Viet Cali, baked goods & Ranch 99

Later that same week, TC and I met Bert for lunch at the Food Court. I didn't want Filipino food at Savory-Q, and I didn't want fast food, or the Thai, Greek or Mexican eatery offerings, so we opted for Vietnamese because I was craving bun with shrimp.

We hadn't been here in a while. It's nothing spectacular. The restaurant was totally empty yet there were 5 waiters just watching our every move after we sat down.

It was bright inside and empty but that was soon to change once it hit 12 noon . That's Bert's Aloha shirt.

They brought out our food really fast, which leads me to believe it was pre-made (ex: Bert's meat). Here's TC's fried rice:

Bert got the com tam (broken rice) with BBQ's pork chop:

My bun with grilled shrimp and fried egg roll. The shriimp were kind of small and dried out, compared to Pho Hoa Calli on Black Mountain Road.

We wanted to check this place out as well. I remember reading a post about this on Kirk's blog.

I really wanted to try a dessert. I'm not a Vietnamese sandwich (or any type of sandwich) person:

TC's fruit tart which she and Bert shared:

I just had to get this! This was called the "Swedish Vacuum Cleaner"! I almost cracked up when saying my order to the Vietnamese guy working the counter. The name of this dessert reminds me of the Austin Powe movie scene where he's about to go to jail and has to give up his "Swedish Penis Pump" and he keeps denying it's his. This is chocolate cake fondant wrapped in marzipan and dipped in chocolate. I liked it - very smooth and melted well in my mouth!

After lunch, Bert had to go back to work. TC and I stopped by Ranch 99 on Clairmont Mesa to check out some snacks! Yeah, we're snack happy!

Ever seen these before (referring to CALTROP)?

Don't they look evil? They look like a bull's head with horns or some type of weapon. In fact, when I looked up 'caltrop' on line, it was a type of medieval weapon! These things are really hard too! Looks like you yould throw it and take out someone's eye. This Caucasian guy and his friend saw these and said, "Hey, I haven't seen these in awhile!". So I asked him what they were and he told me you could boil them and they turn soft. There is a water chestnut like seed inside the Caltrop. The guy planned to buy some. He wondered aloud who the first person was who figured out you could eat these things.

The return of the Durian popsicle - only $1.99 for a box of four! I bought these last year on a lark and tried (I repeat, tried!) to eat one. I only got one lick and I wanted to scrape my tongue with sandpaper!!!! I brushed my teeth and used mouthwash but the horrible taste lingered like a bad fart. Bert plans to bring this to work and see who's adventurous enough to try it.

After reading Captain Jack's post on this place (below) and remembering Cathy (guest blogger from MMM-Yoso), I wanted to check it out myself, Sau Voi Deil in the Ranch 99 complex.

I bought one curried chicken turnover:

I also bought one tray of fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce ($3.50 I believe):

and another tray of spring rolls with shrimp, bbq'd pork and some sort of salami type sausage:

The turnover was quite tasty - the crust was delicious and the filling piping hot:

I'm glad we went. Next time, I want to try their fruit shakes (jackfruit, mango) and their other desserts.