Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 55

Saigon on Fifth

April 23, 2006 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Saigon on Fifth has closed

You know how sometimes you drive past a locale, noticing the new signage, making a mental note to make sure to try the location out….then immediately forgetting about it? Well, this is what happened with Saigon on Fifth.

Until Calvin sent me an Email mentioning His visit to Saigon on Fifth. Geez, (immediate slap to the head) how could I have forgotten. The location on the corner (sort of) University and Fifth has been a kiss of death for various restaurants. First a Rubio's went down in flames, then a pizza joint called Me N' Ed's lasted a few years. Since our office is within walking distance I decided to head over for lunch on a recent afternoon.

I walked in and, oh my, the decor! I must say, I've never been in a Vietnamese Restaurant that looked quite like this. Very nice and upscale, though I must say that the first thought that entered my mind was "well, somebody has to pay for all of this….."

I looked at the menu, and knew instantly who pays for all of this………guess?

The very nice Server took my order, and soon enough my food arrived, starting with the Spring Rolls ($5.95):

Now I expected maybe a bit more shrimp, or a really refined spring roll, but these were very small, and there were only two small "rolls". There was a bit more pork then usual, but because the rolls were kind of short on vermicelli and lettuce, the pork made the rolls seem very dry. I can get better from Vien Dong market for like 3 bucks for 3.

Now, I had also wanted some nice strong Vietnamese Coffee, but was told they didn't serve coffee, which was fine with me. But just to illustrate the level of service(maybe a bit too attentive), they managed to brew me a nice strong cup of Vietnamese Coffee, which with a touch of condensed milk, really did hit the spot.

Just in time for my "Combination" Pho' ($7.95):

I had never thought that I'd see the day, 8 bucks for a bowl of Pho'! It arrived in a pretty cool, but kinda small "casserole" bowl bolted into a wooden frame. Style points for the presentation, and for being served piping hot, but minus points for the garnish, consisting of a slice of lemon(!!!), a small amount of bean sprouts, and the most pathetic looking sprig of basil I've ever been served. To be fair, I asked for, and was given more basil.

Also minus points for 3 tough, rubbery meatballs.

As well the too thickly cut, and semi tough meat. Also, the "combination" at Saigon on Fifth is meatballs and beef. So no tendon, no brisket, no tripe, nada! So safe……

The amount of noodles was about half of a usual bowl of Pho' as well. What was really interesting, was the broth. For a restaurant that seemed to want to "safely introduce" Vietnamese cuisine, the broth had quite a bit of oil. Enough to coat the back of my spoon! Other then the oil content, the broth was a medium to light Pho' broth with a mild anise flavor.

Let me say that the service was very good, though maybe a bit over-attentive, but that's to be expected at a new restaurant. Other individuals that have eaten items like the Lemongrass Chicken, and other items, have said that the dishes are good, though the portions small, and rather over-priced. Rather then to go into any more detail about my meal, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

In fact, I think Calvin says it well: "The kind of dimly lit, classy place you could take your boss for something exotic without risk. Nothing funky, nothing chewy, nothing to offend your blue-haired aunt. Service is fawning, but they're still working out the bumps. Pho is rich, but so tame." Calvin should probably do the writing for this blog, he can describe the entire restaurant in less then a paragraph! Calvin, you da' man!!!

Saigon on Fifth
3900 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Trieu Chau – The Meal

April 13, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

In Part I of this post, we made our way to Trieu Chau, and sat, only to open the menu, and discover that most of it was not in English (there was a handwritten section with stuff like pork fried rice). So as the Missus tried to decipher the Chinese portion of the menu, and little plate of Youtiao(Fried Dough, "Crullers") found it’s way to our table.

These were cold and dense, not crunchy and light; a very inauspicious start. At this point, the Missus had gotten through much of the menu, but still could not figure out what some of the dishes were. This is when our intrepid "guide" Kathy appeared. She patiently explained that the dishes we were having problems with were dishes with specific types of noodles. She started in English, went to Cantonese, and finally was able to explain some of the dishes to the Missus in Mandarin. At one point, she thought that the Missus was Laotian, so she started speaking in what I think was Lao. Talk about a humbling experience, I barely speak one language well (that would be English), and Kathy just jumps from language to language without hesitation. Needless to say, we were impressed. Finally, the Missus decided to go the "small plates" route, instead of ordering noodle soup and ordered a few dishes that She had already picked out, and Kathy helped fill out the menu.

