Sunflower

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I've walked by the Sunflower in the Mission many times, but never really felt the need to go in.  The absence of any Asian customers gave off Slanted Door vibes (high prices and lackluster food). 

I had almost given hope on any bun (vermicelli) in San Francisco, but I have to admit that this is one of the better versions of bun I've had.  The prices aren't even that bad.  At around $9 (which is actually cheap for SF), the portion size is really generous with a lot of noodles and meat plus two giant fried egg rolls.  The lemongrass beef was well cooked giving the beef a tender and juicy flavor.  The only gripes for me is the small portion of nuoc mam (fish sauce), which barely covers the surface of the heaping portion of vermicelli, and the vermicelli noodles cut into super small strands.  That being said, I'd go back to get this one again, but ask for extra nuoc mam.

Five spice chicken with vermicelli - 7x7 2014 Big Eat

The five spice chicken vermicelli is actually my usual vermicelli order when I eat bun, but while the chicken is well cooked and juicy, the flavor is bland and is probably one of the tasteless ones I've ever had.

Usually my go to Vietnamese garlic noodles is PPQ, but I had to try Sunflower's version since it was one of their popular dishes.  While it doesn't have a super garlic flavor like PPQ's, it is a lot less oily.  Don't get fooled on the shrimp upsell like I did.  The measly five shrimp was more of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the dish.  The shrimp didn't even much garlic flavor.

updated - Working my way through the 2014 7x7's SF big eat 100 things 

 

Address:                  Sunflower
                                 288 Connecticut St.
                                 San Francisco, CA  

Type:                        Vietnamese

Popular chomps:      garlic noodles
                                  five spice chicken vermicelli
                                  pho
 

Chomp worthy:         garlic noodles      

Euro Delight Bakery

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I'm always ready to check out a new bakery, especially an Asian one.  Once you walk into Euro Delight Bakery, you are greeted with the smell of freshly baked good and a wonderful smell of buttery, sugary goodness.

While Euro Delight Bakery is known for their cakes and other baked items, I headed straight for one thing - their green pandan waffles.  Always a good sign, their waffles are made fresh upon ordering. 

While their pandan waffles has scattered shreds of coconuts mixed with the waffle batter, it was a little limp and bland.  It also didn't have the nice crispy edges I've had in better pandan waffles, like at my standing favorite  -Nuoc Mia Vien Dong 2 (see post HERE)

Address:                    Euro Delight Bakery
                                   1816 Tully Rd.
                                   San Jose, CA
 

Type:                          Vietnamese/bakery

Popular chomps:        green waffle
                                    cakes
     

Chomp worthy:           nothing   

Banh cuon stall @ Ben Thanh market

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Ben Thanh is a huge marketplace that sells all sorts of things from clothes to electronics, but the good stuff is in the food stalls located in the back.  These tiny food stalls serve up Vietnamese cuisine found all over Vietnam.  It can get a little overwhelming when trying to decide what to eat.  After a couple laps around the food area, I decided on a the banh cuon stall. 

Even though back in the States, I've never been a huge banh cuon fan, I saw this older lady making it fresh and I had to sit down and try it.  The process is similar to making other forms of Chinese rice noodles.  I've had the pleasure of waiting in the lines of SF's now RIP Hing Lung (see post HERE) back home and watching them make the rice noodles while waiting for a table.

Of course, more cafe sua da.

The banh cuon are made with super thin rice sheets and mixed with ground pork then topped with fried pieces of garlic.  The noodles are so thin, its almost translucent.  Nuoc mam is provided on the side for dipping.  The noodles here are ultra fresh and the texture is wonderfully springy.  Refreshing, yet light, which works well in this heat.  At 30,000VDN ($1.50USD), you can't resist sitting down for a snack like that.

