Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 9

Dining In at Pho Duyen Mai and How to Get “Them Bones” (Xí Quách Suon Bò) Now

October 24, 2022 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership

I have really been enjoying the recent cooler weather. It has given me the chance to "catch up" on places that I hadn't visited in quite a while. And now that I've started dining in, albeit with some caution, I have started "making my rounds". In my post on Pho Lucky's reopening, I mentioned wanting to return to Pho Duyen Mai. In the comments section "FOY" Dereck noted a recent visit to Duyen Mai and indicated that "the soup was pretty good the noodles were a disaster. Literally there was a pile of little pieces floating around halfway through the bowl." So, I really wanted to check things out. Luckily, it was about time for Calvin and me to have our "monthly" lunch. And since Duyen Mai opens at 10am, we could minimize the chances of a lunch crowd.

I arrived a bit early, about a quarter to ten and Duyen Mai was already open.

Duyen Mai Rev 01

We looked over the menu and then asked the woman who always works here if they still served the rib bones (Xí Quách Suon Bò). She told us that they still serve them, but only after 1230pm and that there's a limited amount each day. So, we were too early on his day.

Calvin remembered that I used to order the Nem Nuong Cuon from here for the crew at work and we had an order of those to start.

Duyen Mai Rev 02

Decently wrapped, herbs and veggies fresh, crisp fried egg roll wrapper along with a lightly grilled nem nuong. I call these "Brodard light". The dipping sauce was a bit too mild for my taste. Still, not bad for San Diego.

Duyen Mai Rev 03

As for my pho, I got the #27. Well done steak, brisket, flank, tendon, and tripe – a small is now $11.50.

Duyen Mai Rev 04 Duyen Mai Rev 05 The herbs and sprouts were sparkling fresh, though there was no ngo gai. The broth was quite clear, perhaps a bit too defatted for me. It was also "sweeter" than I prefer and quite "salty" but better than what I'd recently consumed at Pho Lucky, at least in terms of beefiness. There was a very mild hint of anise flavor in the broth as well.

Dereck had mentioned the noodles being in little pieces during his meal. This wasn't the case for us, but even though the noodles weren't clumped together, they were overcooked and mushy.

Duyen Mai Rev 06

As for the proteins. Overall, minus not having the Xí Quách Suon Bò, this might be the best beef I've had at Duyen Mai. Other than the well done steak which was "cardboardish", the flank was beefy and firm, the tripe had a nice crunch without being hard and rubbery, the brisket was super tender with nice "bovine" tones, and the tendon was decently tender.

Duyen Mai Rev 07 Duyen Mai Rev 08 Admittedly, I was disappointed in not being to get "Dem Bones", but this was an ok bowl of pho especially for the Kearny Mesa area, which may have the most KFC, hot pot, and such, but seems to have seriously fallen off with regards to Vietnamese cuisine over the past decade.

I'll probably return for the pho with Xí Quách Suon Bò.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 10am – 9pm
Closed on Tuesdays
"Them Bones" (Xí Quách Suon Bò) served after 1230pm

Duyen Mai Rev 09

Bun Rieu From Phuong Nga Again

October 18, 2022 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Talk about a major rebound in weather. Just a few weeks ago we were experiencing record heat and then we get a cooler spell with temps ten degrees cooler than the norm. I really shouldn't be complaining since I actually prefer cooler weather and it gave me a chance to hit up some of my cool weather favorites. And of course, the Missus has Her favorites as well. And with another warm up headed our way, I wanted to make sure that the Missus "got Her fix". So, I headed off to Phuong Nga to get some Bun Rieu for the Missus. The young man working there and his mom already know what I'm there for….sadly, they didn't have bun rieu on this day! I was told that currently "no bun rieu on Tuesday and Thursdays" and on this Sunday they also were out. Oh well…. I decided to try again this past Sunday and got there at 930.

Phuong Nga Rev 01

I was greeted when I arrived; the only person there at the moment. I was told that I needed to return after 1130 for bun rieu. So, I placed my order. As I was talking to the gentleman no less than six people walked in!

Man, Phuong Nga is quite popular these days. Even if they're just doing takeout!

