the shrimp were very nice.

They called these "Italian Ribs".

They were as tough as they looked……

This Combination Egg Noodle Soup cost eight bucks………and was quite bad.

Even beyond looking like stuff was just thrown into the soup, the broth was lukewarm and the noodles strangely mushy.

Meet a $7 TJ Hot Dog.

So much stuff!

This Bo Luc Lac, was Beef no luck….tough and really salty.

Well…..that's it…..not much, I know.

I hope everyone had a great week!

I think it's time for a "guilty pleasure" run.

Pho-raging around Kearny Mesa: Pho T Cali, Pho Mignon and Grill, Pho Cali, Pho Fusion, Phuong Trang, Pho Convoy Noodle House, and Viet Bakery and Pho

January 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of months ago, I was having a particularly terrible bowl of Pho in the Kearny Mesa area. Thinking I'd try to be especially witty, I texted "aw-pho", sorry, it was a bad pun exacerbated by bad soup, to a bunch of my friends. Which started a terrible round of bad phopuns lasting almost two days….I think it ended when I texted something using "pho-lam-bouyant", yikes! The one sane person in all of this, "Yummy Yummy" set me off on a mission with one profound statement, "yes,it's sad that there's no good pho in Kearny Mesa." Really…..really??!!?? Then I stopped and thought about it…..perhaps she was right. I had to find out for myself. So I ended up going to seven different pho shops in the next two weeks….sorry, at the end, I just couldn't see myself going to Quoc Te….I was "pho-ride"…my apologies for that one!

After all of this, I had to think about how to do a post……I mean really, there was the possibility of maybe 2,000 words (I'm alread past 170). So pardon me if I just kind of blaze through these, ok? Plus, I'm still suffering from P(ost) T(raumatic) M(SG)D(disorder).

Pho T Cali:

**** Pho T Cali has closed

This is the place that got me posting "aw-pho".

Broth that looked, and sort of tasted like dishwater…..salty dishwater, with very little beef flavor, and not much else. Mushy overcooked noodles. Though the cuts in this, flank and brisket especially were decent, but I had to send out a search party for my tendon. Oh, let's add insult to injury, the scallions in the broth were turning brown as well.

Actually, this is almost exactly the same as my last bowl here, so this can't really be a fluke, right?

Formula in the perfunctory service. Sad….

Pho T Cali
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Mignon + Grill:

I gotta say, the service here is nice….perhaps not efficient, but very nice. Still, I haven't had much luck here. It's kind of bad when the best item you've had from a shop with Pho in it's name are the french fries. I've struck out twice on the filet pho, so I went with the "trolley bowl", which according to the menu is "flank, well done steak, tripe, tendon, and meatballs".

Man, there's something about this broth that I find strange, beyond how it's totally defatted. This time around it had a burnt shallot flavor with a "tinny" finish.

The noodles were fine, the proteins mediocre, except for the tendon which was pretty good, and I still haven't figured out why the ngo om with pho? I'm missing something here.

Sorry, I just couldn't do the broth at all……I hate to waste, but this just doesn't agree with me.

I love the idea of craft brews…..the service is sometimes a bit scatter-brained, but always nice. But man, I just don't like that pho.

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Cali & Grill:

**** Pho Cali and Grill is now Pho Duyen Mai

Man, it's been a while since I've been here.

This would have been totally MOR (middle of the road) pho, if not for the super salty broth…..super salty, as in there wasn't enough lime to cut the salt. And the meat being on the dry and tough side.

The noodles were clumped, but fine….but man, this was salty.

Pho Cali and Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Fusion:

Man, here's another place I haven't been to in a while.

This really looked like a lighter version of Pho Mignon….I really didn't have high hopes for it. The broth had a very mild beef flavor and was pretty weak overall. The noodles were done well and I gotta say, this was the best tendon I had while doing this. The rest of the assorted protein wasn't too bad, though the flank cuts are on the dry and tough side.

I also should say that the service I received was very good. My water refilled twice and when I looked at the rather skimpy amount of herbs and bean sprouts, the young man told me, "please let me know if you want more, we'd be happy too…."

