Monthly Archive for March, 2009

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Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho – Alhambra

Published by Gastronomer on March 17, 2009 in Alhambra, Banh Mi, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Vietnamese. 6 Comments

A couple weeks after rocking the party at Disneyland to celebrate my birthday, The Astronomer and I returned to Anaheim to cash in our 2fer California Adventure passes. Disney has been most generous to us this month. Grazie!

Sticking with tradition, we stopped in Alhambra to pick up some Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch and dinner. An amusement park outing just wouldn’t be complete without our third wheel—banh mi.

Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho was recommended to me by gas•tron•o•my reader William. “My favorite banh mi shop is Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho,” he writes. “The shop is small, but the taste is big at this place. I think they have the best tasting banh mi around. Even better than the fancy schmancy Mr. Baguette.” I really do love receiving reader recs, especially from folks who hail from the San Gabriel Valley. Thanks, William!

The petite shop was was crammed with banh mi-goers and prepared foods the morning we stopped in. In addition to sandwiches, Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho also sells com tam (broken rice plates), bun (vermicelli rice noodles), and banh uot (thin rice noodle sheets).

Not knowing how huge the sandwiches were going to be, The Astronomer and I purchased four of them to-go. I dug into the banh mi thit nguoi ($2) on the car ride down to Anaheim for breakfast. The array of cold cuts present were plentiful and mild in flavor—even the pate was quite subdued. The bread was firm and substantial.

The banh mi xiu mai ($2.25) was the tastiest of the bunch. The bits of ground pork were sauteed in a sweet and savory marinade with onions. The saucy marinade served to flavor the meat and moisten the bread.

The banh mi thit nuong ($2.25) was sweet and savory as well, but not executed as successfully as the xiu mai. We prefer our thit nuong with a deeper lemongrass flavor.

The banh mi nem nuong ($2.25) was decent—the meatballs provided more texture than flavor due to the overly bread-y baguette.

From what I’ve sampled so far, the downfall of banh mi in the San Gabriel Valley are the baguettes—they’re far too large and much, much too thick. A proper Vietnamese baguette is made entirely of rice flour, which yields a crisp exterior and hollow center, thus allowing the fixins to really shine through. (See: A Chau in San Diego and our banh mi thit nuong vendor in Saigon for some perfect specimens.) The banh mi makers in this town need to move away from super-sized baguettes because the resulting product packs a watered-down punch. Quality always trumps quantity, and good taste rules all.

The banh mi I’ve tasted in the San Gabriel Valley are good, but I’m looking for stellar.

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Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho
304 W Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91803
Phone: 626-289-4160

V.P. Tofu – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on March 16, 2009 in Che, Dessert, Restaurant Review and Vietnamese. 3 Comments

When it comes to desserts, there’s always room for tofu. I’m not one for drawing broad conclusions, but I’ve tested this truism across several continents and countless meals, and it has never failed me.

After cramming in one too many “bread foods” at Qing Dao Bread Food, The Astronomer and I headed up the street to V.P. Tofu for dessert. Following a porky and greasy Chinese feast, the thought of warm silken tofu was downright soothing and endlessly appealing.

V.P. Tofu is a Vietnamese-run establishment offering all sorts of soy products, including fresh tofu, deep-fried tofu, and soy milk (or “soy juice” if you’re in Tony C.’s camp). There’s also a selection of Vietnamese sweets like sticky rice (xoi) and tapioca cakes (banh da lon) strewn across the counter.

We ordered two small containers of sweet tofu ($1.10 each)—one with ginger syrup and the other with pandan essence. Both were served in Styrofoam cups to protect our hands. There’s no seating for patrons inside V.P., so The Astronomer and I took our sweets to the streets—Asia-style.

The texture of the tofu was perfectly smooth and light, while the flavor was clean and mild. The ginger syrup wasn’t as intensely spicy as the ones made by our favorite street side tofu vendor in Saigon, but definitely flavorful enough to sweeten the gentle curds nicely.