Address:                   banh cuon stall @ Ben Thanh Market
                                  intersection of Le Loi, Ham Nghi, Tran Hung Dao, and Le Loi sts. District 1
                                  Saigon, Vietnam
 

Type:                         Vietnamese

Popular chomps:        banh cuon

Chomp worthy:           banh cuon

Banh Bo Sua Nuong (Dessert cart) (Saigon, Vietnam)

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After having a bowl of hu tieu from the Lunch Lady, I desperately needed something sweet.  The best thing about Saigon is there are food carts everywhere you turn.  Literally a dessert cart with the sweet smell of coconut was just around the corner.

The vendor made the banh bo sua nuong fresh even though there were a couple already sitting out.  Banh bo sua nuong is made with coconut milk and grilled in a small pan. 

The chewy texture with burnt outside edges remind me a lot of my favorite Hong Kong sweet street snack, eggettes. 

Address:                 banh bo sua nuong cart
                                around the corner from the Lunch Lady
                                Saigon, Vietnam
 

Type:                       Vietnamese

Popular chomps:      banh bo sua nuong

Chomp worthy:        banh bo sua nuong   

Lunch Lady (Saigon, Vietnam)

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The Lunch Lady is sort of huge tourist attraction, especially after appearing on Anthony Bourdain's show.  Supposedly huge buses drop tourists off to taste her soups, but most of the diners I saw were locals. 

There is a different dish served every day of the week. 

Today's dish is hu tieu nam vang.  Fresh shrimp topped with ground pork, a quail egg, and chewy noodles complete this hearty bowl of soup.

Fresh cut chilis and lime wedges for extra kick.

Herbs such as can tau (Chinese celery) and lettuce are provided for you to add to your soup.

       

Address:                    The Lunch Lady (Nguyen Thi Thanh)
                                    23 Hoang Sa St.
                                    District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Type:                           Vietnamese

Popular chomps:        soup of the day

Chomp worthy:          soup of the day       

Pho Hoa Pasteur (Saigon, Vietnam)

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Before coming to Vietnam I was fully aware that one of the few dishes that was tastier in the States was pho, but I just couldn't fathom going all the way to Vietnam and not having a bowl of pho.  Pho Hoa Pasteur is one of the city's oldest and most famous pho restaurants.  Its so famous that most of the pho restaurants in the States are named after it - Pho Hoa or Pho Pasteur.

Pho Hoa Pasteur has two level and its smart to go straight to the second floor to eat because that floor is air conditioned.  Most of the tables are already set and have a variety of dishes already on them from pate chaud to bananas.  If you choose to eat anything, then you will be charged on your bill at the end of your meal.

I can never get enough cafe sua da, especially in this heat and while eating pho.

 



Pho Tai is my standard order of pho.  Here instead of serving the meat in thin, round slices, its ground up and piled into the bowl of pho.  Since the bowl of pho is quite hot, the raw meat cooks rather quickly.  The broth was murky and very light in flavor.  It lacked the distinguiable beefy taste that is found in pho from the States.  The broth is tenfolds better back home.  I did like the noodles, which were chewy and not clumped together.

 



The herbs for adding into your bowl of pho.



Address:                   Pho Hoa Pasteur
                                   260C Pasteur St
                                   Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Type:                         Vietnamese

Popular chomps:      gio chao quay (Chinese fried donuts)
                                   pho tai
                                   pho bo

Chomp worthy:       nothing     

Banh Mi Huynh Hoa (Saigon, Vietnam)

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I often blog about banh mi in the Bay Area so its no surprise that I had to eat one when I was in Saigon.  Banh Mi Huynh Hoa is located on a dark street, but its easily distinguisable by its long lines and motorbikes parked in front.

The bread is lightly toasted and packed with yummy fillings as you order.

At a little over $1.25 USD, the dac biet (combination) banh mi is a little pricier than the average banh mi sold on the streets of Saigon, but its worth it.  Its definitely the best banh mi I've ever had.  From the absolutely most perfect banh mi baguette (the outer crust flakes off just so with a fluffy inside), a slightly buttery taste from the freshly heated bread, flavorful pate and ham, sweet crispy vegetables, no other banh mi I've had comes close. 