First up was the Missus selected the Beef Stew:

The Missus picked this out, because she knew how much I enjoy a good Beef Stew. This was almost a hybrid Chinese – Vietnamese style Beef Stew. Beef colored by annatto oil, nice hints of anise, cinnamon, and garlic. The meat was pretty tender, and the fat content was pretty low. What I really enjoyed about this dish, was the large amount of buttery, melt in your mouth tendon, cooked to perfection. Also, the usual layer of oil coating the top of the sauce, was minimized. An average dish, brought up to good by the delici-yoso tendon.

The Missus also selected the Soy Sauce Duck:

Nice, meaty and tender, soy sauce flavored duck leg, served with pickled vegetables. What made this dish work was that the salty duck was tempered by the pickled vegetables and pickle "juice."

Kathy had selected the rice noodle with seafood for us:

I could smell the fragrance of this dish as it was cooking; thinking to myself; "that must be for us…." Wide rice noodles, egg, bok choy, and seafood, in a brown sauce. First off the shrimp were over-cooked and tough, and the squid was like rubber. The sauce though a tad on the sweet side had quite a bit of garlic which balanced it out a bit. The interesting thing was that I could taste a hint of a slightly smokey flavor in the noodles; I think there was a bit of Wok-hey going on.

Strangely, Kathy also ordered Lup Cheong(Chinese Sausage) and Shrimp Fried Rice for us. I think she was hedging her bets a little, just in case we didn’t care for anything else we ordered.

This was the weakest dish of the meal. Again the shrimp were over-cooked, and some of the Lup Cheong were charred, and nothing about the dish stood out. As we were eating, the Missus, said "didn’t you make this last night." I had indeed made fried rice with leftovers the night before, and this was no better then what I had thrown together at home. But still, nothing terrible about the dish.

All told the "damage" was $20, for 4 dishes(we had the leftovers for dinner) and tea, not bad at all! The service was very efficient, and Kathy was very patient and helpful. While the Missus went to the Ladies Room, I chatted briefly with Kathy, who recommended the Lemongrass Chicken, and a few other dishes for our next visit. Though I’m sorely tempted to try some of the Beef Stew Noodle Soups……

Trieu Chau Restaurant
4653 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Trieu Chau – The Teaser

April 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

While sitting here realizing it’s pretty darn late, and that I’ll never finish this post before I just plain "crash out", something popped into my "head" (that in itself is a fairly unique event). You see Diet Chili Cheese Fries just sent me something he calls a "teaser" for His movie Asian Stories (Book III). Which led me to wonder if you all would buy into a "teaser" post????? So here goes…..

Recently we had heard of a Cambodian-Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant on University called Trieu Chau, and finally managed to get there.

Since there was no available parking in the lot, we parked on a a side street and noticed that the restaurant was pretty full. Though the exterior and interior of the restaurant was a bit worse for wear, there were wonderful smells all through the dining area. This was probably due to the configuration of the restaurant, a small "L-shape" with the kitchen separated by a "bar-counter" from the dining area. As we were seated, I noticed the usual condiment tray:

Thing were looking up…..until I opened the menu:

There was nothing in English!!! Talk about cutting this Third – generation (Sansei), only English speaking(I can cuss in several languages), American of Asian ancestry down to size. All items in everything from Sanskrit to Chinese, but not English……wait a minute, there’s the Chinese portion of the menu whew! Until, the Missus(born and raised in China) said; "You know, some of this stuff, I can even read, but it doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t know what it’s saying!" Oh-uh……..

Talk about feeling a bit nervous………

So now for the tease. Would our intrepid eaters fail? Would they get kicked out on their butts onto University Avenue? Would they die of starvation? Would they at least get a spot of tea? Would the Missus have a sudden revelation and decipher the menu? Would my facade of Banana-Asianism be revealed? Would the Missus please call Her Mom for some GUIDANCE!!!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow……..And RONW, this menu’s for you. Can you help us decipher it?

