Fill 'Er Up

These are old photos from my trip back to California that I'm finally getting around to posting. I swear, I'm getting a real camera soon.


Vegan Vietnamese Bun Bo Hue, or Spicy Fake Pork Noodle Soup, Hue Style at Di Lat in San Jose. The word for vegetarian in Vietnamese translates to bland. This was definitely not. Regular bun bo hue is one of my favorite dishes. My mom's is soo good and so spicy. Still no place in NY that can make it.


And the reason I was eating vegan, dear Helena. She recently adopted a wholly vegan diet. She's been really tolerant, if only a little judgmental, about my all-meat inclusive diet over the course of our gazillion year friendship. (I love you, H.) I also find Vietnamese vegan to be the tastiest vegan there is. If you are ever in San Jose, go to Tofoo House for awesome vegan Vietnamese Banh Mi.


Banh Bot Chien which translates roughly to fried flour. I don't know what it is exactly except that I love it. The dipping sauce is like a sugary soy sauce. I could probably Google what the hell it is, but why don't you do the research let me know. A recipe would be great, too, ta very much!


Oh, Hannah. You are a muffin and a half. Little Vietnamese Babies (LVBs) love their pho. In restaurants the bowls usually come with a pair of scissors to cut up the noodles. Also, LVBs do not like cilantro or scallions in their pho, thank you very much.


Here's my bowl of pho. I got the Xe Lua, which translates to train. Yeah, there was no stopping me. I think Hannah could have gone for a dip in the bowl. I finished the whole damn thing, too.


But wait, you say, that's not the same bowl. You have continuity issues. I say, God you are so linear. This is the after bowl of the next bowl you see, which is actually not pho. Not pho? you say. Why, no. Read on to find out what filled this bowl.


Hu Tieu Mi Nam Vang. This is the fatty express. Wide rice vermicelli and egg noodles combo with shrimp, pork, and the most delicious broth in the world. The best place to go in San Jose for this stuff is Samkee.


Mi Xao Don Thap Cam. Combination Crispy fried egg noodles. I didn't eat this. My nephew did. The young ones like to eat this kind of stuff. I loved it as a kid too. Ok fine, I had a little taste. It made me want to be a kid again.

I miss all the great food so much, but really, I miss all the company that came with the food. Can't wait to eat with you all again.

BEP

Delicious Vietnamese food in Williamsburg not made by me. It's like going to a friend's for dinner. Except you have to pay for it because it's your friend's restaurant and not your friend's apartment.

Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup--It's pronounced more like FUH, not FO.)



Banh Mi Thit Nuong (Grilled Pork Sammy)

worst food blogger ever

It's not as though I lack content as I have to eat multiple times a day--I just keep forgetting that I have a food blog now. And by the time I remember again that I have a food blog, I've already eaten the thing I want to take a photo of. Such was the case today.

So there's this new Vietnamese Banh Mi place that opened recently in Williamsburg that I've been curious about, and tonight Andrew came home with two sammies for us. He got me the classic and himself the bbq'd pork. They mixed up the sandwiches, and we weren't paying attention to what we were eating until we had finished our first halves, so we ended up getting to try both. Our review: not impressed. There's something Vietnamese banh mi places can't seem to get right in New York, which is also the most important component: the bread! (whoa, lots of colon use.) The bread was doughy and chewy, not light and airy with a crispy crust that hurts the roof of your mouth. They skimped on the meat in both, which in the case of the bbq'd pork was probably a good idea. The bbq'd pork was bland and gristly and fatty.The cold cuts in the classic were sliced way too thin. Oh, and the pate was the faintest smear. And what's with NY banh mi places not pickling daikon? Andrew asked for spicy, but the jalapenos were no where to be found. I guess the cucumber was good...

I always miss the banh mi in San Jose. I was always torn between Dakao and the one on Tully road right the 101. (Help me out, Young. Was it Huong Lan?) The sanwiches were always so cheap. When I moved a few years ago, they were still $1.50. In NY they range from $4 to $8, some fancy place even charges $12! But the best was how these places also carried so many other goodies, like banh cuon, goi cuon, or nem chua.

maybe it's not too late to open a banh mi place of my own.

coming soon (with pics and if i remember): full review of other banh mi places in williamsburg, including (full disclosure coming up) my dear friend an's over at Bep. There's been a weird proliferation in new york recently. just read this article in the new york times.

Vietnamese food with a Vietnamese friend

I went to San Jose to drop off a car I borrowed to go camping last weekend. While I was there, Eugene called and asked if I wanted to go to Denny's with him for a late lunch. Of course, I said. I love places like Denny's. I know the food's gonna be crap, but I love the chain restaurantiness of it.

So we're at Denny's (the one on S. Bascom right across the street from where Uyen used to live) and it's 3pm, so not very busy at all. If you've been to a Denny's before, you won't be surprised that we didn't get served for a long while. During this time, Eugene told me about this Vietnamese restaurant he really likes and we both got to wishing we had chosen Vietnamese instead. So I convinced Eugene to drive downtown to the other restaurant instead. Meanwhile, no one has come to our table yet so it made it that much easier to get up and leave. Also, one of the three girls in the booth next to us was on the phone talking about how they're eating at Denny's right now and are going to a pool party right after and then go dancing after that. WOOOOOOOO!

Anyway, I'm glad we got Vietnamese instead because I LOVE PHO. Eugene got some weird dish where the pho noodles were deep fried and the sauce and veggies on it were more Chinese in texture and flavor than Vietnamese. Whatever Catfish wants, I guess. FYI, the restaurant, Dac Phuc, made their own hot sauce which is really, really hot. Another FYI, I went to Johnny Rockets afterwards and got a strawberry shake.

Here are the pictures.


Pho before.


Pho after. Notice how dark the broth got. It's a mixture of too much hoisin sauce and too much of the really, really hot hot sauce.


And then there's Eugene/Catfish with his fried pho.

Comfort food

Chicken soup, oatmeal, and mashed potatoes are comfort foods to some people here in the states...but for an immigrant from Viet Nam like me, nothing says home like a nice plate of broken rice with BBQ pork (even if it's served in a restaurant). Vietnamese cuisine is, hands down, my favorite. What I particularly love about Vietnamese food is how amazing the food tastes, yet is relatively easy and inexpensive to make. Herbs, spices and sauces are all key to the big flavors.

For my two cousins' graduation from high school, their parents took everyone out to celebrate at the Vietnamese restaurant across the street from their house. This was in San Jose, so we drove there.

Here are some tips for dining at a Vietnamese restaurant:

• Don't worry if the menu's a little grimy, that just means it's authentic. (Same goes for the table tops)


• Now that you're at an authentic restaurant, it probably wouldn't hurt to wipe down the authentic grime from the spoons, chopsticks, etc.


• Hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce go well with most things. Use them generously.


• Slurping is ok.


• At the end of the meal, tip what you feel is appropriate. But if you're low on cash, a dollar or two would be perfectly fine, yoo.

The condiments and utensils: various kinds of peppers, vinegar, soy sauce, chopsticks, forks, spoons.


One of the most delicious dishes (besides a bowl of pho): com tam thit nuong, or broken rice with barbecued pork and veggies and fish sauce.

Like fried chicken in New York, the best Vietnamese food is usually found at Uyen's place.