      

Address:                 Banh Mi Huynh Hoa                             

                                26 Le Thi Rieng 

                                Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

 

Type:                       Vietnamese

Popular chomps:     banh mi

Chomp worthy:        dac biet banh mi        

Banh Dui Ga food cart (Saigon, Vietnam)

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There are so many street vendors all over Saigon, a lot more than I've seen in even Thailand.  The types of street vendors are endless here with often different vendors selling different food in the same location, but different times of the day.  One of the more odd ones was this deep fried stand that sold all sorts of fried goodies. 

The most familiar looking was the yau tiu (Chinese donuts).  Normally, I don't eat these plain and prefer to dip them in bowl of congee, but I couldn't resist the delicious smell coming from this cart.  At around five cents USD, it made for a nice snack on the way back from lunch.  The yau tiu was fried super fresh without much oiliness.

      

Address:                 Banh Dui Ga food cart
                                Saigon, Vietnam
     

Type:                       food cart

Popular chomps:     yau tiu   
                                 banh dui ga
 

Chomp worthy:       yau tiu        

Shrimp angling at Kieu Dam Pool (Saigon, Vietnam)

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I love doing really unique things when I travel.  One of the absolute must do things I had my heart set on in Saigon was shrimp angling (fishing).  Traveling in Vietnam takes a little patience as most of the taxi drivers and even hotel staff don't speak English.  I was a little hesitant after hopping into a cab and the driver not really knowing exactly where this place was, then dropping me off on a dirt road and telling me to go straight ahead.  After finally walking for about 10 minutes and peeking my head into every single doorway imaginable, I finally found it!

Kieu Dam was super hard to find.  Even walking up to it, I was still unsure what to expect.  A dirt walkway and a giant tentlike building made way to a small pool with tables and chairs surrounding it.

No one spoke English, but after somehow gesturing that I was there for shrimp fishing, they gladly set me up with a fishing pole and some worms. 

I wasn't sure how long it was going to take to even catch anything.  Peering down into the pool, its quite dark so you can't really see if there is anything in there, you just hope for the best.  Saigon was much hotter than I thought it would be so a nice cold Tiger beer was very enjoyable, especially since this venue is not really enclosed.

If you are choosing to angle shrimp, the cost is per person, per hour.

Originally, I had estimated maybe an hour and I would have a flowing table of shrimp.  I was so wrong.  Three hours later and three shrimp were all that were caught.  The first one really shouldn't count because one of the workers must have felt sorry for me and helped me catch it!

After catching the shrimp, they hang it in nets over the water until you are ready to eat.  Like in most Asian countries with fresh seafood, you can choose how you would like your shrimp to be cooked.  I chose grilled, which led for a small, but satisfying snack.

Knowing that three shrimp wasn't going to satisfy anyone's appetite, I ordered the rau muong.  Rau muong is also called water spinach.  My parents cooked this for me quite a bit as a child and I was pleased to see that the same technique was used here.  A slight stir fry with bits of garlic.  One thing I love about rau muong is the texture.  The crunchiness is similar to chewing little straws.

Chilis and soy sauce were given for dipping the grilled shrimp in. 

    

Address:                    Kieu Dam Pool
                                   793/35/4 Tran Xuan Soan St., Tan Hung Ward, Dist. 7,
                                   Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
 

Type:                          seafood

Popular chomps:        shrimp

Chomp worthy:           shrimp
                                     rau mong   

Pho Kim Long Restaurant

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 Pho Kim Long is a widely popular pho restaurant in San Jose.  At lunchtime you can often see lines out the door for those waiting to warm their tummies with a bowl of pho.  Although the line looks long, it goes rather fast.  They churn out the bowls at a remarkable rate.

The spring rolls here are pretty standard.  A couple of shrimp, some vermicelli noodles, and a mixture of lettuce, mint, and basil are all wrapped in a rice paper and dipped in their peanut sauce.  I like to put a little of sriracha in my peanut sauce to give a little kick.