Asia Cafe Part II

April 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

*** Asia Cafe has closed

*** Return visits to Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The day after a fun and interesting meal at Asia Cafe, we decided to drop by the restaurant again and grab some take-out. This time we were after a few of the more well known Laotian-style dishes. So I went in and ordered a few.

Green Papaya Salad(medium size-$4.00):

A nice size portion of sliced green papaya and tomatoes. We ordered the heat level at medium, but it was pretty mild. I thought the salad was much too fishy and briney for my tastes, much stronger then the version we had at Vientiane. Also, it was missing the wonderful flavor that peanuts bring to the dish, we had noticed a little jar of peanuts at each table, but apparently if you ordered the papaya salad "to go" you were on your own. I didn't care for it, but surpisingly the Missus enjoyed it, and scarfed it down! For those who have not had this style of Papaya Salad, please be aware; much more fish sauce is used, and not as much sugar or lime juice, making for a less sweet and more salty and "fishy" salad.

Beef Laab:

A very nice rendition of a classic dish, chock full of herbs, not dry, but not watery. The rather mild flavor let the texture of the slices of beef and tripe stand out, while letting the flavor of the herbs take a front seat. Beware the green peppers; they are very hot! The Missus didn't enjoy the slightly bitter flavor of the tripe, but that didn't bother me in the least. The overall flavor was on the mild side, but I enjoyed being able to taste all of the herbs.

The Missus had me ask about about the wonderful Laotian "Fried Rice" dish that she enjoys so much. So I described the dish to Johnny, who informed me that it was called Nem Khao. When I asked Him if they served it here, He told me "We'll make it for you, no problem!"

This wonderful dish of rice, fried garlic, pork, sausage, and other goodies, rolled in a lettuce leaf was delici-yoso! Slightly salty, with a nice nutty flavor, a very simple yet complex dish, and throughly enjoyable.

I needed one more dish, and Johnny recommended the Laotian "Beef Jerky":

I'm sorry that my photo doesn't do this dish justice. Wonderfully marinated and seasoned beef, slightly salty, slightly sweet, this was wonderful. The way to eat this is to have a piece of jerky in one hand, and a handful of sticky rice in the other.

So good! Since I went on recommendations and ordered items that weren't on the menu(as far as I know), all I can tell you is, that all four dishes and sticky rice for two(it's alot of rice) was $24.

Some Notes: There isn't a whole lot of parking in the small lot, though we never had a problem finding parking. The service is very helpful, both Johnny and Scotty want to make sure you enjoy your meal. Scotty told me that there are many dishes and daily specials that are not on the menu; we spied a fried fish with herbs and lettuce dish that another table was enjoying.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Asia Cafe Part I

April 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Asia Cafe has closed

*** Part 2 of this post can be found here.

Set on the gritty corner of 47th and Market Streets, right behind an Auto Repair shop is Asia Cafe.

Asia Cafe had been on my "list" for a while, but after driving past the strip mall one Sunday morning, I had my doubts. No, it wasn't the bars on the doors and windows, or the location behind the auto repair, nor the somewhat rundown appearance. It was the 2 people sleeping on the sidewalk, and the other people who were hanging around that made me feel nervous. But this past weekend, we decided to give Asia Cafe a shot. The only thing I could think of when we entered Asia Cafe, was "what took me so long?"

The fragrance of garlic and herbs floated in the air through the small restaurant. From all of the discussion going on in the restaurant, it was pretty obvious that all of the customers were "regulars", a very good sign. We sat at a table and a Young Gentleman brought us a menu. The Young Man's name was Scotty, and he told us it was his Mom cooking the food in the back. After fumbling around the menu, we made our selections with the help of Scotty.

A soup called Kao-Lao($6.00):

A fairly lite lemon infused broth, with cilantro, fried shallots, green onions, and garlic(yum). There was alot of beef slices, some tripe, and a ton of meatballs in the soup. I enjoyed this much more then the Missus, who didn't care for the meatballs which she said were rather rubbery. Of all of the dishes served, this one most closely resembled "home cooking."

