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Disneyland: Home of the World’s Best Corndog

Published

on August 9, 2010

in Amusement Park Fare, Cajun, Orange County and Restaurant Review

. 22 Comments

Banh mi has been synonymous with Disneyland for me for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my mom always purchased a couple of sandwiches from the local deli for my brother and me to eat while visiting the park. Bringing our own lunches was not only economical, but also perfectly delicious for our Vietnamese-trained taste buds.

I’ve continued this tradition as an adult because a parade of junk food can’t compare with a taste of home. Or so I thought… All was well in my brown bagging world up until a few months ago when I heard rumblings that Disneyland was a noteworthy dining destination. From the freshly made corndogs on Main Street U.S.A. to the deep-fried Monte Cristo sandwiches in New Orleans Square, the food at Disneyland suddenly piqued my interest. A full investigation was in order.

It saddened me a little walking into the park without my usual bag of banh mi sandwiches, but one whiff of the Little Red Wagon corndog cart and the matter was completely forgotten. Located just beyond Main Street toward Tomorrow Land, the Little Red Wagon dishes out battered and fried wieners from morning until night. The Astronomer and I made a bee line for the cart as soon as we entered the park.

After enduring a fifteen minute long wait, we were rewarded with the world’s best corndog ($5.79). The exterior was deep-fried to a delectable golden brown, while the hot dog was juicy like you wouldn’t believe. What set this corndog apart was the thick layer of breading hugging the dog that somehow managed to crisp up nicely and yet remain fluffy too. It also had very distinct cornmeal notes that I really liked. Truly, Disney’s creation was heads and shoulders above every corndog I’ve ever eaten. Even the grease dribbling down the stick and onto my fingers didn’t detract from the awesomeness.

Continue reading ‘Disneyland: Home of the World’s Best Corndog’

Viễn Đông Restaurant – Garden Grove

Published

Gastronomer

on July 5, 2009

in Bun Rieu, Cha Ca Thanh Long, Orange County, Restaurant Review and Vietnamese

. 12 Comments

Little Saigon, a sprawling suburban neighborhood in Orange County, is home to the largest population of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. While I am familiar with Saigon’s culinary scene, when it comes to its American counterpart, I still have much to learn.

The city’s major arteries of Westminster, Brookhurst, and Bolsa are bustling with businesses hawking everything under the Vietnamese sun: from music to clothing to house wares and of course, food. What’s most notable about the Vietnamese food found in Little Saigon is the regional diversity. The distinct culinary styles of Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam are well-represented and executed as authentically as America allows.

Growing up an hour and a half south in San Diego, I used to travel to Little Saigon with my grandparents every couple of years to visit their friends who resided in the area. The highlight of these trips for me was the meals we shared at Viễn Đông restaurant. My grandparents always dined here for the Northern Vietnamese fare (mon bac)—specific regional specialties that aren’t in my family’s culinary repertoire.

A recent road trip to San Diego with The Astronomer provided the perfect excuse to revisit Viễn Đông.

Viễn Đông is housed in a clean, spacious, and impressively understated (by Vietnamese standards) space. The restaurant was fairly empty the late Friday afternoon we dined, which meant prompt and pleasant service from start to finish.

I ordered a bowl of bun rieu oc tom moc ($6.75), one of my family’s standbys at Viễn Đông. Even though I’ve been back in America for nearly a year, I still can’t get over how large the portions are at Vietnamese restaurants here. The enormous bowl of bun rieu was filled with hunks of fried tofu, ground crab, vermicelli noodles, meatballs, tomatoes, and periwinkle snails. The orange-tinged broth was hot and sour, just the way I like it.

The bun rieu was served with a plate of garnishes that included bean sprouts, shredded romaine lettuce, a wedge of lime, and mam ruoc (fermented shrimp paste).

The Astronomer’s Cha Ca Thanh Long ($12.95) arrived on a sizzling platter that filled the air with the awesome scent of seared fresh dill. The generous fillet of turmeric-laced catfish was adorned with heaps of onions and scallions.

Everything about this dish was excellent, except that it wasn’t served Hanoi-style—in a pan atop a butane burner. The sizzling platter cooled down too fast, leaving the green and white onions mostly raw.

Accompanying the fish were warm vermicelli noodles, a mountain of fresh herbs, rice crackers, and toasted peanuts.

The perfect bowl of Cha Ca Thanh Long marries all of the ingredients together—a layer of noodles topped with chunks of fish, a smattering of peanuts, shattered rice crackers, an abundance of aromatics, and a drizzle of mam ruoc or nuoc cham.

Our Northern Vietnamese lunch at Viễn Đông left us stuffed to the gills and full of giddy memories from our travels.

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Viễn Đông Restaurant
14271 Brookhurst Street
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Phone: 714-531-8253

Ha Noi Restaurant – Westminster

Published

Gastronomer

on December 30, 2007

in Banh Tom Ho Tay, Bun Cha, Orange County, Restaurant Review and Vietnamese

. 3 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)

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.