Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 44

Beef Sate Egg Noodle Soup overload – Minh Ky, Cam Ky, Hao Vi, and Tan Ky Mi Gia times 2

March 30, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

I first tasted Vietnamese Beef Sate Noodle Soup a couple of years back. And for the last couple of years, anytime I've been feeling a bit congested, or under the weather, I'm looking to get some Beef Sate Noodle Soup. Funny thing about BSNS (yes, I'm too lazy to type the whole thing out); almost every "Mi" (Chinese-Vietnamese Egg Noodle) joint serves it. But, as you'll soon see, each one is unique. In most places, it's just the house soup dressed up with Sate. But next time you're at the Vietnamese Market, check out the variety of Sate sauces, and read the labels. There's only a few items that are the same across the board, chilies, shallots, and oil……. some of the sauces look like they use a good amount of oil. And though peanuts come to mind, not all of this type of sate sauce utilizes them. At it's best, the sate adds deep savory-salty-spicy tones to the noodle soup. At it's worse….. well, I've never had a bad bowl of sate soup, though the other items, especially the beef falls short. Well, enough of that, let's get our soup on……

Minh Ky – Best Bang for the Buck:

Actually, the Beef Satay Egg Noodle "dry" ("Kho") is really good, and you can check out Gastronomer's post, but the BSNS ain't bad either. For me it's a great tonic when I feel a bit under the weather.

To me, it's a great bang for the buck…. the price is not the cheapest at $5.50, but it has a ton of egg noodles, which seems almost unending at times. The beef is usually fairly tender, the portion generous, and usually arrives rare ready to cook and soak up the broth. The sate here is not particularly spicy, but it is rich, perhaps a bit oily, but it does grab you, causing the inevitable utterance; "aaahhhh….."

Let's just say it all together; "aaaahhh….."

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

Previous posts including Minh Ky can be found here, here, and here.

Welcome to Funkytown – Cam Ky and Hao Vi:

**** Both Cam Ky and Hao Vi have closed

If there was any doubt that BSNS ranges wildly from place to place, I'm sure the versions at Cam Ky and Hao Vi, both appearing very Chaozhou would be good examples. I found it interesting that one of the women at Hao Vi didn't speak Vietnamese, and seemed to talk to her coworkers in a Chinese dialect. One of the women who used to work at Cam Ky spoke Cantonese and Mandarin.

My bowl of BSNS looked very different here. It didn't "smell like turpentine" but looked kinda like India Ink (extra points if you can guess the reference).

Actually, the texture was like motor oil, perhaps of a lower viscosity, but this was almost like a gravy. It was very low on the oil end, and didn't have a whole lot of hard, gritty bits. The spice level was a low medium, and the flavor tending toward a porky, garlic-shallot.

The beef was the toughest of all the soups sampled, but the tomatoes were pretty ripe and did add a nice tangy flavor. There was a nice portion of egg noodles, which were severely over-cooked.

Cam Ky Chinese BBQ
4141 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

My previous post on Cam Ky can be found here.

Meanwhile, the broth of version at Hao Vi, while being very thick, is also the spiciest, but also very interesting in flavor, with hints of clove and cinnamon.

This was super thick, just as before the gravy like "soup" rested on top of the noodles. A quick shift of the noodles with a chopstick, and there's almost a "gloop" as the soup proceeded to overtake the noodles. No tomatoes in this bowl, but for some reason I didn't miss it. The egg noodles were cooked perfectly, though this was the smallest bowl overall.

Hao Vi Chinese Restaurant
4451 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Tan Ky Mi Gia times two…. Mira Mesa and El Cajon Boulevard:

**** Both locations of Tan Ky Mi Gia have closed

The BSNS at Tan Ky Mi Gia in Mira Mesa used to be my favorite.

But the last two times I've had the BSNS it seemed to be missing something. I just can't put my finger on it. So let's call it missing that "je nais sais quoi".

I think the beef here is the most tender, though I once got a bowl with beef that tasted off. When I mentioned that to the folks here, they were quick to replace the bowl.

On this visit, I found it strange that the tomatoes were missing….the acid from the tomatoes help to cut the oil. I'm pretty sure this version of sate uses nuts, as there's a hint of nuttiness… though it could just be a figment of my nuttiness.

The one thing the Missus and I find amusing about Tan Ky Mi Gia, are all the photos everywhere. It seems that everytime we visit there are more photos posted on the windows, and even on the walls…..