Phuong Nga Rev 02

I returned at 1130 and still had to wait another 20 minutes. I didn't feel too bad, three other folks were already waiting for their Bun Rieu when I arrived. And then when "mom" came out, she saw me and apologized! I guess I'm marked as the "bun rieu guy". And since I had ordered ahead of time, I got mine first!

On the good side, I made sure not to park below this "poop party"!

Phuong Nga Rev 05

And the Missus was so happy to get Her bun rieu before the our upcoming "warm up".

Phuong Nga Rev 03

Man, all the herbs and veggies were sparkling fresh! I'm not sure if it was on purpose but there seemed to be much more meat this time around as well.

As per before, I put the soup in a pot to warm up. I then put water in a thick sided bowl and heat for three minutes. I put the noodles in a small colander- we can only finish one order of noodles at a time; the rest is used for some other soup. I place the colander over another thick sided bowl and pour the hot water over the noodles to warm and loosen. The noodles here have never been overcooked so it handles the procedure well. I drain and separate the noodles and empty the water from the second bowl.

Voila! You have two warmed up bowls for your bun rieu!

Phuong Nga Rev 04

The broth on this day was a bit more savory and with a more hefty tongue feel than usual….the wait was worth it I guess. I use some mam tom and a squeeze of lime in mine. The Missus loves adding the chilies to Hers. The Missus loves the banana blossom, shredded morning glory, and the perilla leaves. She loves the tofu, tomato, and pork-seafood "cakes". I'll usually get the pork ribs. Like I mentioned earlier; there was a ton of meat on this day.

And all was well in the mmm-yoso household.

Phuong Nga 2
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

For my other posts on the Bun Rieu to go from Phuong Nga, you can go here, here, or here.

**** Note for 10/18/2022 – currently no Bun Rieu on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Pho Lucky Reopens

October 17, 2022 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I was quite happy to see that Pho Lucky was reopening. Once upon a time we enjoyed the pho so much at Lucky that it was on our regular rotation. Over the years it did "pho" out of favor with us (sorry, I couldn't help it) but, at least for me I replaced the pho with the banh mi bo kho which was was my favorite version in San Diego. I was quite excited at the possibility of having the bo kho so I headed over the first chance I had.

Lucky Reopen 01

Man, they've done a pretty nice job renovating the interior.

Lucky Reopen 02

Being used to the "old" Pho Lucky, I was a bit taken aback when I was greeted with a smile and lead to my table. Everyone was quite pleasant.

Lucky Reopen 03

I was given a menu…and sadly, there was no bo kho on it. When I asked, I was told that "maybe it might be added in the future". For now; it's almost all pho. So, since I was going to get the pho, I went with a small bowl of the #3 ($10.95)….which used to be the #4 in the good old days, the well done flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe….which they spell as "stripe" on the menu.

Lucky Reopen Menu

One left over procedure from before is the delivery of utensils and napkins in a basket.

Lucky Reopen 04

What was totally different from days of yore, is that metal bowls are now used to serve the pho.

Lucky Reopen 05

In terms of appearance, the broth wasn't cloudy if a bit overly defatted.

Lucky Reopen 05b Lucky Reopen 06 In terms of flavor, I took a quick sip of the broth just as it was delivered and…..sigh…..just slightly beefy and it had that feature of "San Diego Pho"…..the broth was overly sweet and quite thin.

I was glad to see not one, but two leaves of ngo gai….I must have hit the jackpot!

I then went to check the noodles….and sigh number two….it was in a clump in the bottom of the bowl.

Lucky Reopen 07 Lucky Reopen 08 I did notice something interesting as I went to add the bean sprouts to my pho. It was studded with ice! I guess this is what keeps those sprouts fresh and crisp? Not a great move to add to your pho though…..

As for the proteins….well, the two items I really enjoy were on the endangered list. The tendon was nice and tender; but only two small slices, and only two little wisps of tripe. I guess they might have a "two per customer" limit? The flank was decently tender and quite beefy, while the brisket was on the drier side.

Lucky Reopen 09

Sadly, the noodles were mushy.

Lucky Reopen 10

And sad kind of sums my feeling; though I did feel a bit out of sorts. When I thought about things, I wondered when was the last time I actually dined in and had pho…it was in March of 2020! Before the pandemic. Keep in mind that we have over 145 pho related posts. Geez, it had been so long. I'll give Lucky a "pass" this time around and drop by in a couple of months to see what's up.