Scotty had recommended the Yum Asia($6.50):

Scotty also had this made in a "special" way for us; he had this wonderful refreshing seafood salad served on a bed of cellophane noodles which soaked up all of the delicious fish sauce-lime juice-lemon grass-sugar-sweet chili sauce "dressing". Mint, basil, and peanuts gave the dish that extra "zip". All the seafood was prepared in an excellent manner. A wonderfully flavored, yet balanced dish, not too sweet, not to salty, not too spicy, just good eats.

Black Tiger Shrimp($6.50):

Perfectly prepared shrimp in a garlic and black pepper sauce, topped with cilantro. But totally pedestrian compared to the Yum Asia. Unanimously unremarkable.

The Seen-Nam-Toke($5.00):

As we were eating the Yum Asia and Shrimp, the wonderful smell of meat "grilling" filled the restaurant. When the dish arrived I was rather surprised, I had though this was a salad, but instead, it was a perfectly cooked, well seasoned medium rare steak. Obviously quickly marinated in lemon juice and fish sauce, the steak was beautifully caramelized. I realize, that the cut of steak was not the best, but the slices were pretty tender and the flavor was excellent; I barely needed any of the dressing. I could eat this almost every day. I was impressed, it's not easy to make, a two-dollar steak taste like a hundred bucks!

The Missus never really cared for sticky rice other then for desserts, so she ordered steamed rice, I on the other hand love sticky rice, and made sure to get an order($2.00):

The sticky rice was served steaming fresh, still slightly moist, and very fragrant. In fact, the Missus had never had sticky rice served perfectly cooked, and she enjoyed it so much that she put a pretty big dent in it! The steamed rice sat uneaten; I think She's changed Her opinion of sticky rice.

Overall, a good fairly inexpensive meal.

The Missus also purchased this for dessert:

It's a large bag of Fried Bananas($5.00). Unfortunately, Asia Cafe doesn't make these with sugar. No problemo, when we got home the Missus made some simple syrup, and coated the fried bananas with the simple syrup, and let them dry out a bit, and had a nice dessert:

While munching on Fried Bananas we talked about how enjoyable our meal was, and also how friendly and helpful the service was. We also decided to return the very next day, for a few more "traditional" Laotian dishes.

To be continued…….

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Pho’ Lucky

March 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

During my visit to Lucky Seafood Supermarket, I noticed the adjoining restaurant.

And so I made my way to Lucky Pho' during a recent weekend. The dining area is fairly large and there is pretty good spacing in the wide open dining room.

I was seated very quickly; and on this visit was handed a menu, and the Gentleman stood pen and pad ready for my order. I hadn't even opened the menu yet, yet he stood there with an deadpan inscrutable look on his face, ready for my order. Ooookay! Two can play this game! I slowly opened and glanced through the menu, and took my time. And placed my order, the #1 Pho Dac Biet(Large Bowl – $4.75):

Everything arrived within minutes, and at the same time; my garnish, tea, and Pho. The amount of garnish was adequate, not the most I've ever had, and not a skimpy amount. Ngo Gai was also provided. I've started trying to really "taste" my Pho' broth, so instead of adding all my garnishes, I always taste the broth. In this case I kept slurping spoonful after spoonful, and made myself stop. The slightly dark broth was very hearty, but not rich or oily, but I could make out hints of clove, anise, and what almost tasted like cinnamon. I must say that I really enjoyed the broth. After adding the basil, Ngo Gai, bean sprouts, and peppers, I started working on the rest of the bowl. The portion of meat provided was adequate, though short on tripe. The fat on the brisket was on the tough side, though the meat itself had good flavor. The rare steak was okay, and the tendon had some overly tough, and crunchy parts.

The noodles were a perfect al' dente, slightly chewy, with a nice "pull" to them, and was in a "loose" clump in the bottom of the bowl, which is an improvement over the tight clump of noodles that is the standard at most places. I must say I really enjoyed this bowl of Pho'; the flavor was really "to my taste". Some may enjoy a light, "refreshing" Pho', some may enjoy a broth heavier in oil, or maybe a very rich dark beefy broth, this bowl was to my taste.