Just like that movie star with body dysmorphic disorder who thinks that just one more tattoo will make her/him look more attractive, it seems that the folks who run the place believe that maybe, just that one more photo will make folks order more.

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

Other posts featuring Tan Ky Mi Gia in Mira Mesa can be found here (check out the windows), here, and here.

By far the BSNS I enjoyed the least was from Tan Ky Mi Gia on El Cajon Boulevard. It also was the cheapest at $5. I noticed that the place is looking a bit worn nowadays, with tables sticky enough to be found in the SGV.

The flavor of the broth was rather weak for BSNS, and it felt a bit greasy.

The beef was rather tough, though the egg noodles were cooked perfectly. Roma tomatoes in this bowl.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Previous posts that include Tan Ky Mi Gia can be found here, here, and when it was called Hing Ky, here.

I hope you enjoyed with noodle soup-pa-palooza. I'm sure I missed a few places, so fill me in on those.

Toan Ky Restaurant – A (quick) first look

March 25, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Toan Ky has closed ***

A couple of weeks ago, Toan Ky Restaurant officially opened. Replacing LV sandwiches, and before that Le's, from the name and the look, I thought this would be one of those "Mi" shops a la Minh Ky and Tan Ky. Linda Vista could use a good noodle soup shop, since Mi Ngoc So 1 folded its tent, and was replaced by Thai by Tara, and then (thankfully) Sab E Lee.

The main renovation has been done to the entrance area, where the "bar" has been removed, and a smaller counter with the ever present cash register resides.

The menu, fortunately or unfortunately still has some Thai dishes on it, but Banh Mi is still available; and yes, all the standard Hu Tieu and Mi soups are available. The prices at first glance are about in line with other shops of this type….. but hold on for more…..

The Missus went with Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($5.50). When the bowl arrived, I noticed something right away.

The portion sizes were pretty small compared to other shops. This was about the size between a small and medium Santouka Ramen. There were only three dumplings in the soup, but it was supplemented with a shrimp, a fish ball, meat ball, and slice of fish cake. The Missus thought the dumplings were passable, and gave me a taste, which I thought was bland, but much softer than the typical hard packed meatballs of these type of shops. The Missus declared the broth tasty, but light, and believed that only a minimum of MSG was used.

I ordered the Duck Leg Egg Noodle Soup ($6.75):

The broth of this soup was dark, I'm assuming fortified with the drippings of the duck. I usually pour in some of the drippings when I get duck egg noodle soup served with the duck on the side. This duck was braised, and frankly, quite bland, lacking in the richness of say, a roast, or barbecued duck. The soup was fairly good, with mostly a soy sauce flavor. I would have preferred something like what you see here, which is cheaper than this, and twice the size. There were about three to four bites of egg noodles. This was gone pretty quickly.

Our first impressions are mixed. The food is decent, but the soups seem to be snack-sized, and in fact most other tables ordered an additional item with their soups. The Missus has a saying about most of these type of soups…. "the more I eat, the more there is", which wasn't true in this case, as She had almost finished by the time my soup arrived, a mere five minutes. I believe that much of the reason places like Minh Ky and Tan Ky are successful is because of value, this is a bit different. The service was efficient, but indifferent, pretty much what we expected. I dunno……. I'm sure we'll check in again, so stay tuned…..

Toan Ky Restaurant
6925 B Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Open 8 – 8 daily

Minh Ky revisited

March 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

It could be that all roads lead back to Minh Ky…… every couple of months we find ourselves back in that lousy parking lot on the corner of El Cajon and Menlo.

Minh Ky, like the Tan Ky Mi Gia's and Luong Hai Ky specialize in Chinese style noodle dishes. And though the interior hasn't changed since I first posted on the place back in January of '06, it seems that the food here has gotten better over time. As I noted in my Mi comparison, the broth for the soups has seemed to gain flavor over the years. So I thought I'd just do a short post on some of the other dishes from Minh Ky, save one, which I'm saving for one of those comparison posts.

On one of our visits, we saw a young girl and her mom working through a plate of chow fun….they sure made it look good. So on our next visit we ordered the Seafood Chow Fun, at $7.25, one of the more expensive (ahem, it's all relative) dishes at Minh Ky.