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Phuong Trang:

What to say about the poster child for MOR (Middle of the Road) Pho, other then man, has it really been three years since I had Pho here?

This place has usually been consistent, though on this visit the broth was rather cloudy. The broth is rather light on the beef, but at least you can make out hints of anise-onion-clove. Noodles were fine.

The meat was meh…….flank tough, tripe soapy tasting and scant in quantity, tendon tough and not much of it….you get the picture.

The older gentleman who always used to make me laugh wasn't here. In his place was a very friendly young man……..who I thought was quite charming….until he brought me a fork for my pho? Lets call it what it is….a "pho-pa"….

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Convoy Noodle House:

**** Convoy Noodle House has closed

This used to be a dependable stop, but I was sorely disappointed on my last visit. I wondered, was that a fluke? So I had the same thing, #2, well done steak, flank, fatty brisket, tendon, and tripe.

And while the broth had recovered a bit…..slight beef flavor, mild anise, still a mere shadow of what I recalled; the meat, especially the already chewy flank….was almost inedible and without flavor.

The noodles were fine….but I still remembered the pho being much better here. I'm not sure what happened.

Pho Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Viet Bakery and Pho:

*** Viet Bakery and Pho has closed

Based on my previous visits, I really wasn't looking forward to having pho here. But since the place had "pho" in its name (though probably based on pho ga), I thought it only proper to grab a bowl here. The shop had undergone a major overhaul with regards to looks since my last visit. It looks less like a bakery and more like a proper restaurant.

There really fussy menu has been replaced with something perhaps a bit too spartan, but perhaps that's the right fit. And i'm sure you can get any combination of items you really want. I went with the "Pho Viet", with rare beef, brisket, and meat balls.

I really don't like having preconceptions when having a meal at a restaurant, but based on history, perhaps I expected the worst. This was actually not bad….not good, but not bad. The broth was on the cloudy side, but had a decent beef flavor. It was light with regards to the anise-clove component, but at least wasn't too salty.

The meat, being the rare steak or the brisket didn't appeal to me, being tough and dry. The meatballs tasted exactly the same as what Mignon Pho served. The noodles were a bit overcooked for my taste.

Still, this was much better than anticipated.

Viet Bakery & Pho
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

So there it is…….. and after having all these bowls of pho, I can only conclude that "YY" is pretty much correct. And after thinking about it; whenever I think about having a nice bowl of pho, places in Kearny Mesa never come to mind.

What do you think?

It’s soup weather: Mien Trung, Ramen Yamadaya, Sushi Yaro, Roseville Cozinha

January 3, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Is it just me, or does it seem that the weather's a bit colder this year? Brrrrr……. It's obviously time for something like this.

Actually, it's been a hot comforting bowl of noodle soup that I've been craving. My mother nce told me that during the her pregnancy she constantly craved noodles and soup. It's no wonder I was practically screaming for saimin from the time the pediatrician slapped me on the behind!

I've been purposely passing by the local bank every morning. They have one of those clocks-slash-temperature displays. The other morning; I go to work early, it read 39 degrees! 39 degrees! I won't vouch for the accuracy of the temperature, or time (it always seems off 2-3 minutes), but it did seem mighty cold…..especially for us wimpy San Diegans. Still, it wasn't like the hail and frost in Cathy's neighborhood…..but more than enough for me to start hunting down noodle soup! Here are a few recent bowls.

Mien Trung:

When it gets cold and I need a little kick in the pants, I go to Mien Trung for a bracing bowl of Bun Bo Hue. I believe I've hit just about every place that serves BBH in the San Diego area, and Mien Trung comes out on top.

The bowls do vary on visits. Sometimes it's more spicy, there are times when I find they've gone a bit too far with the MSG. But as whole, it always hits the spot. On this day, it was the normal scalding hot that BBH should always be to take care of the shredded greens and herbs, the MSG level was rather low, the spiciness on medium low………

And it was just right for me……..

I was also lucky that I wore dark colors…..no visible little red dots after slurping up those noodles!