Meanwhile, I need to drop by Duyen Mai, after all….

Lucky Reopen 11

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

Have a great week everyone!

Lucky Reopen 12

What’s My Craving – Bun Bo Hue “at” Mien Trung

October 10, 2022 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

My lunch at Izakaya Sakura had me missing the "good 'ol days"….times when gas wasn't hitting seven bucks a gallon, when I wouldn't give a second thought to dining in, and all those places I used to frequent. I'd been craving the Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung. I'd done takeout from Mien Trung a couple of times since the pandemic started, but for me; it just wasn't the same. With the recent cooler weather, I decided to head on down at around 9am and take a peek to see if they were busy.

MT Rev 01

MT Rev 02 MT Rev 03 The place was empty except for two "regulars" who were joking around (quite loudly) with Boo, the gentleman who has taken over running the place from his mom and dad.

He was quite pleased to see me actually sitting at a table that he came out and shook my hand, then chided me for not coming more often! After all; I'd been a regular customer here since 2006! Man, can you believe the Bun Bo Hue here used to be $4.99 back then? It's now $12; which in consideration of prices these days, I think is relatively reasonable.

Anyway, I placed my order….you know what I got, right? And Boo came over and we chatted about the last couple of years, how costs have gone crazy, and so forth.

MT Rev 04 MT Rev 05 When my Bun Bo Hue arrived he said "time to eat" and left me to enjoy my scalding, spicy bowl of Bun Bo Hue. It used to be that I'd have to add chili oil to my soup, but these days it's more than spicy enough. I think my tolerance has waned over the years. The veggies are added, I give things a good mix…….I love to track the change in texture to the veggies as the hot soup slowly works its magic. I do still add a bit on mam tom for that savory "kick".

The rustic slices of meat, the chewy pork hock, the firm but slippery bun………

In case you're wondering if I enjoyed this…..

MT Rev 05b

For a few minutes everything seemed right in the world. Perhaps I should have worn a light colored shirt in honor of Ed from Yuma who would without fail always wear some light colored shirt when we ate here. He'd leave full and happy, with red specks all over his shirt; a badge of honor, perhaps? Well, maybe next time. As I'm pretty sure and hope that they'll be many "next times".

MT Rev 06

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

This post is for "FOY" – KT, who enjoys the Vietnamese food options in San Diego!

Pho Hoa (again)

September 12, 2022 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy for the next few days; Kirk has some free time and isn't posting.

Coincidentally, the day when Kirk posted about Avian Sandwiches, The Mister and I had just finished a wonderful lunch at Pho Hoa, which is located in the same shopping center anchored by Thuan Phat Supermarket. There are many posts about Pho Hoa here (use the 'search' box on the upper left). I've only posted about this old school shop in 2015, even though it has been a regular stop before grocery shopping. E5686645-AC09-439A-8EE6-450803578BD7
Not much has changed since Covid-19. Menu is the same. Tabletops are still sticky. Prices have, of course, increased.

2AFB4EC6-3376-40D3-B48F-7E4D84BC11D4 5A16C0EF-1C71-4DE8-AC73-76DE8AABB5C8 Pho Tai (rare beef) (large, $11.40) arrives with fresh herbs and add-ins, still has a rich deep colored and flavorful broth which is slightly salty. Noodles were not in a 'clump'. Overall, this bowl was very refreshing.
AE018AA2-7C13-4AF4-AAF3-202379E519AA The half order of Spring Rolls ($5.60) arrived with the shrimp and pork still warm. The lettuce, sprouts and mint were crisp and very fresh. Even the vermicelli noodles were still warm. Made to order and exceptionally good.
3E297B54-4E68-4AC9-A074-A84CE5A8D9E9 The grilled pork Bun ($12.60) was quite a large serving of thicker slices of char grilled pork on top of lettuce and cold vermicelli topped with pickled radish and carrot, sprouts and mint and topped with plenty of peanuts. The nuoc nuam sauce/dressing is a wonderfully balanced fish sauce based dressing.

This meal really met our cravings.