This was a load of food for just over seven bucks. The noodles were cooked adequately, no wok-hay, but not mushy. The shrimp was perfect, still soft and tender, but the squid was a tad over-cooked. The gravy was excellent, nice hints of the savory flavor of oyster sauce, with a touch of sweetness. We enjoyed the dish, and proceeded to order it again…. this time it had less gravy, which tasted a bit off, and my feet started swelling after a couple of bites. I usually have a pretty tolerance when it comes to MSG, and I really don't mind it being used to "finish" a dish. To take it to the next level, but this was a bit too much.

The Roast Duck Egg Noodle soup is a bargain by San Diego standards at $6.25. And the broth for the egg noodle soup is still pretty solid with regards to flavor. I also don't remember there being so much 'Mi' in the egg noodle soups; that alone was enough to fill me up.

The duck was nice and meaty, but very low with regards to anise-savory tones. It was also too fatty, and fairly greasy. And the skin was quite rubbery.

Maybe next time…….

On one of our visits, I decided to order the Bo Kho Hu Tieu (Beef Stew-Hu Tieu):

There was a ton of meat and tendon in the bowl. The beef was cooked well, and though not melt in your mouth, it was fairly tender. The tendon could have been softer, though. As you notice, like most of the 'Mi' joints in San Diego, it rice noodles, aka Bánh phở that's used, not "bánh hủ tiếu". The overall flavor was on the weak side, lacking in the rich-savoriness of a good beef stew.

It was nice trying some other dishes beyond the usual Egg noodle soups…… I'm thinking we'll be going back to the Sate/Won Ton/Dumpling Egg noodle soup. I will give that Chow Fun another try though.

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

And yes, there's still that aisle of parking with no outlet….. you either hope that no one is parked in one of the stalls on the west side so you can cut out, or you have to back all the way out. Or you could jump the curb…..

Recently, we've been parking in the stall behind, pot holes and all…. but be careful, we've seen two cars hit nails……

Com Tam 75

March 1, 2010 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Com Tam 75 has closed

I always appreciate all the recommendations and notifications I receive from all the wonderful FOYs (Friends of Yoso) out there. It sometimes seems that the moment a new place opens, there'll be an email in my inbox awaiting me. Com Tam 75 is no exception. Back in November, I received an email from TammyC letting me know about this new shop. About the same time, I received an email from someone with the handle "ComTamMan" recommending Com Tam 75. Com Tam Man? Hmmm…. The strangest thing was, that even though this place was named Com Tam 75, it wasn't the namesake dish that was recommended. CTM told me to check out the Korean BBQ Ribs, the Teriyaki, and the Philly Cheesesteak! Huh? You know I had to check this place out now…..

Much like Hal Mu Ni, Com Tam 75 used to be an outlet of Rice King, and you can see the remains of the steam table on one side of the restaurant. The interior has been brightened up a bit, the chairs have wheels on them in case you want to channel your inner seven year old. From the various posters, and the channels playing on the television, as well as the application for liquor license notification on the front door, this looks like a sports bar ready to happen.

The menu is humongous, with everything from Banh Mi (including a Philly Cheesesteak Banh Mi), Bo Kho (Beef Stew), Bun Mang Vit, Bun Bo Hue, Chao (rice porridge), and Bun Rieu. It was almost a relief to see no Pho on the menu….. until I looked at the greaseboard.

Yep, there it was Pho, right above the Beef Tamales and Chicken Teriyaki (???).

The young man who waited on me was quiet, but very nice, and waited patiently for me to figure out what to order. I decided that since this was Com Tam 75, not Beef Tamale 75, nor Banh Mi75, that I should go with a Com Tam dish.

I went with the Com Tam Bi Cha Tau Hu Ky ($7.75):

The plate that arrived was a bit on the small side. Let's just use what I got at Com Tam Thuan Kieu for $6.25 as a point of comparison:

Now I realize this is San Diego and all……….. but pictures sometimes speak louder than words. Still, if the items on the plate were top notch, I'd forget about the price. Alas, it was not.

Some of the Com Tam was hard and dry. The Bi (shredded pork) lacked the ground rice powder that adds a wonderful nuttiness, and was just plain bland. The Nuoc Mam Cham (fish sauce dip) was on the watered down side. The Cha (steamed egg) was moist and soft, but had a weird camphor like after taste that I found a bit strange. The Tan Hu Ky (shrimp paste in bean curd skin) was probably the best item on the plate, though it was on the greasy end, and the bean curd skin was more flaky than crisp. This wasn't inedible, but it just wasn't very good.