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

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

I had thoughts of going to Yakyudori for some ramen, but my last couple ramen visits haven't gone too well, and I wanted something a bit richer. It had been a while and since it wasn't a zillion degrees outside, I thought it was time for another visit. It's still fairly warm inside; great during winter, but I'm not too sure how things will be when summer rolls around.

Ordering for me was easy…well relatively, I do like the curry here, but it was a warming bowl of rick tonkotsu style ramen I was looking for. I'm not a big fan of the chashu here, but wanted to check it out again. I hedged my bets and went with the Kotteri Ramen, an extra "fatty", I like to use the word rich broth, with a side of kakuni pork. Slow cooked pork belly.

The broth had that nice tongue coating richness I enjoy….not greasy, but nice and rich. It also wasn't as salty as on previous visits. The noodles were too soft and mushy this time around….I'm toying with idea of getting them extra firn next time. The chashu is tragically tough, dry, and low on the flavor scale for me….better to go with the kakuni, which was unfortunately ice cold….guess I'll order the kakuni ramen, kotteri…..

I could go on a bit more….but I won't bore you with the minutae. It did the job, that's the main thing.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Soki Soba at Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

My buddy Sam has ramen and all kinds of other stuff on the menu now. For me, the best noodle soup he serves is the soki soba, an Okinawan noodle soup, served with "soki", simmered spare ribs.

The only other version I've had of this; at an Okinawan Restaurant on Oahu was a bit different and yet the same. The noodles there were wide noodles; here it's udon, but was cooked perfectly. The broth like this was dashi/kombu based. I enjoyed the spicy vinegar provided, it help to balance out the broth, which teetered on the high sodium end. There were two riblets here, though they had pretty much melted to pieces. Still, I was surprised that Sam did a pretty good job with this….I'll have it again.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Cioppino at Roseville Cozinha:

**** Roseville Cozinha has closed

The Missus said I should give stew some equal time. I think She meant I needed to mention the cioppino She enjoyed recently at Roseville Cozinha.

She loved it……..it had a nice zing to it, but wasn't too rich. Well flavored seafood based broth too. Nice fresh seafood.

She enjoyed the simple, pure flavors of the shrimp in this as well.

But that's not a soup or stew so I can't count it.

Roseville Cozinha
2750 Dewey Rd Suite 104 (Liberty Station)
San Diego, CA 92106

So tell me….what have you been eating to keep warm?

Revisits in photos: Golden City, Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista), Izakaya Sakura, 777 Noodlehouse, Sieu Sieu BBQ, and Pho Lucky

December 12, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Been in a bit of a rut recently and have just been hitting the same old places. I mentioned this to an acquaintance of mine who asked me what I’ve been eating recently. I told him, “not much, the same old boring stuff”. He then asked me what and where and I ticked off most of these places. He looked at me and said, “your routine is nothing like my routine, nor is it like anyone else I know.” Maybe, but it’s been pretty boring for me lately….though I can’t say eating has been terrible.

Golden City:

**** Golden City has closed

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Hiep & Grill:

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

Izakaya Sakura:

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

777 Noodle House:

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Sieu Sieu BBQ:

A quick comment….never been a favorite, but I must have ht the jackpot with the roast pork on this trip because it was moist, the skin thin and crunchy. The char siu was the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, mediocre-ness.

Also of note….when did they start wiping their tables down with bleach!!! The place has only been open four years and is starting to look run down.

Yikes…..

Sieu Sieu BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Lucky:

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

Hope you’re having a great week!

Que Huong-Lunch with Friends

December 4, 2012 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

It's Tuesday and mmm-yoso!!! is getting through the week with another post by Cathy. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are just plain busy.

