Man, has it been a year since I last visited Mien Trung? Sheesh. Mien Trung had been a fairly regular stop since I first visited over 17 years ago! I always think about the late "Ed from Yuma" when I visit. It was always a favorite of his. Of course, much has happened over the years; "Mom" who made the soup "Dad" who ran the front of house have both retired. There have been times when the Bun Bo Hue just wasn't up to par. Still, over the last couple of visits, things seem to have been corrected. With the recent cold spell, I had been wanting some Bun Bo Hue and even the Missus, who stopped going when Mien Trung changed the noodles for Her beloved Bun Rieu and then She found that She enjoyed the Bun Rieu from Phuong Nga more. Well, She decided to come along to see how the Bun Rieu fared these days.
We dropped by at 10am on a Sunday for an early lunch and were the only folks in the place.
The Missus ordered a small Bun Rieu ($12).
Which the Missus didn't care for. The noodles used were those for the Bun Bo Hue, not the typical thin bun used for Bun Rieu. The broth lacked the crabby savoriness and mild sweet-acidity of tomato the Missus enjoys. It was fairly high in the MSG department. Other than the saltiness, it was quite bland.
While the plates of sprouts and veggies was large; we lamented the lack of banana blossom.
I guess I'll be heading back to Phuong Nga again soon?
My Bun Bo Hue (small $12.10) was perfectly fine.
Nice spice, assertive lemongrass tones, a hint of beefiness dancing on your tongue, perhaps a bit high in the MSG department, but quite savory. The rustic proteins like I'm used to. The noodles slippery and firm. I do lament the lack of banana blossom, but since I can't find a bowl of Bun Bo Hue I like more in San Diego, this will do fine.
Though it looks like I'll be back to doing solo visits here again.
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111
This was as expected, the broken rice was hard, not fragrant. Well, if you think about it, it probably fills the traditional definition of broken rice; the damaged, "inferior" rice. The thit nuong, the char grilled pork was flavorful, but quite chewy, the bi, the shredded pork and skin was cold, though it had a decent amount of roasted rice powder and a nice stretchy texture. The "cha" the egg-pork "loaf" was also cold, mushy, and bland. The bean curd with shrimp paste wasn't crisp, but at least it tasted quite good; a nice savory flavor.
The shrimp were actually decently grilled, fairly plump, and not rubbery. The flavor was quite muddy-fishy though. The pork was the same as what the Missus had. The bun looked like it had been sliced up and were short strands.
I know that Elle said that the portion sizes here have decreased, but I thought this was pretty generous. Lot's of bun and a good amount of lettuce and herbs,
First thing I noticed was how dark the broth was. Second thing was what was slightly submerged. Good lord, it was a huge slice of brisket! Unfortunately, it was too thick, and ended up being very chewy.
I had to kind of take my time since that broth was super hot, so I'm not sure if it contributed to the noodles, being delivered in the typical clump on the bottom of the bowl, being on the mushy side.
Well, for starters, the broth didn't have the "super clear" look of the previous two versions I'd had recently. There was some nice savory tones; slight pungency, it was a bit on the sweet-salty side. I was quite thirsty for the rest of the afternoon.
You can tell the broth wasn't overly thin as it did a decent job of coating the noodles.
I quickly set about tasting the different items. The soup was far from bland, but really had that "San Diego sweet" pho flavor. It was also high in msg as well.
One of the first thing that came to mind was the "Hu Tieu shenanigans". You know, the time I ordered the Hu Tieu Mi Kho and 
Like before, the bowl was delivered with a huge portion of iceberg lettuce. The soup on the side looked like a bowl of water which had some slices of green onion fall into it. It was very salty and other than a hint of white pepper really lacked flavor.
First off; I quickly determined that the simple squirt of sate sauce over the beef was all that was provided. There was nothing at the bottom of the bowl of the bowl. This meant that it was difficult, nay impossible to coat the noodles and even all the lettuce evenly. The basil was nice and fresh; but still attached to the thick and basically inedible thick stems. Now, I can imagine having this on the side and then one would tear off the leaves as necessary. Heck, even at the top of the bowl like this is ok; but having that all to precious sauce squirted on it. The customer would have to reach in and tear off the leaves and get sauce on your hands?