And yet, the folks here were so nice, and the young man kept refilling my water….. I wanted to find something I'd enjoy on the menu, and I think I saw just the item. A few weeks later, I found myself in the area. It was pretty early, about 830 am or so. Com Tam 75 opens at 8, so I though I'd drop in, and order…….. Spam, Eggs, and Rice ($4.95):

Spam…. how could this go wrong? It didn't, the Spam was sliced thin and fried crisp. There was also five slices of it on the plate, which is probably like getting 6-7 slices of bacon. The rice portion was on the smaller side, but perfect for me as I've been cutting down on my rice intake. The eggs were slightly crisp on the edges, and nice and runny. I placed them on the rice, added a dash of fish sauce…….

So perhaps Com Tam 75 does make a killer Philly Cheesesteak Banh Mi or Buffalo Wings. Maybe the Teriyaki Chicken was kept on the menu to appease all the former Rice King customers…. I've no answer for the Beef Tamales or Tacos though? I think I'll let you tell me if the Korean BBQ Ribs or the Cheesesteak is worth a visit.

Until then……… I'll wait it out.

Com Tam 75
5420 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

As a side note, I do appreciate the efforts of places that attempt to make their food more accessible. I do think the line between accessible and dumbed down is a fine one, and it's usually the latter that is achieved. You don't do any dish a favor by removing its soul……

Road Trip: Com Tam Thuan Kieu – Garden Grove (Orange County)

February 23, 2010 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

A while back I was in the Little Saigon area, and being quite hungry, I was in the mood for a Cơm tấm (broken rice) dish. Almost right across Viendong Restaurant is Com Tam Thuan Kieu, which with over a hundred different combinations of item topping broken rice, you could say, ahem…. specializes in Com Tam.

The restaurant itself is fairly neat, and no frills, reminding me of a more run down Banh Cuon Tay Ho. The service is also no frills, you sit, menu arrives and you order, if you're able to pick out what you want from the huge amount of items. There's a steady stream in and out of the restaurant as all the men seem to need to step out for a smoke before, during, and after a meal. In fact, if you have a problem finding the place, just look for all the men smoking……

Chilies, chili paste, and fish sauce, the standard seasonings are provided. I chuckled when I saw the spoons labeled as "spoon" and the forks as "fork", I would have never known. Want some hot tea? Mine was delivered in a large water glass. The knife was delivered with the Nuoc Mam Cham, which wasn't watered down, like some versions in San Diego.

Like I mentioned before, the menu seems to be an endless list of com tam "combinations"….. it is a classic case "Vietnamese menu overload", if I've ever seen it. There are a couple of gut-busting combinations which run up to nine bucks, and includes everything you can think of. Even the seven item combinations, like what Elmo had is enough for a family of two. I went with my tried and true Com Tam Bi Cha Tan Hu Ky Thit (Broken Rice with shredded pork skin, steamed egg, shrimp paste in bean curd skin and charbroiled pork), which at $6.25 is to me, a bargain.

The charbroiled pork looked tough, but was fairly tender, and the marinade was less sweet than most versions. The Bi was nicely flavored but a bit on the dry side, which the nuoc mam cham easily fixed. The Cha, the steamed egg with pork skin and cloud ear fungus was very good, perhaps a bit on the dry side, but chocked full of earthy flavors. They didn't skimp on the fungus in this version.

The Tan Hu Ky really wasn't my favorite, as I enjoy a nice crisp and light bean curd skin, and this was soggy. The shrimp paste was a bit too "squeaky" for me, but the flavor was good. The com tam was fairly fragrant and moist, and better than just about anything in San Diego.

While eating, I was wondering why my meal didn't come with any broth. Well, just as I was finishing up, a bowl of broth was dealt out on my table…. sigh….. Here's another variation of the "appetizer sin", you know, when your appetizers come at the end of your meal. I guess in this case, the broth was dessert?

Along with marking the forks and spoons, serving my hot tea in a water glass, and my soup arriving when I had just finished my meal, I thought the door to the restroom was kinda, well, odd. It was lined with stainless steel looking more like a walk-in door than one for the restroom. It made me feel like I was going into a "deep freeze".

Speaking of deep freeze, I'd been sitting on these photos for a while, thinking I'd be returning. But it just seems like that won't be happening for a while, so I hope you don't mind a very short post.

