Restaurant Review
04 Dec 2007

The Sushi Bar – Ho Chi Minh City

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November 19-20, 2007
Cuisine: Japanese

No 2, Le Thanh Ton Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 8238042
Website: http://www.sushibar.com.vn/

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Miso Soup

Chawanmushi

Nigiri Sushi Teishoku (78,000 VND)

Gyuniku Tataki (30,000 VND)

Chirashi Sushi Teishok (78,000 VND)

Zaru Soba Noodles (48,000 VND)

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Two weeks ago, The Astronomer and I had a really rough couple of days. First, we were given a ridiculously last-minute assignment for work and then we were told we had to move out of our apartment ASAP. In the words of Cher from the movie “Clueless”—

I felt impotent and out of control. Which I really, really hate. I had to find sanctuary in a place where I could gather my thoughts and regain my strength…

Enter: The Sushi Bar.

The one thing that made the stresses from work and moving a little better was some fine Japanese food served in an air conditioned restaurant.

On our first visit to The Sushi Bar, The Astronomer and I both had set lunches, which came with miso soup and Chawanmushi. I ordered the Chirashi Sushi Teishok, while The Astronomer had some delicate pieces of Nigiri Sushi.

The Chirashi is comprised of a bowl of sushi rice topped with pieces of salmon, tuna, clam, tomago and shrimp, pickled ginger and sprouts. The fish was high-qual and so, so good. The accompanying miso soup was average, while the Chawanmushi, an egg custard cup with shrimp, pork, and a shitake mushroom, was uninspiring.

The Astronomer’s Nigiri Sushi was lovely as well. The rice was loosely packed, while the fish was very fresh. He passed the tomago my way because he doesn’t like eggs. Yay, for me.

On our second visit to The Sushi Bar the following day, I ordered the Chirashi set lunch again, while The Astronomer went for a roast beef roll and soba noodles.

The roast beef roll tasted as I suspected—beefy. I prefer my sushi raw. The soba noodles, which were served with a soy broth, fresh scallions and radish, were refreshingly cool, but missing a certain oomph. Some vegetable and shrimp tempura would have made the soba outstanding.

I love street food, but when I need luxury and thoughtful service, pass the sushi.

Restaurant Review
30 Nov 2007

Bánh Xèo 46A – Ho Chi Minh City

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November 16, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

46A Dinh Cong Trang Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: (04) 824 1110
Website: none

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Goi Cuon (50,000 VND)

Cha Gio (50,000 VND)

Banh Xeo Dac Biet (35,000 VND)

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Everyone and their mother knows about Banh Xeo 46A. What was once a local joint with a dash of tourists has become the premiere destination for Vietnamese crepes in the city.

Job well done to the PR folks behind this restaurant.

Based on a recommendation from a fellow Viet Kieu, I visited on a Friday night with The Astronomer and our friend Zach. The metal tables and patio seating reminded me of eating lunch in the quad back in high school.

The eatery was bumpin’ the entire time we were there, which was cool because big crowds equal sweet atmosphere.

We started off the evening with ten cha gio and ten goi cuon. I love eating with boys with hearty appetites. The cha gio were the fattiest (you know, wide) ones yet and filled with a pork and crab mixture that rocked all of our taste buds. A little lettuce leaf wrapping and a dip of nuoc cham made the cha gio even better. These may rival Yen Do as my favorite cha gio in the city.

The goi cuon were awesome as well. They were larger than average and packed with the freshest shrimp, pork, herbs and vermicelli noodles around.

[Hmm… I’m sensing a trend here. I think 46A’s popularity with westerners has led them to super-size their portions.]

The house specialty banh xeo was stuffed with an abundance of pork belly slices, shrimp, bean sprouts and onions. The proper way of eating banh xeo is by wrapping up a piece of the crepe in greens and herbs and dipping it in nuoc cham. However, I still eat it the no fuss way my mom prepared it while growing up—small bowl + banh xeo + nuoc cham – greens and herbs.

The crepe was good, but a little soggy in some parts and in my opinion, not worthy of the hype machine.

The hype should instead focus on the cha gio, because they were so freakin’ delicious!

Street Food
28 Nov 2007

Bánh Cam

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Oh. Dang. Just look at them…

Bánh rán is a deep-fried glutinous rice ball from northern Vietnamese cuisine. In Vietnamese, bánh means “cake” and rán means “fried.”

Its outer shell is made from glutinous rice flour, and covered all over with white sesame seeds. Its filling is made from sweetened mung bean paste, and scented with jasmine flower essence. Traditionally, the filling should be separated from the shell so that if one shakes the bánh rán, one can feel the filling rattle against the inside of the shell.

Bánh rán is very similar to a Chinese fried glutinous rice ball called zin dou (煎道), which is a standard pastry in Cantonese cuisine and Hong Kong cuisine. The Chinese version is generally slightly sweeter and does not have jasmine essence, and uses fillings such as lotus paste or black bean paste.

In southern Vietnam, a similar dish, called bánh cam, is nearly identical to bánh rán, but does not contain jasmine essence. A further difference is that for bánh cam the filling does not need to be separated from the shell. In Northern Vietnam bánh cam is different from bánh rán as it is traditionally eaten with a sugary syrup that is poured over the pastry.

While The Astronomer does the bulk of the donut eating in our relationship, I do have a few favorites. I first spied the gooey and sweet bánh cam on my morning run down Ton That Thuyet Street in District 4. Even though the donuts looked mighty inviting glistening in the sun, I couldn’t bring myself to eat one mid-run. Aside from the 4 X donut at Swarthmore, donuts and running just don’t go hand in hand.

I tried bánh cam two weeks ago on a Christmas shopping trip in District 5. The donut dealer sold her goods for 2000VND a pop, which I thought was a fine deal until I discovered that the vendors in District 4 only charged 1000VND. Insanity!

The caramelized sugar glaze atop the freshly fried dough is what makes this donut especially delightful. Unlike the light and fluffy trans-fat ridden donuts in America (i.e. Krispy Kremes), these are a bit on the dense side, so eating more than one is too much goodness for one day.