The Mung Bean drink was okay, 7 Leaves does it the best IMO. The egg rolls only 100 are made for the day. Let me tell you the filling is very tasty but parts of the exterior ended up kinda chewy instead of crisp.
The house special. Vietnamese “Udon” with the trifecta of crab, shrimp, and pork.
Okay for my taste buds I did not enjoy this too much but I am glad to have tried it. The taste of the broth is like a less intense hot and sour, the sour here comes from the lime juice you squeeze in. The noodles and broth are very thick, more than a Japanese Udon. The noodles were too hot temperature wise to eat for a good 5 minutes too. But…
The egg noodles I absolutely destroyed! I think they put something mixed with the noodles, because there was a porky-garlicky flavor to them. The above trifecta was cooked perfectly. Next time I’ll get the Hu Tieu version.
The rice paper just needs a quick dip in warm water…like seconds. Then slap it on a plate…I’m a tad more gentle beucase I have OCD.
I start filling mine towards the bottom. Layer of protein, vermicelli rice noodles, lettuce/salad/ herbs, peppers/pickled vegetables. Make sure if you’re using the rib of the lettuce, that it’s laid out length-wise, so it helps give structural integrity and makes it easier to roll.
How much depends on you. I usually start my first roll with not a lot of stuff, so I can gauge it for the next roll. I try to keep everything in the lower third section of the rice paper. Really, once you do it a couple of times, you get the hang of it real quick.
To roll, I fold the sides like of like a burrito and then roll from the bottom up. All of your filling should make help give the roll structure, and the empty space of pliable rice paper should help keep it tight.
Hope this helps! Happy eating!
I’m sure @A5KOBE and @Ns1 and a few others can also offer some tricks of the trade.
Hu Tieu Nam Vang, with soup, half egg noodle and half rice noodle. I like lots of garlic, chiles in vinegar, and chile sauce (just a touch) as well as the greens, and sprouts. This was a pretty solid bowl overall.
I think I have had hit most of Little Saigon’s Hu Tieu places.
PQT is actually pretty generous with the grilled pork. There was actually 2 different cuts, patties and strips (pork chop?). But the lettuce and herbs weren’t the best tbh. Still very enjoyable. PQT is open until midnight everyday btw! They do a lot of things decent to solid.
so happy you made it there - come dinner time every table has a fish. It’s crazy how packed that restaurant still is on Sat/Sun night. I’m sad to say I’ve never actually paid attention to the soundtrack.
Despite of what they say the catfish being baked, I’m almost certain it’s actually fried—either entirely or least to finish. How can’t they get it so crispy in such short amount of time to from time to order for x number of tables? Anyone confirm?
My favorite part of the noodle soup is the first taste of the broth! Funky but not too funky. Very umami! Added a squeeze of lime, and black pepper. Got an extra side of Chinese water spinach and no sugar pennywort for drink
So as awesome as this bowl was I was kinda disappointed that the noodles were tiny. No slurping this =(
Is this how it should be?
Also they give you some mam on the side to add to your soup, only a little is needed! I’ll be back for the Bun Rieu!!
Damn good broken rice joint. The pork chop was whatever but the shrimp mousseline/tofu wrapped shrimp cake is probably one of the best in Little Saigon!! Little trick I saw at the table next to me put some Chile sauce in the fish sauce.
They make their own sauces. I thought it was okay, taste like a spicy bbq sauce, but not like those “mixed” sauces you get at Philiips and other South Central BBQ joints. I kinda just want the traditional chopped up chiles to be honest.
Okay the main star of this show the Banh Xeo.
What is unique is that they offer all the items to make a roll for your Banh Xeo as opposed to the usual lettuce/herbs. I enjoyed it this way as you can really taste the crepe from the thin skin of the roll. It is probably more on the light side than the other specialists around Little Saigon and significantly less crispier.