Com Tam Thuan Kieu
14282 Brookhurst St Ste 2
Garden Grove, CA 92843

San Diego Tet Festival 2010

February 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Vietnamese Restaurants

We are pre-empting Burger Week to let you know it's that time again…. Yes, the 2010 San Diego Tet Festival started today, running through Sunday 02/21. So I made sure to drop this evening.

If you've been to the Tet Festival before, much is the same. The location is still Balboa Park. This year things are much drier than last year, even though there's rain in the forecast.

There are of course, all the various rides and games.

And all of the various booths, from community organizations, different vendors, and sponsors. Like last year, I arrived pretty early and most of the booths weren't set-up yet.

There is a schedule full of events as well.

Don't forget the Cultural Village.

Of course, i know you're most interested in the food, right? Like last year, the food booths occupy one entire side of the festival.

This year, the booths I was interested in weren't ready for me. Also, I noticed that the offerings are a bit more "varied" with even less traditional Vietnamese items available. Still there are enough vendors to keep you satiated.

Some like Ba Le are quite familiar…. but what really got my interest was that Ba Le was serving Kao Piek (Khao Piak Sen), a noodle soup dish we're familiar with. Which led me to wonder….. since when has Ba Le been serving Lao food????

There was one booth that immediately caught my interest.

Lee's Sandwiches had a booth at the festival! I made a beeline toward the booth which was serving only snacks and drinks. I was intercepted by a nice young man offering samples. While munching on a piece of sweet toast, I inquired about Lee's in San Diego. I was told that there are plans for Lee's to open in San Diego within the next eighteen months!

Even though it seems that this years Tet Festival's food offerings are a bit watered down, let me say that you can still find interesting stuff you you look hard enough.

So it might be worth your while!

Adult Admission is $5.

San Diego Tet Festival at Balboa Park

Friday 2/19/2010 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday 2/20/2010 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday 2/21/2010 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Chicken Wing Thing: Phuong Trang, Tajima, and Huynh Hoa Tuu

January 27, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Anyone out there kinda obsessive about things? I'll be the first to admit that I love chicken wings….. I mean I've created a category for them. To add to the obsession, I've even created my own little "value scale" for chicken wings….. I automatically divide the price of the wings by the number of wings in an order. Of course taste is king…. but I gotta admit at Kyochon level price levels,$1 a wing, it better be pretty darn good. I guess that's why I've thought Royal Mandarin's Salt and Pepper wings at $7.95 for an order, which usually contained 14 wings (about 57 cents per), was a bargain. I hope they reopen soon. For some reason, I've kinda drawn a mental "line" of 79 cents a wing, as being reasonable. Of course, Tebasaki Wings are in a category all their own. Weird, I know…….

Anyway, I've had a couple orders of wings from different places (surprise!) in the last couple of months, and here's a short round-up.

Phuong Trang – Butter Chicken Wings:

In the comments area of my post on City Dragon's chicken wings (at 7 for 6.99 was in Kyochon territory, and believe, it wasn't even close to Kyochon), "Arlene" mentioned that the chicken wings at Phuong trang might be worth chicking ummm, checking out.

The item mentioned was the "Butter Chicken Wings", and take a while to cook, at least fifteen minutes. So if you order these, and your Com Tam or Bun comes out first, the "appetizer sin" occurring, at least you can be sure you get some hot and sizzling wings.

At $8.95 for a dozen wings, this runs to about 75 cents each, which is reasonable. The wings are juicy and sizzling hot, these are more crusty than crunchy, as the batter turns out to be kinda crumbly. It deteriorates quickly, and gets to be kinda greasy…. but, hey they are called "Butter Wings", right? I thought these were kinda high on the salty scale, and I like salty wings….

Decent price, but overall, just ok.

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tajima Sushi and Japanese Tapas Restaurant:

On one of my visits to Tajima "2", I ordered the fried chicken wings. I thought at $5.95 this was pretty inexpensive…. but with only five wings, these broke the Kyochon price ceiling:

These are what I call "dipped wings" and are made much like my Garlic Chicken, where chicken is first battered and fried, and then dipped into a mixture right after frying. These were nice and sticky, but very low on the flavor scale, edging toward sweet. The batter wasn't very crunchy, and the meat was on the dry and chewy side.

In my opinion, not worth the price.

