Archive for December, 2007

Ha Noi Restaurant

Published
by
Gastronomer
on December 30, 2007
in Orange County, Restaurant Review and Vietnamese
. 2 Comments

December 23, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

9082 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

Phone: 714-901-8108
Website: http://www.hanoirest.com/index.html

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Banh Tom Co Ngu ($6.50)

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Bun Cha Ha Noi ($6.50)

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On our drive from LAX to San Diego, my mom and aunt insisted that we stop by Little Saigon for a little shopping and dinner. After five months of living in Vietnam, I wasn’t exactly craving Vietnamese cuisine, but I was excited to compare and contrast food from Saigon to food from Little Saigon.

Since my family is from the south, I was surprised when we pulled into an eatery specializing in northern delicacies. My aunt had heard good things about Ha Noi Restaurant, and so my mom and I left her in charge of the ordering; she stuck to the house specials—banh tom co ngu and bun cha.

The banh tom co ngu achieved the ideal deep-fried state—crispy without a trace of greasy. Wrapped in large Romaine lettuce and dipped in nuoc cham, the familiar flavors of the banh tom co ngu instantly transported me back to Saigon.

I only had a small bite of the bun cha because my appetite was sadly non-existant due to jetlag. I thought that the cha here was far leaner than the ones in Saigon. Another difference was the size of the meat patties. Whereas the cha in Vietnam are about the size of silver dollars, the ones served here were super-sized. Oh, America.

I once read that the Vietnamese food in Vietnam tastes better because of ambient factors like motorbike exhaust, stumpy stools, napkin littered floors, etc., but wasn’t sure if I agreed. After eating in sanitary Little Saigon, I must admit that I badly missed the real thing.

EVA Airlines

Published
by
Gastronomer
on December 28, 2007
in Airplane Food
. 2 Comments
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Flying back to California on EVA Airlines was a pleasure and the food on board was defintely palatable. The coolest part was that the airline actually took my request for a “high-fiber meal” seriously! Back in September when I booked the flight online, there was a special tab for dietary needs. I scanned the selections and chose high-fiber from the menu thinking that the airline would not likely make special accommodations. I was totally wrong. While everyone on board was munching on refined flours, I was given super-special meals loaded with soluble and insoluble fiber. Neat!

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Lunch: The main course was a flaky white fish topped with tomato sauce served with steamed broccoli, carrots and noodles. Sides included a whole-wheat roll and a salad of sorts consisting of diced ham, celery and carrots. Dessert was an orange gelatin with pieces of fresh watermelon.

The carrots were overcooked, but the broccoli and fish were actually decent. I didn’t touch the noodles because they were a little too dried-out on top. The salad and dessert were ‘eh,’ but the roll was warm and moist.

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Dinner: This meal was my personal favorite! The main course was a little hunk of steak topped with oatmeal (!), a roasted tomato sprinkled with herb bread crumbs, a few asparagus spears and two squares of squash. Sides included another whole-wheat roll, a celery salad with shredded carrots in a light vinaigrette and fresh grapefruit and guava. Dessert consisted of three oatmeal raisin cookies.

I started with the celery salad, which was cool and crisp. Next, I moved onto the roasted tomato, asparagus and squash. All three were surprisingly well-prepared—the asparagus still had a nice snap to them, while the tomatoes and squash were solid. The steak looked a bit gray, so I scraped off the oatmeal and left the meat alone. The fruit was tasty; the guava was especially sweet. Dessert was bomb. Seriously. Lots of raisins and an unknown “crunch” factor that further added to the cookies’ appeal.

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Breakfast: The main course was not breakfast-y at all—turkey meatballs and edamame in a tomato sauce served with noodles. A croissant, banana muffin and “fish cake” with a cherry tomato and slices of red and yellow peppers were served on the side.

I started off with the croissant because I wanted to eat it while it was still hot. It was flaky, buttery and really good! How’d they do that? The banana muffin was cold, but retained its moistness and tasted like classic banana bread. The turkey meatballs were decent, as were the edamame, but I once again steered clear of the noodles. I also didn’t touch the fish cake. Ick. The pepper slices and tomatoes were only okay, but I ate them because they are a good source of fiber. And that’s what I asked for.

Bánh Mì Lá Lốt

Published
by
Gastronomer
on December 27, 2007
in Saigon and Vietnamese
. 7 Comments

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The evening before I departed for San Diego, The Astronomer, Rosalind, Zach and I drove to District 8 to check out xom dao (Catholic neighborhood). I edited an article for the Saigon Times about “rock caves” constructed by the churches and residents in the neighborhood, and was mighty curious about the spectacle.

It turned out that everyone in Saigon was also excited about the annual display because the streets of xom dao were packed to the max with motorbikes, families and vendors of all sorts. The mysterious “rock caves” were huge nativity scenes dressed up in lights, waterfalls (!), snowmen, Santa and of course, baby Jesus. The Three Wise Men were nowhere in sight. It was a funny mix of pagan and religious characters with a dash of Vietnamese cheese and excess. We loved it.

Due to the hoards of revelers in the streets, it took us three hours or so to go from one end of the street to the other. Somewhere in between, we bought three bánh mì lá lốt to nosh on. Lá lốt are little rolls of distinctly spiced meat wrapped up in leaves and grilled. The vendor was generous and loaded each sandwich with ten pieces of meat along with pickled carrots and daikon and a squirt of chili sauce.

All four of us agreed that the sandwiches were hearty and delicious. Bánh mì lá lốt seems to be a District 8 delicacy, along with thit cay (dog meat), because we have not seen it sold elsewhere in the city.

Xôi Gấc

Published
by
Gastronomer
on December 21, 2007
in Breakfast, Saigon and Vietnamese
. 1 Comment

Another day, another xôi!

Xôi gấc is a sweet, coconut flavored sticky rice. The gấc fruit departs a deep orange hue upon the rice, but is fairly “gray” in the flavor department. I’ve read in a number of places on the information super highway that xôi gấc is only eaten during the Lunar New Year and at wedding celebrations. However, in lovely District 4, it’s sold every morning by a handful of ladies. Woot!

Bún Gạo

Published
by
Gastronomer
on December 20, 2007
in Saigon and Vietnamese
. 0 Comments

The Astronomer, his sister and I returned to the especially delicious block of Ly Chinh Thang Street in District 3 for lunch the other afternoon.

While most street vendors usually sell only one or two dishes, this vendor sells at least five different ones. Without a kitchen at her disposal, I’m not quite sure how she’s able to offer so much variety. Her mise en place always seems to be well stocked too! Incredible.

Last time we ate here, she suggested that I try bún gạo the next time I visited. My family eats a lot of Vietnamese food, but bún gạo is not in the rotation. In fact, this was my very first bowl!

Bún gạo is a close-relative of bun thit nuong, bun cha gio, bun thit xao, etc. The major difference between them lies in the noodles. Whereas the aforementioned dishes employ fresh rice noodles, according to the vendor, bún gạo uses old rice noodles that are reconstituted in boiling water and sauteed in oil. The result is a thinner and coarser product.

Strips of scrambled eggs, fried tofu, sauteed chives and spinach, thit xao (beef with lemongrass and onions), greens, herbs, peanuts, shallots, and cha gio were piled on top of the noodles. The entire concoction was splashed with nuoc cham.

The verdict? Bún gạo is really good. The dish was fresh, cool and full of variety. The fried egg and sauteed greens were my favorite components. Sometimes with big bowls of noodles, I experience a bit of palette fatigue. However, with the wide range of flavors and textures present in this dish, I effortlessly killed it.

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