The pandan tofu was delightful as well. I was skeptical at the start due to a previous bad experience with a pandan imposter, but was very pleased after my first bite. The pandan tofu was topped with creamy coconut milk.

This place is a keeper.

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V.P. Tofu
237 S Garfield Avenue
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Phone: 626-572-9930

Pi (π) Day

Published by Gastronomer on March 14, 2009 in Potpourri. 3 Comments

Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535… Pi Day is celebrated by food lovers and math enthusiasts around the world on March 14.

I’m gonna grab a slice at Pie ‘n Burger. If you’re in the neighborhood, I highly recommend doing the same. Woot!

Coconut Lime Squares

Published by Gastronomer on March 13, 2009 in Brownie + Bar, Dessert and Recipe. 4 Comments

My friend Luscious Liana, who hails from the great state of Hawai`i, is currently on a two-week tour of the continental United States (or “The Mainland” if you’re Hawai`ian). The City of Angels is her final stop before hopping back to the islands. I figured that after she spent a week-and-a-half in the icebox that is the Midwest, a tropical-inspired sweet would really welcome her to California. With lime zest and coconut flakes baked within the custard, these bars are texturally more interesting than regular Lemon Bars, and definitely just as delicious. A dollop of fresh whipped cream makes for a decadent final touch.

For crust

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For custard

4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 5 limes)
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest (from about 2 limes)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

Make crust

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan (knocking out excess flour) or line with an aluminum foil “sling” and coat with non-stick spray.

In a bowl blend together with fingertips flour, butter, coconut, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Make custard

In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in flour, lime juice, and zest.

Pour mixture over crust and bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Top custard with coconut and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, or until just set. Cool confection in pan on a rack and chill 1 hour.

Makes 16 two-inch squares.

Gourmet, January 1995

Qing Dao Bread Food – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on March 12, 2009 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Monterey Park and Restaurant Review. 6 Comments

Another day, another restaurant with a funny name to try—life is very good in the San Gabriel Valley. The Astronomer and I first caught a glimpse of Qing Dao Bread Food while dining at Yunchuan Garden next door. Even though we were clueless as to what “bread food” meant, in our heart of hearts we knew that we’d love it because “bread” and “food” are two things we adore.

Qing Dao Bread Food is a small operation serving specialties from the Shangdong region of China, which is famous for producing the country’s finest vinegars. For the sake of convenience, diners are presented with a carbon copy paper menu to order from. The menu is divided into four sections: Dumpling, Stuffed, Noodle, and Cold Dishes. There’s also a picture menu plastered on the wall, which may or may not be helpful depending on where one’s party is seated.

The Astronomer and I kicked off our Bread Food tour with a cold appetizer—dry bean curd ($3), which tasted far more delicious than its name suggested. If I were running the show, I’d rewrite the menu to read, “firm bean curd strips with scallions and red bell peppers marinated in sesame oil and soy.” Much more appetizing, right?

After we polished off our appetizer, it was time for dumplings! The dumplings were accompanied by a small dish of garlicky vinegar. This stuff is really potent, so a light, corner dip will do just nicely. Unless of course you’re a garlic-fiend—then I suggest you eat it with a spoon.

The first dumplings to arrive were the sole fish with parsley ($6.95), which can be found under the “Dumpling” menu heading. The dumplings were boiled to order and were super-hot upon arrival. I’m glad that these arrived before our second set of fried dumplings because their delicate and mild flavors would’ve been overpowered. A light dip in the garlic vinegar really made the flavors pop.

From the “Stuffed” portion of the menu, we ordered the pork and napa cabbage dumplings ($5.95), which arrived at our table upside down and looking very much like a chunky pinwheel.

This is what the dumplings looked like turned right side up. As we bit into the pork and napa stuffed pockets, we finally understood what the heck “bread food” meant. The wrapper isn’t thin and pliable like those used in xiao long bao; in fact, they’re down right bread-y and thick. Because the outside is so substantial, it’s hard to gorge on more than a couple in one sitting. The Astronomer and I really wanted to try some noodle soups during our visit, but after downing eight of these “bread food” items, we were toast.