Tajima Sushi & Japanese Tapas Restaurant
4411 Mercury St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Huynh Hoa Tuu – Hot Wings:

Update – Huynh Hoa Tuu has closed.

After all the dishes I've had at Huynh Hoa Tuu, you know I had to check out the "Hot Wings". At $5.95 for 7, this was on the high side with regards to price, but still below the "Kyochon line".

These wings were battered and fried, then cooked, a la Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings, but with the addition of a sweet and spicy Nuoc Mam Cham(fish sauce) style sauce. These were still crunchy, and the flavors came through very well…. salty, but in a good way, with some depth. Some of the garlic had been burnt, which caused some bitterness, but on a later visit with some FOYs it was done better. There was some decent spice, and the hints of sweetness helped.

Overall, like much of what Huynh Hoa Tuu serves; good beer food.

Huynh Hoa Tuu
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

So there you, three more orders of Chicken Wings served up! Much thanks to FOYs (Friends of Yoso) like Arlene without whom I'd be chicken-wing deprived (or is it depraved???).

Huynh Hoa Tuu Part 2

January 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Update: Huynh Hoa Tuu has closed.

Geez, in putting together this post, I just realized how many meals we've had at Huynh Hoa Tuu over the last couple of months! You can add the dishes in part 1, to those in this post for a more comprehensive list.

After a couple of visits we started noticing a few things about the Pepto-Bismol pink restaurant.

1 – On many evenings, there usually was a group of men having beers and a good time. And, after having some of the dishes, I'd quickly agree that many would qualify as "beer food".

2 – Things were sometimes slow to come out of the kitchen, but that never really bothered us much, as many of the dishes were pretty good.

One item that would qualify as "beer food" is the Mung Ram Muoi (Fried Squid with Spicy Salt):

This was kind of a mixed plate. Even though the squid was fried, it wasn't very crisp. It was very tender, however. The chilies and garlic were a bit charred and on the bitter side.

On one visit, we decided to try something more conventional, and ordered the Grilled Pork "Meatballs" Spring Rolls (Nem Nuong Cuon – $4.99):

And while the thick slices of Nem Nuong had decent flavor, there was a bit too much lettuce in these, and the wrappers were really sticky. What really made this was the dipping sauce, the best I've had in a long time. It was a nice sweet-nutty-savory concoction, with a mild and pleasant livery finish. There were fried shallots, and (gasp) what seemed like pork skin in the sauce as well. Man this was good. Unfortunately, on a return visit, all the "extras" that made this sauce shine were gone……. so sad…..

And from the you can't go wrong with fried pork files, I present the Fried Pork Leg w/Fish Sauce ($15):

A whole pork leg was sliced and marinated in a fish sauce concoction, then deep fried, and finished with a stir fry in a spicy and sweet fish sauce mixture. The difference between this, and say, the "Crispy Pata (Filipino Style marinated and deep fried pork leg) of my dreams" is the lack of lovely gelatin. The meat has a good chew, and the band of skin surrounding the meat is pork skin heaven. Of course I heard no complaints about the lack of gelatin when Howie of a Foodieview, and a couple of other FOYs plowed through this one evening. This would make a wonderful beer dish.

FOY "Yummy Yummy" had warned us off the Banh Canh Cua (Crab Noodle Soup – $6.75), the folks here kept recommending it to us. So one day we finally ordered it.

YY warned of the overuse of food coloring, and she was right on. This was also very bland, except for the black pepper overdose….. boy does this place love black pepper.

The Bun Mam ($5.99), was better, though I enjoy the version from Nhu Y more.

Though the soup was nicely pungent, it could have used a bit more Mam Tom, though it was not as sweet as other versions I've had. As usual all the herbs and veggies were fresh and shiny. The Missus actually enjoyed this more than I did….especially the eggplant and shrimp.

On one visit, we saw a woman eating a very pretty plate of fried rice, so on another visit we tried the Shrimp Fried Rice($7.50):

The rice was cooked perfectly…. you could make out every grain of rice… and each grain had color. The shrimp was cooked to perfection, and though we saw the very generous amount of black pepper on this, the dish wasn't affected. It was a bit short on savory flavor, and we added a good dose of fish sauce to it. Still, this fried rice is better than most, but below, say, Sab E Lee or Noble Chef in flavor……

I had recently revisited Phuong Trang, and had the combination Com Tam. I was disappointed in the dish. The broken rice was very fragrant, but everything else, especially the Cha (steamed pork cake) which was dry, cracked, and flavorless. So on another visit I decided to try out the Com Tam Suon Bi Cha (Broken Rice with BBQ Pork Chop, Shredded Pork, and Steamed Egg and Pork):

First off the soup had tons of flavor……and did I tell you that this place loves Rau Ram and Black Pepper????