I returned recently with My Buddy Jack, for a quick lunch. Jack had Pho', but I ordered something I saw someone else eating during my last visit; the Beef Stew($4.50):

The beef stew was served in a small bowl with a baguette. The beef stew may scare some people off, since there is a layer of oil lying on top of the "broth". The portion size may seem small, but there was enough fork tender and moist meat, combined with the very rich anise and curry like broth. The meat was not overly fatty, and not inner-tube tough like version I've had in other restaurants.

The cilantro and onions helped cut through the oil, though I'd really have enjoyed some lime and mint; I think I'll see if I can get some next time. Though this seemed like a small dish, the combination of bread and meat did the job of filling me up.

On this visit, the service was completely normal. We weren't rushed to order, and were provided with as much time as we wanted. Jack must really have scared them!!!

I really enjoyed the Pho' here, and will be sure to have it again in the near future. Good prices, good broth are a nice combination!

Some notes: It gets really crowded here on the weekend. And as noted service can be somewhat abrupt at times.

Lucky Pho' in Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Ooops, I almost forgot – thanks to "Minote" for the initial recommendation!

Lucky Seafood Supermarket/Express Deli

March 27, 2006 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Lucky Seafood Supermarket is the very popular Vietnamese Supermarket on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Once you enter the Market, even though Lucky Seafood is clean and the aroma is kind of kept to a minimum, there is no way you’d confuse Lucky Seafood with the now defunct Lucky Supermarket chain! Maybe the produce department from this view looks just like any other.

But once you look a little closer…..well I don’t think you’d find Ngo Gai(sawleaf herb) in one of those Supermarkets.

As with many of these Supermarkets, there is a good variety of produce, from plantains:

To purple sweet potatoes:

Though the interior of these sweet potatoes reminded me of "Okinawan Sweet Potatoes" back home in Hawaii, they were much larger in size, and not as "sweet".

As with World Foods, or Vien Dong III Supermarket, the meat and seafood section occupies the entire rear section of the market.

Today, there was a small crowd gathered around the fish tanks, for the free show called; The Fishmonger versus the Carp. It seemed that the Carp had the upper hand at times, but eventually the Fishmonger prevailed.

After watching all of the splashing, you’ll know that the warning sign is for! As I turned to look at the various relatively fresh fish, I noticed some really nice looking "Uhu", also known as Parrotfish, which I really haven’t seen in a while.

All of the usual suspects were in view; from the wall of fish sauce:

And the aisle of noodles:

Now what was I doing wandering around Lucky Seafood? Well, it’s because of this:

Express Deli, is the not so little Take-out operation located in Lucky Seafood. And with everything from Spring Rolls, to Salt and Pepper Shrimp, to Fried Fish, to Stewed Pig’s feet, there was quite a nice variety of Vietnamese and Chinese-style food available. You can purchase items ala carte or get a 2 item combination plate(with starch) for $3.89, or a 3 item combination for $4.89. But today I opted for the Banh Mi which Express Deli also makes.

I ordered the Banh Mi Thit Ngoui($2.25) and a BBQ Pork Banh Mi ($2.25). The Thit Ngoui, basically a lean pork sausage and "head" sausage sandwich:

I saw them place the sandwich in a toaster, and that created a nice crisp crust, though the bread was kind of soggy and gummy. There was a nice smear of pate’, just enough for a nice balanced flavor. There was also a good amount of "pickles", in fact, just about the most pickled veggies I’ve had. Two slices of Jalapeno added some nice heat; though I’d have enjoyed a single thin long cut so the heat would be spread through every bite, much like the cucumber spear. The cilantro had stems which were tough, and you couldn’t help but pull out all the cilantro when you bit into the sandwich. The sandwich was a bit skimpy on the meat for my taste, the slices were almost paper thin. Still, not bad for $2.25.