Kirk first posted about Que Huong in August 2005. He subsequently had a series of three posts devoted to the food here in 2008 and he has mentioned some of the dishes, particularly the chicken wings, in other posts (you can use that 'Search" box on the top left of this page) there are 1670 mentions on this blog. The Mister and I had been to this location before 2005, when it was a dim sum restaurant (and I wasn't taking photos of our meals, much less blogging). In August, fellow blogger (on hiatus) Sawyer was in town, working for his Internship and Kirk, Carol, Dennis and I met up with him at Que Huong early on a Sunday morning for a wonderful celebratory feast.
Located in the corner space of a mini mall, behind the Burger King parking lot on the North side of University at Marlborough, the exterior is deceiving.

Que Huong has a very large interior behind the steel corner door barred location, the tables and chairs always are elegantly covered – for lunch and dinner- and the interior seems quieter and less hurried than most Vietnamese Restaurants.

Kirk did the ordering since he knew what he -and we- would like. The menu is mind-numbingly large and includes several types of wild game meats and is not anything like a Pho Restaurant. At all.

The pork and shrimp jackfruit salad arrived at the table topped with a sesame rice cracker.

It looks like this. It's tangy and made with canned jackfruit (which isn't mushy, but firm…kind of al dente, as are all the vegetables). It's topped with a bit of nuoc mam (fish sauce).

Kirk ordered the table both tamarind and fish sauce chicken wings. If you've read his posts, you know he thinks the chicken wings here are the best in San Diego. I agree. The wings are crispy and light and coated perfectly. It was extremely difficult to decide which was better…it was a matter of if you like a bit sweet or a bit more pungent. I will say I will never order hot sauce/BBQ sauce/honey anything wings anyplace else ever again.

The seasoned periwinkle in coconut curry sauce was another great item. The periwinkles are cut on both ends, so you can easily suck the meat out and enjoy the sweet-spicy sauce. The herb on top is Vietnamese coriander (rau ram). There were about six of the little shelled creatures and some of the sauce left over and I brought those home to The Mister, who really enjoyed the flavors melded in this dish.

This was a salad of minced wild boar sauteed with lemongrass and red and green peppers, topped with the sesame rice cracker. The herb on top has a cumin flavor. This was surprisingly wonderful and mildly addictive. The boar flavor wasn't too distinct or odd…I got more texture out of it and enjoyed the melding of all the flavors.

Snapper flavored with dill and turmeric is a classic Vietnamese dish: cha ca thang long. It's served with that plate of goodies at the top- rice noodles, lettuce, perilla leaves, cucumber, pickled carrot, pineapple and mint. this is a meal for two all by itself. Seriously good.

Above is the catfish Hot Pot, photographed after some of the contents had been removed and the sizzle had stopped. The fish was tender and fresh flavored (not muddy, as sometimes happens with catfish) and a piece of pork belly lined the bottom of the pot. The sauce was sticky of course, but had a deep flavor of fish sauce in addition to the sweet. I wish I wasn't so full and could have eaten more. All in all, great food shared with great friends.

Of course, I returned, with The Mister, for lunch. We started out with the papaya salad. Fresh, crispy, able to taste all the flavors which were perfectly melded together. Just enough heat for us.

We chose to share the fish sauce chicken wings, because …well… we just wanted to try one flavor and The Mister asked me to choose. My choice was savory. Perfectly crispy wings, perfectly sauced and served with a salt-pepper-lime juice for dipping.

The Mister wanted to see the version of Bahn Xeo that Que Huong makes. We ordered it as soon as we sat down, knowing it takes a while to make.

A perfect light, crispy, rice flour-turmeric based pancake, filled with bean sprout, onion, pork and shrimp. Airy and crispy, wrapped in lettuce leaves with mint added. An excellent version.

We enjoy Que Huong and it has become a regular stop when we are in the neighborhood. It's just a bit nicer with better food and offerings than some other places.

Que Huong 4134 University Avenue San Diego 92105 (619) 281-6008

Po & Pho -Next to H Mart in Mira Mesa (part 1: pho)

November 16, 2012 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Po and Pho has closed. There won't be a part 2.

Hi. The page you are reading is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with Thanksgiving planning. Cathy appears to be organized for Thanksgiving, so she is blogging today.