The Com Tam was cooked nicely, not too dry, but wasn't very fragrant.

The pork chop was nicely grilled, and was even slightly tender. It was less sweet than many I've had, but I enjoyed it.

The Bi was not very good; too dry, and lacking in flavor.

What was very good was the "Cha" the steamed pork-egg-wood ear "cake"(for the lack of a better description).

Soft and moist, but not mushy, the flavor of the pork and the earthy wood ear fungus came through. This was the best I've had in a while.

In fact, on our next visit, I decided to order this (+ fried egg….. because, you know, everything tastes better with a fried egg – $6.99), so the Missus could check this out Herself:

The Missus loved the Cha and hated the Bi, but pointed out another good detail. Huynh Hoa Tuu's Nuoc Mam Cham wasn't watered down like many other places…. it is pretty strong, but goes with everything sooooo well.

I guess that's a nice final statement which illustrates that it seems Huynh Hoa Tuu is trying to do things right. It's also nice to have places like Que Huong and Huynh Hoa Tuu, the variety of dishes and preparation is a nice change of pace from other Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego. It may not be Little Saigon level, but it's really not bad by any means….

Huynh Hoa Tuu
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Huynh Hoa Tuu part 1

January 6, 2010 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Update: Huynh Hoa Tuu has closed.

I had been aware that O Yea! Vietnamese Restaurant had changed ownership, but the last time I recalled driving by, the place was stil named "O Yea!". Then in November mscinda posted on the now renamed restaurant; Huynh Hoa Tuu. After checking out her post, I made sure to add Huynh Hua Tuu to my "list". It quickly moved up my list when "El Grande FOY" (Friend of Yoso) Yummy-Yummy sent me a very enthusiastic email regarding Huynh Hoa Tuu. YY even recommended a couple of dishes….. which is how the Missus and I ended up at Huynh Hoa Tuu.

Walking into the place, it seemed that little had changed except for the name, as the interior hadn't changed a bit…… it's still a bright Pepto Bismol pink.

The menu was a different story, as there was a pretty wide range of dishes from the standard Cha Gio at $4.99 to various "Lau" (hot pot) ringing in at $25.

We decided to start with a favorite of the Missus, the Banh Trang Nem Bo ($8.99), the make-your-own-spring rolls dish. Things looked good as a large plate of bright and fresh herbs, veggies, and fresh pineapple arrived at our table.

The meat provided was the a slightly sour and nicely grilled "Nem" (pork sausage), and thinly sliced beef tightly rolled into cylinders, covered with peanuts.

The beef was less sweet than other places, and on the salty side, but not in a bad way. The Nem was nicely charred, but nothing special. No Bun (vermicelli) was provided, and the rice paper was the large plate sized type.

Which the Missus just couldn't keep Her hands off of……

What was problematic about the dish was that the bowl of water provided was on the small side, so you had to work a bit to moisten the rice paper. Still, this wasn't bad, but we both thought the Banh Trang at Pho King was better.

One of the dishes recommended by Yummy-Yummy was the Green Mango Salad with Shrimp(#109 – Goi Xoai Tom Nuong). At first the price, at $15 seemed a bit high. But when the dish arrived, we knew why….. there were at least ten grilled shrimp, on a huge plate of green mango.

Instead of the usual shredded green mango, this presentation had the mango in slices. The somewhat pleasant (for us) puckeriness of green mango came through… a memory from my childhood, as green mango was often eaten in Hawaii, though with soy sauce and sugar, or bagaoong. The mango was dressed with a tangy, yet spicy sauce, which we enjoyed. The shrimp was perhaps a tad overcooked, but was very fresh, and everything was topped with a good amount of Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander) which added it's own punch to the dish. We finished the whole plate and was stuffed.