The BBQ Pork sandwich was basically more of the same:

This 8 inch sandwich did have a good amount of soy-fish sauce-sugar flavored pork, though there were several really tough pieces of inedible fat in the sandwich. Still, a decent Banh Mi, and it’s really hard to complain for a sandwich that costs two-bucks-and-a-quarter!

The Young Lady who manned the cash register, as well as the one who assembled my sandwich were very nice, smiling, and both apologizing for having to wait for a sandwich.

So, you can get some good looking deli food, shop in a clean "environment"(if that kind of stuff bothers you), and wait; it’s not over yet! Check out this sign and you’ll know what’s coming up next:

Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

As I ate my Banh Mi, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d mentioned Lucky Seafood to someone, who wrinkled Her nose, and said: "that place is so gross, they even have live fish that they catch and clean and chop up, and all of that kind of stuff in that place." She had entered the place thinking that this was one of the other "Lucky’s" Supermarket. I was going to ask her if she knew that fish didn’t live in the wild in filet form, or in cans…..but I held my tongue! Imagine a beautiful school of salmon filets………

Pho Viet Cali

March 19, 2006 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Pho Viet Cali has closed

Ok, let's see we got Pho' Hoa Cali, Pho T Cali, just plain Pho' Cali, and now here's Pho' Viet Cali! What we actually have here is a whole lotta' confusion. So much confusion, that I really don't even remember what brought me back to this Mira Mesa Strip Mall. But like Ed from Yuma says(I'm paraphrasing, of course), "I can't remember very much from a month ago, but I remember just about every meal I've had in the last 10 years!" It helps that I carry my handy-dandy camera around as well.

Viet Cali is located right next to Sorrento European Bakery, and the Plaza Sorrento Food Court that Amarin Thai is in. The interior of Viet Cali is what I call generic "Formica Pho' in design. Clean tile floors, generic tables with "numbers", large "bar", that is used as a counter, and of course the requisite cash register counter. And like many of these types of restaurants Viet Cali is alot smaller then it looks like from the outside.

Despite the seemingly generic beginning, Viet Cali was the scene of a first for me. The first time I've ever paid more than 6 bucks for a bowl of Pho'. Yep the Large Pho Dac Biet (combination), was $6.15. But first here's the garnishes:

Pretty skimpy, and no Ngo Ngai, only 2 slices of Jalapeno. The Pho' arrived piping hot, topped with a good amount of green onions and cilantro. The broth was very much the generic broth, and nothing in the flavor of the broth stood out. The most interesting item in the Pho' were the presence of "meatballs" which were nice and "meaty". The rare steak (6 slices) were also quite quite tender and not in the least bit dry. I did think that this was probably the largest amount of "meat" I've had in any bowl of Pho' to date. Check out the "clump" of tripe:

Unfortunately two of my favorite "cuts", the brisket and tendon, were pretty scarce. Speaking of clump; as I am finding is pretty much the norm, the noodles were located in a large solid clump in the bottom of the bowl.

Luckily they weren't cold, and still had a very nice "pull" to them. Though this is a pretty expensive bowl of Pho', there is a bit more meat then the usual bowl, and I enjoyed the meatballs. But other then that, the broth, noodles, and overall flavor didn't set this bowl above those bowls of Pho' over a dollar cheaper right down the road in Mira Mesa.

I also noticed that I was the only Asian eating in the dining area, but many Asians dropped by to pick-up take-out orders, consisting of mostly Banh Mi. This past Saturday, I had a pretty late start, and all of the places I wanted to eat at on Mira Mesa Boulevard were either filled, or had people waiting outside. So I decided to grab a Banh Mi at Viet Cali. I choose the Banh Mi Thit Nguoi, at $2.95, it was a bit more expensive then the sandwiches I've had in the past.

On the positive side; the bread was nice and crusty, and the pate, head cheese, and pork sausage was fine. Also, the cilantro in the sandwich consisted of mostly leaves and thin stems removing the irritating "stringy" and tough texture. On the negative, there was a large slather of mayo on the bottom of the sandwich which overpowered all the other flavors. The portion of pickles was very small to render them inconsequential, ditto for the cucumbers, not only affecting taste, but texture as well. I also lamented the lack of hot chilies in the sandwich. The sandwich was also on the small side, about 7 inches long.