Most people will tell you to come to Pho Kim Long for their chicken pho, but another popular bowl is their bun bo hue.  When the weather starts getting chilly, I start craving for a big bowl of soup and a bowl of spicy bun bo hue always hits the spot.  To me, the bun bo hue is just okay and not rave worthy.  I think the broth is much too light and lacks that perfect combination of spicy, sour, and sweet.  They do fill the bowl with more meat than most places.

The plate of herbs and lettuce for the bun bo hue is one of the skimpier ones I've seen, but that's fine since I prefer my bun bo hue quite basic.

The chicken pho is what they are most known for here.  Its the Southern style of chicken pho with the thinner vermicelli noodles and large chunks of chicken ( you can request it without skin and boneless).  The broth is light and comforting, but I still prefer the taste and preparation at Turtle Tower ( see post HERE),

The "aromatics" (as the Asian fusion restaurants like to call them) were made up of beansprouts, jalapeno peppers, and basil.  Overall, a typical Southern style plate of add on, but I do prefer extra jalapenos in my chicken pho.

Address:                     Pho Kim Long Restaurant

                                    2082 N. Capital Ave.

                                    San Jose, CA

Type:                           Vietnamese

Popular chomps:         chicken pho
                                     bun bo hue 
                        

Chomp worthy:            nothing                

Aroma Coffee and Snacks

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Aroma Coffee and Snacks is hidden inside the Seafood City plaza.  The menu mostly serves banh mi, some soups, and che.  

Literally, everyone that walks up to the counter of Aroma gets this smashed avocado drink.  I've had many avocado shakes, but this one is up there with some of the best.  Its like slurping a thick avocado milkshake mixed with just the right amount of jellies.  Even better was knowing that there were slurpable chunks of avocado in the drink.

I got a little excited to see a banh mi with spam and egg on the menu.  After encountering a couple incorrectly made eggs, I had to make sure this egg would come out runny.  The first odd thing about this banh mi is the bread.  Its sort of shiny and smooth, which was the first red flag.  The second was even after being assured that there would be a runny egg, it came out cooked all the way through.  After another inspection of the spam, I noticed the spam didn't have a nice burnt crispiness and it was an odd pink color.   Not sure if this actually the real spam (if there is such thing as fake spam) or if it was a lite spam (which I'm no fan of), all I know is that it didn't have any of the spam qualities that I liked - salty or crispy.

      

Address:                Aroma Coffee and Snacks
                               1535 Landess Ave. Ste 159
                                San Jose, CA
                                

Type:                       Vietnamese

Popular chomps:     smashed avocado
                                 banh mi 
                                 banh mi thit nuong

Chomp worthy:        smashed avocado   

Dinosaurs 2

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Dinosaurs 2 is one of three locations (the original being in Castro) that serves Vietnamese fusion sandwiches.  Usually I prefer my Vietnamese food (and sandwiches) authentic and unadulterated, but after having the banh mis at Cafe Bunn Mi (see post HERE) I've opened my mind (and stomach). 

For me, the bread is what makes a good banh mi.  Here, the bread is too chewy, so much so that it actually hurt my jaw.  The special is one of the traditional banh mis served here with slices of special pork, pork, and pate.  Unfortunately, the meat was dry and the pate was barely noticable.  Also, the jalapenos weren't spicy at all.

The grilled pork had the same issues - too dry, but I did find the mayo tasty. 

Shaking beef is usually tender and juicy, but as with all the other meats here it was so dry.  I can't verify if the sandwich had MSG, but I did find myself extremely thirsty after eating the sandwiches here. After this disappointing banh mi and going outside my comfort zone at the high end of $5 for a banh mi, I don't think I'll be open to paying that much for a banh mi for a while.

 

Address:                  Dinosaurs 2
                                 2522 Ocean Ave.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        Vietnamese

Popular chomps:       crispy tofu
                                  shaking beef
                                  special                                   

Chomp worthy:          nothing