The highly anticipated Korean Grocer, H-Mart, will have a Grand Opening on the 17th (in the old Ralphs location on Mira Mesa Boulevard near the 15). The Mister and I were thinking there might be a 'soft' opening a few days sooner and drove there the other day, but the store was still getting organized. Since we were already in that parking lot and it was close to lunch time, we decided to try the newest restaurant of the six in that parking lot.

There- all the way on the left of the above photo- the small storefront "Po and Pho". Seven tables inside and one table out front, seating for about 20, this clean shop serves a combination of New Orleans-Po Boy sandwiches, gumbo and Vietnamese-pho, noodles and rice plates. There is also a small breakfast menu, extensive beverage menu and the menu includes catering items that are not offered on the regular menu.

The take out business was bustling when we were here, but when we sat down to read the take out menu, a nice Young Lady walked over to take our eat-in order. I'm not sure if we were supposed to order and pay and sit down or not…

In any case, since it was a chilly morning and the sun still had not peeked through the clouds, I ordered a bowl of chicken pho (one size only $6.25).

This was a very good, very large bowl of pho. The broth was clear, not too oily and had good flavor on its own. The noodles were mostly loose, barely in a clump. The chicken was plentiful, included the liver and was accompanied by the fresh dipping sauce (nuoc cham) made of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and sugar. The onions and cilantro and ground pepper toppings, when mixed part way through my meal, along with the (very fresh) add-ins transformed the the bowl into even more fresh flavors.
The Mister was torn about what he wanted to order- there are 13 sandwich offerings in addition to three types of Po'Boy offered (shrimp or chicken or fish). We saw a *very* large sandwich being shared at another table and the bread was not close to bahn mi in size and decided we could share one at another meal. At the bottom of the "Noodles and Soups" section of the menu Seafood Gumbo ($5) was listed. That also sounded good on this cold day. The bowl is smaller than my bowl of pho, but it should be. The rich sauce, filled with crawfish, shrimp, crab and smoked sausage covers a good amount of broken rice and fresh okra. This was one of the best gumbos I've tasted in a long time.

We'll be stopping here again, for a Po'Boy, ideally avoiding crowds.

Po & Pho 9430 Mira Mesa Boulevard, Suite 5C San Diego 92126 (858) 271-8988 Website

Nhat Vy Vietnamese Restaurant

November 14, 2012 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Nhat Vy has closed

Back in December of last year, I posted on Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco. The meal was not quite up to par and the place looked really, well, almost temporary. In fact, I wrote "I'm not sure how this place is going to do……." in the last paragraph of the post. A couple of months later they were gone and a sign went up for a new Vietnamese restaurant, which opened this past summer named Nhat Vy.

Driving past, I have to honestly say I didn't get too worked up about the Pho-Banh Mi-Coffee sign. I mean, it's not like we're short of places that serve the stuff in the area, right? About a week later, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check them out. I remained uninspired when I entered the place and saw the steam table set-up. But changed my mind when I was handed the menu. Banh Hoi….Banh Cuon…Bun Rieu…. my pulse quickened. Only to come crashing to earth when told they didn't have any of those dishes on this morning. Man, I really wanted some Banh Cuon. I had been going through photos of our trip to Vietnam and kept running into photos of Banh Cuon, in Sapa, Hanoi, and even Bac Ha. I was bummed….

So what to do when your first three choices aren't available? I went with the sign and the Pho Dac Biet ($6.99).

Which was pretty unremarkable. I recall the broth being kind of "scummy" and cloudy, the flavor being very mild, and the noodles a bit too soft.

The meat was just about average….total middle of the road stuff, nothing to get excited about. Plus, it was a thousand degrees even at 8 in the morning, which really didn't help matters.

This being the middle of July, I really couldn't bring myself to go back. Here was a one-shot deal that would end up in one of my COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) posts.

And yet, the menu stuck with me……seeing the other items kind of kept nagging away. Until almost exactly three months later, when things had cooled down, I decided on dropping by for an early breakfast. By this time the menu had morphed into a multi-page deal with photos. Sad thing was there was no Banh Cuon to be seen.