This Banh Mi was not bad, but the version at Kim Chan was much better. And about $1 cheaper.

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

Hours – Mon-Sat 830am-9pm
Closed on Sunday

Update on Vientiane, Dao Son, and Other Mid-Week Odds and Ends

March 15, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

*** Vientianne has since closed….

Just a quick "hump day" post. I created a post on March 6th, about a visit I made to Vientiane Food to Go a few weeks back. A few days ago, the Missus had a craving for the "Fried Rice" (The Lady there called it "Nem") she had eaten there. So I drove down to 47th and Imperial to find the take-out window in Lao Plaza had a "For Lease" sign on it. But luckily, the snack and noodle soup counter next door had taken over the business, and Papaya Salad and sticky rice were still available. Whew!

I ended up trying the Beef Laab:

Fairly tender slices of beef along with tripe, in a surprisingly mild fish-lime sauce. I really was shocked at the mildness of the dish, even when I ate a few hot peppers.

I also managed to get the rice the Missus wanted along with some very good perfectly fried pork rinds. The rinds were cut into thin strips, and almost looked like calamari. They hadn’t the slightest bit of greasiness to them, and were "light"(in relative terms) and crunchy. Delici-yoso!!!

So 2 orders Beef Laab, Fried Rice, Pork Rinds, and Container of Sticky Rice – $15. I did ask where the Woman who formerly ran the "take-out window" had gone to, and was told that business was slow, so she decided to get a regular job. Bummer. Though I didn’t try the papaya salad, both the sticky rice and the fried rice tasted perfectly fine, and so there probably is just the minimum amount of change if any.

Here’s a few photos of a recent visit to Dao Son. I had the Chicken Katsu Curry($5.50):

Very thin, but spicy curry. Flavor was more like a Thai curry then the sweeter Japanese Curry. Katsu was a bit over-fried making the crust rather hard, but the overall flavor of the dish was good.

And two dishes that were on included in my previous post. The Red Chicken($5.99):

Chicken a bit too dry this time around, but oh man that sauce………

Fried Catfish with Eggplant($6.99):

I don’t know why this dish hasn’t been added to the regular menu. It’s always been on the "grease board menu".

Some odds and ends:

I read about the 5lb 7oz mango from the Big Island that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. You can read the article here.

And from the la.food blogging site, a post about Tommy’s Ultimate Fan Free Combo Meal contest. Yep, that is the word "free"….

If you wonder what the ‘Butter Side Down School of Science’ is, you can find out here. Not really about food…I think????

Since it’s close to that time of the year, here’s Colleen’s version of "Silence of the Peeps."

And finally, you can help name Pam’s from Daily Gluttony‘s Baby "Brother".

Oh, one more last thing, please check out the Website of a Movie I’m really looking forward to seeing. I know it’s not really about food, I really was trying to figure how to tie in a link to it, but just gave up…. Looks like a really funny film!

Hope the week is going well for everyone!

Saigon Restaurant

March 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Even if you’re a neophyte when it comes to Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego, I think you’d know of Saigon Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. In fact, other then Phuong Trang, Saigon is the Vietnamese Restaurant that is most often mentioned to me in conversations.

Over the years we’ve visited Saigon quite a few times. Mostly because of the huge menu and reasonable prices. Don’t ask me to have the Pho’ here though! The two times I’ve had the Pho’, the dark broth had an extremely strong anise flavor, and the noodles were terrible.

The interior of Saigon is not huge, but very cavernous, with murals lining the walls near the ceiling.

I need to warn you, though. That if you suffer from "Vietnamese Menu Overload Syndrome", the 340+ items on the menu will send you into immediate convulsions, or at least a severe case of indecision.

On this visit we started with the usual Cha Gio(Vietnamese Egg Rolls – $4.95):

Interestingly enough, in our previous visits here, I’d never ordered these. The Cha gio were served with the usual plate of lettuce and mint. These innocuous looking egg rolls, felt rather cool to the touch, but were molten hot inside, and almost burnt my lips off. In fact I saved one till the end of the meal, and it was still super hot inside! These Egg Rolls were more like Chinese Style Egg Rolls, in that there was mostly stringy shredded vegetables, and almost no meat, or bean thread. The Nuoc Mam(Fish sauce) was really good though, nice and spicy, and not overly sweet.