Leaving thoroughly satisfied, we returned a couple of other dishes. This time I ordered the Braised Shrimp with Pork Belly (#69 – Tom Thit Ba Roi Ram Man):

The menu's English translation says Braised Shrimp with "Bacon", but it's pork belly that has obviously been simmered in a fish sauce based mixture. This time the shrimp had been cooked adequately, and did well paired with the fatty, though not overly soft pork belly, and the salty, and slightly sweet fish sauce mixture. We were worried because the amount of black pepper used seemed excessive, but it did well in this dish.

The other dish I wanted to order was also recommended by YY:

It was not translated into English on the menu, and was simply described to me as #102, the squid dish, Muc Mot Nang Nuong Muoi Ot($15). It was squid grilled with chilies. For some reason, when both the Missus and I were provided with a dish of sea salt mixed with red chilies and a lime wedge, we gad a premonition that this was going to be a good dish. The little plate reminded us of Vietnam.

And it did deliver:

Let me just say a couple of things about this dish. First, the salt, chilies, and lime, is not an optional item, but an integral part of the dish. Second, this was the most tender grilled squid I've had in ages, beating out anything I've had in years. It almost melted in my mouth! The Missus, not being a fan of squid really didn't want me to order this, but She ended up fighting me for the last few slices. Funny thing, Rau Ram used to be pretty rare in Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego, but here it's everywhere!

On our next (yet another) visit, my eyes wandered down the menu, and I ordered the Bap Xao Tom Kho (Corn with Dried Shrimp – $8):

This was nothing that I couldn't make at home on the Big Kahuna. this was also a case of too much black pepper, which killed all the flavors of the dish.

We also ordered the Oc Len Xao Dua (Snails stir fried with coconut milk – $15):

This was a load of snails! At first, the Missus and I kept going, "man this is waaaay too sweet". It seemed very rich and cloying…. but in the end, we had eaten every single snail…. every one. So I'm not quite sure…. I still think this is much too sweet, with too much coconut milk, and yet we plowed through the whole thing, so I guess I'm torn.

Well I'll stop at the snails for now, but there's much more to come…. just in case you're wondering how "Deep Fried Pork Leg with Fish Sauce" tastes, stay tuned!

Huynh Hoa Tuu
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

You can find part 2 of this post here.

Road Trip: Banh Cuon Tay Ho – Garden Grove (Orange County)

December 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** This location of Banh Cuon Tay Ho has closed

On one of trips to "the OC", we were in need of a snack, and was in the Garden Grove/Westminster area. The Missus and I thought some Banh Cuon would do the trick, especially since the Banh Cuon in San Diego really doesn't match up to what you can get in the Little Saigon area. Because we were close by we stopped at the Garden Grove location of Banh Cuon Tay Ho which looks very clean. And we arrived just at the transitional time when the breakfast folks were headed out and right before the lunch crowd.

This location looks newer and a bit cleaner than the Westminster location, but the tables and chairs are packed in close together. The snorting and slurping older man on the table behind the Missus kept bumping Her during the entire meal….. I offered to switch seats with Her, but She refused. So what the heck….. maybe it made Her feel like She was back in Vietnam?

Another thing we like about BCTH is that they don't fool around with the Nuoc Mam Cham……two pitchers of the stuff was delivered to our table. This pitcher of the spicier version was full when it arrived…….

I just went with the Banh Cuon Dac Biet – the house special ($6.35):

Though not as thin and sticky as the versions we had in Vietnam, I still enjoy the Banh Cuon, the rice sheet has a nice mild pull, and is still thin enough to enjoy. The standard pork and wood ear fungus has decent flavor. Along with the standard accompaniments of Cha Lua and blanched bean sprouts, a version of Banh Tom (deep fried shrimp and sweet potato fritters) and Banh Cong, a sort of mung bean and shrimp fritter is included.

As are all the garnishes:

We also had an extra order of Banh Cong($6), and were warned "it is vegetarian, you know"….. I wonder what kind of vegetable shrimp is? In all fairness, there's only one shrimp attached to the outside of each cake.

Think of this as a savory, dense, mung bean "andagi" if you will. It is quite substantial, and I'm certain that it multiplies in volume once it hits your stomach.

Since the Missus saw it on the menu, She had to order the Bun Rieu ($6.35):

We both thought that this was a subpar version of Bun Rieu; it lacked the flavor of tomato, and was so superbly red that I was wondering if they use food coloring. The noodles were the appropriate thin version, but were super mushy and overcooked. The broth was terrible, much like water with shrimp paste. Not very good eats……