September 2018 Weekend Rundown

Yup. Same experience here. There was a bit of a line, but it couldn’t have been longer than 5-10 minutes.

P.S. Random FTC Fact: It looks like @paranoidgarliclover, @Chowseeker1999 and @secretasianman all joined FTC on the same exact day.

1 Like

Oh, that’s what the slice of cake means. I thought it was their birthday. :smile:

I’ve had Ugly Drum several times now and totally agree about the quality of the pastrami–delicious. but that bread-----it needs some serious work. even if I only order a half sandwich the bread turns to mush before I finish it (eating quickly doesn’t work—I’ve tried :wink: ).

1 Like

How funny! I assume that was the first day anyone (except for @robert) was able to join. @ipsedixit also appears to have joined that day.

Yup - and that’s why Langer’s is still king.

3 Likes

Izakaya Hachi last night.

We finally made it after trying three or four times without reservations before. It was pretty freaking incredible

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

7 Likes

Kyokushin-style?

onion @ santa barbara shellfish co.
20180918_201243

live uni, scallop
Some of the best damn live uni I’ve had. So fresh it’s friends with dj jazzy jeff
20180914_131709

20180914_131940

9 Likes

Them uni there is da fo’ shiznitz…

1 Like

Nice @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile: How was the stuff under the onion? :wink:

1 Like

I see that the onion came with a decent side. :wink:

1 Like

I’d pay $10 for that onion and the free side that comes with it. Maybe even $11.

1 Like

My first visit to Little Saigon.

I’m still on an indefinite posting sabbatical, but wanted to share a post ‘cuz it epitomizes the people and culture I liked at the old CH site.

Perhaps some of the former hounds on this site remember phamschottler. I met her and some other folks at Tacolandia 2014 and we’ve continued to have food adventures.

Phamschottler is quite familiar with Little Saigon and since I’d never been during my 11 years of living in SoCal, she volunteered to curate a crawl for a small group including moi.

It was a Bang x 4 regional tour of mom and pop places in 4 hours with no pho, no broken rice, and no dessert. Ran out of time so she couldn’t take us to a bikini bar :wink:

1st stop: Banh Cuom Luu Luyen for steamed rice paper and snack foods.

image

From left: Banh Cuon Thit Nurong (rice rolls filled with bbq pork and veggies); Banh Cuon Doc Biet (rice sheets with shrimp, pork and toppings; Banh Duc Tom Chay (steamed coconut rice cake with savory toppings).

Banh Cuon Luu Luyen
14351 North Euclid Street #1J, Garden Grove, CA 92843**

2nd stop: Northern Vietnamese cuisine at Hanoi Avenue

image

From top left: Nem Ran Cua Be (Hanoi style egg rolls); Bun Cha Hanoi (Hanoi style bbq pork with rice noodles and vegetables); Canh Bun Rieu Cua (crab soup).

Ha Noi Avenue (aka “The Avenue”)
8432 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683

3rd stop: Central Vietnamese cuisine at Ben Ngu

image

From bottom left: Banh It Kep Banh Ram (steamed mochi dumplings filled with pork — @JeetKuneBao posted about these in another thread); Banh Canh Tom Cua (Vietnamese udon with crab and shrimp balls); Mit Xuc Banh Trang (young jackfruit salad with sesame crackers — @JeetKuneBao also posted about these in the past)

Ben Ngu
10051 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844

4th and final stop: Southern Vietnamese cuisine at Thanh My

image

Top row: Ca Kho To (Casserole of catfish braised in hot pot. Couldn’t miss this because it was a dish billed as a “Kevin favorite”); Canh Chua Ca (Tamarind soup with catfish).
Bottom row: Banh Hoi Chao Tom (sugarcane shrimp) and a plastic file folder-like contraption holding 1/4 size rice sheets and warm water to soften the sheets in — so ingenious! Used less table space and less water.

Thanh My Restaurant
9553 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92683

I loved every stop and would love to revisit again, but before that I’ll prolly ask for a group dinner for 7 courses of either duck, beef or rabbit (eventually all 3 kinds).

18 Likes

@foodshutterbug I think @Chowseeker1999 tried to hit up Tho 7 Mon (7 courses of rabbit) only to find that they had closed recently.
Great write up! You had some of my favorite dishes growing up.

1 Like

Yes indeed! Say Hola to her from me!

1 Like

42045466_781761533465_4802119903349833728_o
Dessert run at The Royce

42164609_781761628275_4221418798554546176_o
royce chocolate bar | salted caramel, popcorn ice cream

42174067_781761688155_8896684334556119040_o
classic creme brulee | vanilla, brown butter, shortbread

42045357_781761733065_561486391775592448_o
cheesecake | cookies & cream

3 Likes

The california king was really good, but for me, the true king of california is dungeness.

3 Likes

I hope the side show didnt overpower the onion main? Otherwise, that would be a waste of a great main dish.

1 Like

I can attest this was a indeed a mighty morning Little Saigon Food Crawl with @foodshutterbug and phamschottler.
I skipped the last stop - DUMB.

4 Likes

When’s the next crawl? #askingforafriend

3 Likes