I was also curious about the "Spicy, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, with Garlic Hot Sauce"($9.95). Sounds great doesn’t it? Well here it is:

This dish tasted exactly like a bland Chinese Sweet and Sour Shrimp, except for some nice julienned strips of ginger. The one thing that saved the dish from being a total loss, were the perfectly cooked, plump, and soft shrimp.

Clams with Basil($8.95):

A bubbling hot pot of clams were delivered to the table. The clams were very plump and fresh, and not overcooked, and falling out of their shells. In fact, the clams passed the Missus’s "clam inventory". The Missus claims that we often get served more shells then clam meat in our dishes, and has now started to keep a "mental count" of clam meat versus shells! Back to the dish. There was a good amount of basil in the "brown sauce". The sliced Jalapeno added some nice "middle-tongue" heat, that is, a non-numbing, quick "burn". The Missus thought the sauce wasn’t salty enough, but I though that there was a nice balance of salty and mild sweetness in the dish. Pretty darn good.

This past Saturday was a very cold(by San Diego standards), and rainy(ditto) day. So we decided to drop by Saigon again.

Of course we got clams again. But this time it was the Clams with Ginger and (Green) Onion($8.95):

Same dish as the basil, except with green onions and the flavor of ginger. This dish also used dried red chilies instead of Jalapenos, which provided heat at the back of my throat(slow burn). I also detected garlic in the sauce today as well. Otherwise, same brown sauce. Again, pretty good.

Earlier in the morning I went to pick up a cup of coffee from Sandwich Emporium, and of course got into a conversation about….guess what? Food of course, with one of the "Twins" (I still can’t tell them apart). I told Him we were probably going to drop by Saigon, and was told to give one of the "Banh Tam" dishes a try. So I ordered the Banh Tam Bo Nuong("Round Rice Noodle" with Char Grilled Beef – $6.50):

What arrived was a bowl overflowing with "stuff", there were seven pieces of beef, rolled tightly around a scallion to create a sausage effect. The beef though maybe a bit on the chewy side, was well marinated with herbs, fish sauce, and the like, and nicely grilled. The Missus kept saying, "Man I wonder what the pork must taste like!". In the bowl was a variety of julienned vegetables, like cucumber and carrots, as well as bean sprouts.

Also provided were bowls of Coconut Milk and the really good Nuoc Mam:

You are supposed to pour the coconut milk and nuoc mam over the bowl, mix it together, and dig in. The Missus however, didn’t care for the coconut milk, so I poured the bowl of nuoc mam(and asked for another bowl, which I proceeded to pour over as well) over the ingredients, and mixed them. I used the coconut milk for dipping. During the mixing process a layer of lettuce and wonderfully palate cleansing mint was revealed.

The noodles though, were very disappointing. They were simply cold vermicelli rice noodles, stuck together to form a "cake". Tasteless and brittle, they brought nothing to the dish. I’d have this dish again though, in spite of the noodles.

On our previous visit, an odd thing happened. Our Server actually struck up a conversation with us. Something that had never occurred to me in a Vietnamese Restaurant before. He recommended this dish:

Can you figure out what it is? In that bubbling sauce is the Sauteed Catfish($6.95).

In the brown sauce (a recurring theme?), were green onions, garlic and lot’s of black pepper, which made this sauce really stand out. I’d have rather had fillets then cross cut fish, where bones can make the eating process messy and somewhat ponderous. The flesh of the fish had a nice buttery texture, but was a bit too muddy for my tastes, but that didn’t bother the Missus at all, who loved it. I just enjoyed the sauce on my rice, which was delici-yoso!!!

Apparently there’s some good eats on that menu of 300+ items. You just gotta keep "digging away" at it.

Saigon Restaurant
4455 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Sun-Thurs 8am – 10pm
Fri-Sat 8am – 11pm