Because of the lack of sauce; I ended up dumping the whole bowl of "soup" into the bowl to moisten the noodles; which kind of defeats the purpose of getting this with soup on the side? The noodles were decently cooked, nice and al dente, and the beef fairly tender, but the lack of the flavor producing items in the dish was it's downfall. 
Which arrived to my table steaming hot. The soup had a bit more savory tones this time around, but was again, other than being a bit heavy in msg was fairly plain. The noodles were on the crunchier side overall, but not bad. The char siu was lean, tough, and though it had some decent porky tones, lacking in the sweet-salty-savory profile of said pork dish.
Way back when 
Man, that plate looked kinda sparse? So, going down things, the bi was missing the roasted rice powder which would give it a wonderful nuttiness; the one slice of Tan Hu Ky was dry and flavorless. This would be the common theme of the meal, as the "cha" the pork -egg "cake" was dry and bland. The meats were dry and tough; you get the point, right?
Good lord, this was greasy, and rubbery, there were like three shrimp, it was terrible.
And I proceeded with my "standard process" of mixing the dish to my satisfaction. I quickly noticed that there wasn't any "sauce" at the bottom of the bowl, it was merely a touch of sate sauce squirted over the egg noodles. This was not nearly enough to coat all the noodles and would not provide enough of that savory-nutty-pungent flavors for the dish. I ended having to add a rather large amount of the broth on the side to the bowl creating more of a soup, which kind of defeats the purpose of things. Also, the broth was quite MSG heavy, but at least wasn't bland. It was good in a soup spoon with a slice of meat and onion in it. The noodles were also undercooked and hard as well.
The was a definite difference in the soup, it was way lighter and thinner than what I'd had here in the past, really lacking in savory tones; more like white pepper-salt water. There were 2 won ton and 3 dumplings….yes, I counted. The wrappers were very soft and tender; really enrobing the fillings. In fact, doesn't the won ton look like brain matter?
The fillings, while being more chewy than I recalled, as nicely flavored, porky, hints of seafood, sesame oil, and so forth. The char siu was hard and very tough and weak in the sweet-porkiness I enjoy.
Located in one of the larger strip mall areas with plenty of parking,
the interior is quite large. When we got here, there was plenty of seating which quickly filled by the time we left.
The menu is quite large. 
It comes with hard-form rice paper atop a bowl of hot water for dipping and a plate of green leaf lettuce, mint, cilantro, sliced cucumbers, pickled daikon and carrots, pineapple and, of course, fish sauce. Side note- the water does not have to be warm to get the rice paper to a soft-form. This was filled in fresh flavors and fun to construct while chatting.
As soon as we sat down, I ordered a Banh Xeo-Vietnamese Crepe ($15.95). It takes extra time to prepare.
This rice flour crepe is filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, onion slices, and mung beans. It is also served with the plate of greens (minus the pineapple). Wrapping a bit of everything in a lettuce leaf and dipping it in the fish sauce (another 'build it yourself' meal) makes for crunchy, tasty bites.
On the "Stir Fried Noodle" part of the menu, we went for it and ordered Hu Tieu Ap Chao Hoac Mi Dao (don) Thap Can-crispy egg noodle stir fried with baby bok choy, broccoli, carrot, onion, meat and seafood (chicken, char siu pork, shrimp, imitation crab, calamari and fish cake) in a garlic sauce. We haven't had crispy noodles in a long time and this was so very satisfying. The combination of flavors and textures in each bite was something we had missed.
Under "Broken Rice Dishes" on the menu, we chose Com Tam Tau Hu Ky- Steamed broken rice with ground shrimp wrapped in tofu and a char-grilled pork patty ($15.50). This plate was also quite a good size and everything was fresh in flavors-the char on the pork patty was excellent. 
As always, we order hot tea. The charge is only $1 each for the pot.