Pho Hoa 6921 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 (858) 492-9108 open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

9C3A5F86-729E-45BE-8924-22C383479244

Pho Lucky Reopening in Mira Mesa and it’s been 900 Days……

September 2, 2022 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

**** You can find my post on my first visit to Pho Lucky since the reopening here.

My buddy "Calvin" told me that he heard Pho Lucky was reopening so I headed on over this past weekend. And guess what?

This brought a smile to my face. While perhaps the pho was not always consistent, Pho Lucky made my favorite version of Bo Kho. Though looking at the sign, I'm thinking this might be a whole new set of folks? Hopefully, we'll soon see…..

9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

And it's been 900 days……

I went over to Nijiya to do some shopping….something I do a couple of times a week it seems.

900 Days

And for some reason; I flashed back to this:

Covid shopping 09

Covid shopping 10

And this…..

Covid shopping 05

And then I did a quick check on my date/time calculator and saw, that it was going to be 900 days since "that day". I think of that day being March 16, 2020 when all the closures pretty much started. Like I mentioned in my TK Donuts post it really hit home on the 18th of March. I was already going to work super early; like before 5am and by now nothing was open for coffee, not even 7-11 or Starbucks. I drove down Clairemont Drive and onto the I-5 North and saw not a single vehicle….getting off at Nobel Drive, ditto…..nothing until I passed a police cruiser near Genesee. It was eerie, like I was transported to some sci-fi movie.

I'll never forget that morning.

And of course, since this is a food blog, I mourn the loss of so many places, some personal favorites, and others places with a long history in their neighborhoods. So many places……

Things continue to change; new challenges arise. Frankly there were times when I wondered if I should keep on posting So many have stopped or moved on to the latest platform/app. But the desire to eat and share our meals/shopping/travel hasn't abated. For this I thank all of you for the wonderful comments and emails!

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Avian Sandwiches Revisited

August 31, 2022 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I had to do some shopping at Thuan Phat Market and was feeling a bit hungry. It had been quite a while since I'd had the Banh Mi from Avian Sandwiches and Water. In fact, I believe the place was still named Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water at that time. The fro-yo side of the business is long gone though.

Avian Rev 01 Avian Rev 02 As I walked toward the shop I noticed several gentleman sitting facing the front of the store and then noticed that they have a television facing the parking lot, so folks can watch from outside of the place! Funny thing. Though I'm quite used to the Vietnamese Men "doing coffee" thing…..I don't ever recall seeing them watching Paw Patrol before, which is what was streaming at the time I entered the shop.

The shop is, well….they do pack things in pretty tight. With all the lottery stuff posted everywhere; it seems that it's a big part of the business here as I saw fours guys come in to buy lottery tickets while I waited for my sandwich.

Because of how tight things were in the shop, I waited outside for my Banh Mi Dac Biet now priced at $6.95. It took about 15 minutes for my sandwich, after which I headed home.

Avian Rev 03 Avian Rev 04 The bread seemed to be at that overly dry, almost stale stage as it was quite crumbly and hard. Check out all the cilantro, that wedge of cucumber, and all those pickled veggies! I guess they wanted to make I was getting my daily allowance here! Of course that threw the balance of the banh mi off a bit. The jalapenos weren't overly spicy, the pate nice and funky, the Cha Lua sliced super thin, and the Thịt Nguoi standard issue.

This was ok, but not something I'd go out of my way for.

Avian Sandwiches & Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 8am – 7pm

On an interesting note, while waiting for my sandwich I saw the hours posted which threw me off at first…..

Avian Rev 05

Sun-Mon 8am – 7pm…….but open 7 Days????

Phuong Nga Bakery and Café Revisited

August 8, 2022 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe is now Banh Mi Express

With the recent hot and relatively muggy weather, I'd been craving banh mi. Also, I had been wanting to revisit Phuong Nga Bakery and Café, but when I initially dropped by after work, I saw that Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 01 their hours were now only from 8am to 3pm Mondays to Fridays. I did pass by on a Saturday and I noticed activity in the place. And then it dawned on me…..all that bread you see Phuong Nga selling from their counter is baked here! Duh….. And so, I made it a point to actually drop by during the shop's business hours to grab a banh mi.

The young man working was very nice and did confirm that the bread at Phuong Nga is indeed baked here.

Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 02

I ordered the Banh Mi with Ham and Pate (Banh Mi Thịt Nguoi – $6.19, all sign are only in English) to go and my sandwich was ready in a few minutes.

Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 03 Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 04b The banh mi here have always been on the "hefty" side in my opinion and this was no different. First off, the bread was really crusty, I felt perhaps a bit too heavily baked? One bite resulted in crusty "shrapnel" flying in all directions. Still, this was much better than what I've recently had from Cali Baguette and Cali Banh Mi, both of which seemed to have "jumped the shark" a while back.

There was a nice smear of pate which I enjoyed and perhaps a bit too much Thịt Nguoi? But maybe that because of my own "PPP" (personal proportional preference)?

Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 04

The jalapeno was pretty mild and for some reason I felt the sandwich could have done with more cilantro and pickled veggies? Perhaps that's because of the larger amount of protein in this sandwich?

Phuong Nga Bakery Rev 05

Anyway, this did fill me up and I think is a decent option for banh mi. If that bread was just a little less baked, it would have brought it up a notch as it was nice and yeasty and the non-crust portions nice and tender. So, I'll probably check them out again soon.

Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 3pm
Closed on Saturday and Sundays

Circling Back to Tu Thanh

June 13, 2022 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

A few weeks back, the Missus was craving Her favorite Bun Rieu, so I went to pick some up. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I was told that there was at least an hour wait for the Bun Rieu. I suddenly had an idea; I placed my order and decided to push my luck and see if I could find parking near Tu Thanh. I had tried to grab my favorite Bun Mang Vit in San Diego from Tu Thanh during the previous month, but there was no parking to be found within 4-5 blocks, so I ended up at "plan B" 777 Noodle House. Still my craving for Bun Mang Vit went unabated.

Well, I guess it was my lucky day, I found parking half a block away and greedily headed to Tu Thanh.

Circling TT 01

These days Tu Thanh opens at 9 and I arrived at 930 and there were no customers in the place.

Not sure what the drill is these days; I went up to the window and placed my order.

Circling TT 02 Circling TT 03 And then went and sat at a table. I took a look around the room and quickly noticed at the pile of children's toys stacked up on a freezer. I guess Covid has meant that there had to be options in place if childcare and school is not available?

As I waited for my noodle soup my mind wandered……Tu Thanh is one of those "places" that I have been going to for ages. Well, sort of; you see, back in 2006, I used to go to A Chinese Fast-Food shop…well, sort of a Chinese Fast Food Shop named Chinese Kitchen. Along with the Fried Rice, Chow Mein, and other "standards", none of which I ever tried, there was a menu posted with Vietnamese Specialties. In fact, the other name the place was known as was "Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang". Then nearly 7 years later, Tu Thanh's namesake restaurant opened and I've been going there ever since.

Circling TT 04

Soon enough the Nuoc Mam Gung and my eating utensils arrived. The utensils were delivered in a little basket. I'm guessing with Covid, they don't just lay out the eating implements on tables anymore.

Circling TT 06

The look and the fragrance of the Nuoc Mam Gung was comforting. Back in March of 2021 I'd done take out from Tu Thanh and the sauce was lacking in garlic and ginger and was much too sweet. This was return to what I expected and enjoyed.

Circling TT 05 Circling TT 07 My noodle soup and duck arrived. Over time, I'd resigned myself to the fact that banana blossom was no longer included with the Bun Mang Vit. Also, the quantity of dried bamboo shoot has gone down gradually over the years, reducing the amount of earthy tones in the broth. And I'm sure that ever rising costs and Covid supply chain issues have had an affect as well.

Still, on this day at least, the noodles were perfectly firm enough and slippery, the broth was nicely flavored, not overly MSG heavy. The broth does get better as the meal goes along because of the way I eat the duck with this dish. And that gingery-garlicky-savory-mildly sweet sauce was on point.

The duck was sliced to a good thinness for the dish, had a good toothsomeness, and was oh so "ducky" if you know what I mean.

