Went to Bahn Cuon Luu Luyen for lunch with Pops thanks to this tread! We had the Bahn Cuon Thit Nuong, which was good, but I found the pork was too lightly seasoned for my palate, not that that stopped us from devouring it. I forgot to get picture of that.
We had a young waiter who wasn’t particularly friendly. He forgot our appetizer order, fried shrimp, but that was okay because we ended up finishing our food, a first!
We also got #5 with an extra egg roll. Their egg rolls, cha gio, were excellent! I got this same dish to-go for my dinner and they were still good that night! Husband got the #10 for dinner and liked it, though again, the pork was very lightly seasoned.
I grew up in Santa Ana and Irvine, and my dad still lives in Irvine, my grandma in Santa Ana. I meet my Dad in Little Saigon for lunches during the week. I go as often as I can, which depends on schedule. There are so many places I either want to go back to or to try!
In college, at UCI, we’d go for late night dinners after study sessions. I miss those days!
I’m catering a surprise birthday dinner for my Mom two days after Thanksgiving. I’m doing the full traditional turkey day because of my husband and kids…so I’m going to cater out a Vietnamese spread for Mom (previously made FTC Confession: I am not skilled in the kitchen in the Vietnamese culinary arts). It’s going to be the best leftovers week in my house (Thanksgiving + Surprise Party leftovers so no one gets bored)…I digress.
Current selections/Already ordered or planned:
Le Croissant Doré fruit tart (Mom’s favorite)
Brodard assortment of shrimp and nem rolls (appetizers)
Newport Tan Cang Seafood lobster and lobster noodles (her favorite and I’m getting 3 3-4 pounders)
Turkey Carcass Soup with vegetables (I know not Vietnamese, but it’s nice to have a soup course to use as a palate cleanser and I may not have room to freeze the carcass)
Epicurus Imports foie gras, pates, cheeses, and crackers (she loves foie and pate…the cheese is for the rest of us)
I’m having trouble coming up with the rest of the meal. Does not have to be cohesive, but needs to be Vietnamese and Little Saigon based for geographical needs. We are a family that lives for random potluck parties because you never know what everyone is going to bring (because random is fun). Looking for ideas or inspirations from your past outings. Does anyone have fun or old favorites that I can cater out to? I have no problem running around and pre-paying orders…as I will have a team of slaves (err…younger siblings) to pick up and deliver it all to my house.
I also live close to the new outlet of Garlic & Chives, and they also cater so that’s an option, too.
Okay so I’ve been getting these for multiple events now and even have a few dozen in the fridge leftover from Saturday. I think I’m off the Kim Hong bandwagon - the fillings are tasty but they are consistently super greasy.
The other catered menu items (eg banh beo) look real good though…
Chef Hung would be a cool treat! My family would probably lose their shit if there was a chef here…or one that customed their food for them. I’ll give him a call later this week.
I believe they are now operating Hanoi Corner on Garden Grove Blvd.
And they still got the bun dau mam tom and other northern specialties. Although the bun cha was a disappointment and as well as the soft shell crab Bun Rieu