This was pretty early in the morning and I wasn't feeling like Bun Rieu, so I went with Bun Rieu's lighter cousin, Canh Bun ($7).

My first impression of the broth was really positive, it seemed light, not too "crabby", I did add some mam nem which is kindly provided, this really added some umami punch. The herbs were fresh and the quantity good. The noodles were firm and wonderfully slippery, the ong choi (water spinach), added a nice crunch and substance to this. Loved the fried tofu, the shrimp cake didn't have enough flavor for me, but was veyr light in texture. I could have done without the "oc" (periwinkles), of which there was a generous amount….these were just too chewy.

About halfway through I started feeling the effects of MSG….not over-powering, but enough to know it's there. Still, I thought this was decent and even sent a photo to my good FOY (Friend of Yoso), "YummyYummy". I guess the photo must have looked great because they marched right over and ate.

YY reported back that the Bun Rieu was quite good and the Banh Cuon, which they make in house and takes a while, was also worth a try. Banh Cuon? But I hadn't seen that on the menu? What the heck? So a couple of weeks later I headed over for some breakfast. The dining area is tiny and I've only seen other customers on one occasion.

Having arrived ravenous, I ordered the Bun Moc ($7) and then attempted to order the Banh Cuon, which isn't on the menu to the very sweet woman serving me. I say attempted because it took me four tries to get the pronunciation even close to where she could understand me. Yet she patiently stood there and helped me work this through.

The weather was just driving my sinuses into the ground, so this nice, clear soup was just what I needed.

The herbs where ever so fresh, the broth was indeed pretty mild and I really couldn't make out the "mushroom" flavor. There was a ton of protein in it, cha lua, meatballs, and a fairly surprising piece of pork spare rib. I looked at that piece of meat, which should have had "Goodyear" written on its side and then took a bite…..I was surprised at how tender it was.

And then of course, there was the Banh Cuon ($6). At long last.

It wouldn't be a stretch(no pun intended) to say that this is the best Banh Cuon in terms of texture in San Diego. The rice noodle is nice and thin and not too sticky. There's just the right amount of "pull" to it. The pork is fairly bland and while I like cha lua, this one is fairly bland. The nuoc mam cham has good spice, but other than that is fairly bland. The rau ram and blanched bean sprouts complemented the dish well, as did the fried shallots.

It matches up favorably with what I've had before.

Before leaving, I mentioned that banh cuon was not in the menu….the woman picked up a menu and looked through it. And sure enough, it isn't! We both had a laugh and she walked me to the steam table and pointed to the photo of the banh cuon and told me, "you come and point next time, ok?" I couldn't help but crack-up.

So there you go….I got my banh cuon, time to move on, right? Well not so fast….this past weekend the Missus was sleeping and YY and her hubby, MrQ had mentioned that they really enjoyed the Bun Rieu here……so of course:

I got the bun rieu. What I really like is that different sets for herbs are served for the pho versus the bun moc, versus the bun rieu. This was a fresh assortment of rau ram, perilla, banana blossom, and even some fishy-funky diếp cá.

As for the broth, it's much lighter and less complex then the rather heady version at Mien Trung. Personally, I prefer the stronger seafood-tomato flavors in that bun rieu. On the flip side, this one seems to have a lot less MSG….at least on this day.

For some reason I like the fried tofu here; it's nice a creamy. I'm still not a big fan of the "oc" in this as well.

It was "three for three" as again the noodles were prepared well….they also used the thinner bun, the appropriate noodle for bun rieu.

I'd easily have this again…….

I'm hoping this place does well. The folks here are really nice, but there's a real shortage of parking on the street….actually there's a couple of stalls in the back of the place as well. This location is not the best, as proven by Aqui el Jalisco's short run and the previous shop at this location, The Torta Factory.

Over the years I've seen my share of Vietnamese Restaurants that I've enjoyed going to, that are just not able to make it. Sometimes, like Huynh Hoa Tuu, they serve great stuff, then suddenly shut down and leave town. Or like Nam An, they start strong but are not able to sustain the quality, service, or portions….I'm still fairly certain that they won't reopen. I hope I'm wrong. And I hope that Nhat Vy sticks around…..