Circling TT 08 Circling TT 09 As for how I eat this; well that's been that's been documented in earlier posts:

"Chi Tu Thanh taught me to eat things this way years ago. For the duck; I dip it in the broth…it warms it up a bit (a good study in temperature and flavor) and in the end adds a bit of flavor to the broth; it then gets a dunk in the sauce, which livens things up. The veggies get the same….what ever escapes adds to the flavor of the rather neutral flavored broth. A dunk in the steaming broth (as it was this day) changes the texture of the herbs a vegetables and whatever escapes adds to the flavor of the broth…those stray veggies do eventually get a dip in the sauce as well."

And over the meal, because I let the bamboo shoots steep in the hot broth, the flavor gets better and better.

Circling TT 10

And yes, it's not as amazing as it used to be; but it's still darn good!

Funny thing, the young lady who I ordered from initially spoke to me in Vietnamese and was a bit surprised that I didn't speak that language. As I paid at the register she asked me how I enjoyed my meal and then asked me how I had heard of Tu Thanh. I told her that even though I'm not a regular customer, I've been eating the Bun Mang Vit from the days of Chinese Kitchen. Which got quite a funny, surprised look from her.

Circling TT 11

And yes, I am so very thankful that places like Tu Thanh, Minh Ky, Phuong Nga, and Mien Trung are still around for us to enjoy. And hopefully will be around for many more years!

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Thurs – Tues 9am – 7pm
Closed on Wednesday

Road Trip efficiency: Brodard (breakfast menu!) and Ochoa’s Chorizo

June 2, 2022 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today, while Kirk is busy with work.

Almost every post I have written has been part of some other errand or event, even before the crazy surge in fuel prices. Usually, the 'other part' of the trip is a separate post or remains unwritten. The second part of this post will reveal a long time favorite stop. Kirk wrote about Brodard in 2013 and I wrote about a visit to the original location in 2014 and the new location in 2019.
Since Covid-19, we had driven here a few times, during the week to avoid crowds.
The menu has condensed, is easily wiped down and has no prices.
Nem Nuong with pork (3 rolls, $7.50) is an automatic order here. Brodard is known for these rolls. Pretty much made to order (the rolls are constantly being prepared (because they are constantly being ordered) in an 'open kitchen' area), the flavorful grilled pork sausage with lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, daikon and chive wrapped with rice paper bundles with the crisp wonton in the center makes the rolls unique. The warm, pork based sauce accompanying the rolls is just the perfect bit of savory.
The Banh Khot Tom- Moon Cake shrimp ($12.95) are mini crisp rice cakes flavored with coconut milk and turmeric.
Each is filled with one shrimp, mung beans and scallion. Served with a variety of greens and a lime-chili-fish sauce for dipping, every delicate bite is filled with flavor.

We were here on a Saturday, around 8 a.m. and noticed this placard on the table-

A breakfast menu. We had to.
The top item: Bo Ne Trung ($17). Chateaubriand -with pate (on the top left of the platter), sate sauce, onions, mayonnaise and two eggs, served sizzling.
It's served with a piece of banh mi. (You can sort of see the corse pate a bit better in this photo). (It is a *wonderful*, flavor filled pate).

The egg whites crisped from the heat of the cast iron platter, while the yolks remained runny. The beef tenderloin was quite perfect; buttery-tender with flavor complimented by the sate sauce (as well as occasional bites of onion and mayonnaise).

It looks like the breakfast menu has been available on weekends since the end of March. We hope to go back soon to try the other items available on the special menu.

Brodard Restaurant 16105 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (657) 247-4401 Website Open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

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We leave Brodard and know that the Interstate will eventually be found and we can head home. The new location of Cream Pan is only about a mile from Brodard. One signal light South of Brodard is Warner. We took that street one day in 2018 and found this business. Now it is a destination. This small, nondescript storefront houses quality. Family owned, Ochoa's has been selling fresh made, perfectly spiced chorizo for more than 35 years.
There are two refrigerator display cases. Pork, chicken and soy chorizo with various spice levels are the primary choices.
The pricing? The plain and spicy pork chorizo is available in bulk. All are available by the meter (scroll back up and look at that photo again). There are a few other meats available.
A meter of green pork chorizo, (medium spice/heat level) ($9) is simply placed in a paper bag for the trip home. We also purchase a pound of bulk mild spice pork chorizo ($4.25). Once home, the green is cut into three inch chunks and frozen, while the mild is divided into three ounce small flat shapes and frozen, ready for breakfast cooking.