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

Sau Voi Deli

October 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Sau Voi Deli has closed.

This is probably the only Banh Mi place in the area I haven't posted on. Mostly because I'm not the biggest fan of the place. But recently, I decided to just go ahead and give it a try again. For those that don't know Sau Voi Deli; it's the little shop inside the 99 Ranch Market structure.

The place is starting to look even more worn recently and the folks who run the place seemed to have aged a bit as well. Things don't go too quickly here, you just order and kick back and wait for your sandwich.

I ordered the Dac Biet just to get some feel of how they're making banh mi nowadays.

To be fair, the sandwiches are pretty hefty for the price ($3.75), the bread seemed pretty fresh and it was perfectly toasted….not toasted to bits where it shreds your palate.

There's a ton of pickled veggies as well, though I didn't care for the flavor.

I think you can tell the problem I had with this sandwich……man, it was so D-R-Y….really. The proteins had the texture of rousong, which I guess is ok if you like the stuff. And you may well like it that way, since I've been told by Kirbie that I'm the only person she knows of who doesn't like the stuff! It's also pretty flavorless. Look, I'm the first to say when there's too much mayo or spread on my banh mi, but this was just too dry. What mayo the sandwich had was spread over one thin line near the edge of the bread. Even the cilantro looked wilted….

Of course, being the glutton for punishment I am, in the spirit of fairness, I returned to try something else. This time the pork (cha lua) and shrimp (cha tom)cake banh mi ($4).

This time along with the bread, everything else seemed a bit fresher, but the cha lua, which has almost a light smokey flavor to my palate was like rubber and the cha tom, while decent, having a mild shrimpy flavor, this still didn't satisfy me.

I'm looking for a certain proportion of ingredients and flavors….I don't want a super-stuffed sandwich, just one that fulfills my sense of balance and this really didn't do it for me. I mean, they'll do a decent job of filling you up, but to me not much more. Kind of sad actually……

Sau Voi Deli
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Midweek Meanderings: Is Nam An Closed? What about Luong Hai Ky on Convoy? And other stuffs…..

September 19, 2012 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, is Nam An Closed or What?:

Was the question posed to me by "Peter" on my original post on Nam An. I was kinda surprised, I know that Nam An had gotten away from serving lunch, but didn't know they had closed for the always ominous "renovations". So I placed a call to a very reliable source who told me that even though the sign says under renovation, the placed has closed down. Sad, this place had potential, but the folks running it had really no restaurant experience and though we enjoyed some of the dishes the service was spotty at best.

We visited a couple of months back and the signs were already there. It seemed that prices had gone up a bit, not a terrible sign in this economy, but we had also noticed that the portion had gotten noticeably smaller.

For me, it wasn't the regular menu of noodle and rice dishes that I enjoyed at Nam An. Rather, it was the appetizer menu that really made things interesting. Sadly, it now seems that there's no good Vietnamese in the area bordered by Aero Drive, the 52, the 15 and the I-5.

Personally, I hope Nam An gives it another shot……but things just don't look promising.

Speaking of which, what's going on with Luong Hai Ky?:

I actually went to check out a different restaurant in that strip mall and noticed that LHK wasn't open. Which was odd since from what I recall the place is open seven days a week from 10 to 10.

The photo above was taken close to noon when I drove by to check things out. Still not open. Well, I wouldn't be surprised, LHK was never the same after the original owner passed away. LHK opened a second restaurant in Mira Mesa and this location became the ill-fated Phat Restaurant. Which eventually failed and the location turned back to Luong Hai Ky. So now what? Well, I dunno….

Meanwhile, since we're on a losing streak:

The place I went to check out is called Apple Korean House.

MrsZ mentioned this place to me, so I wanted to check it out. The hours 5pm yo 2am made it seem like one of the soju houses, but I wanted to see. Of course, with my recent luck….wouldn't you know…..

Well, at least this one is a "small remodeling"…so hopefully they're open already.

But with my recent luck……..