I saw that their red jeep was there (look at their license plate and the words on the side)...
These dolphin statues were, thankfully, not being played with by unruly children...this time.
I just find it amusing that this is right in the middle of the restaurant. Since it was just me...
I thought I would try something I haven't had in awhile, the Bun Rieu (crab soup) or maybe even their version of duck and bamboo soup. Sadly, the young server informed me that they no longer make those soups, as in NONE of the four that's still on their menu. They should strike those items out then, dagnabbit.
I noticed that they make their baguettes in-house here. A good thing.
Two items - ate half for now and saved the rest for later. Egg banh mi and my favorite marinated beef spring rolls.
Whenever I order this, the girl always asks if I want jalapenos (yes, for the records; just two slices).
Their egg sandwich served as my late breakfast that morning. I really do love the savory taste of the eggs (with Maggi sauce) and the crunchy vegetables and the crusty bread.
Today, TC was volunteering yet again so Bert and I had some free time to go out for breakfast. I recently re-read Cathy's post on Van Hoa and since they offered her favorite version of banh xeo, we went there to do our personal research, heh heh. Van Hoa is on the corner of 54th and University and in a stripmall with Vien Dong and other VN businesses.
Their condiments tray was more filled compared to Cathy's previous post (linked at the end) which just had Sriracha, hoisin and chili sauces.
The man working here was so very nice and friendly. We got there around 8:45 and it was empty. A few people came in after us and had pho. The table we chose to sit was in the corner right by a fish tank with one solitary fish friend, poor thing.
There he is.
In the back room, near the bathroom (which was pretty clean and not doubling as a storage room) was this cool multi-panel lacquered artwork featuring coutryside scenes from the motherland. The other artwork was in the hall way connecting the backroom to the front.
A few pages from their menu:
Our Vietnamese breakfast that day, two kinds of banh mi (egg for me and bbq pork for Bert):
The bread is more like a rounder loaf than the thinner and harder bread from Cali Baguette. It had a nice top crust which was soft enough to bite into and not cut the roof of our mouth. The inside of the bread was soft but held up well. Over here, they don't ask if you want jalapenos or not. They just put them in there. Pick it out yourself if you don't like it, eh. In my case, I left it in. The pepper strips I had were pretty mild.
I just love this combination of filling for a breakfast sandwich. The edges of the egg were not quite fried as "lacy" or crisp as the version I had at THH (that particular sandwich had eggs fried over hard which I LOVE).
Our other item was the one I wanted to try based on Cathy's post, the banh xeo. Their lettuce and herb plate was plentiful with fresh and healthy looking mint instead of crappy, wilted sprigs. At Pho Hiep Grill Chateau and Que Huong, their greens plate also includes pickled daikon and carrots as well as tia to (purple perilla).
The banh xeo had a lovely crisp exterior but also broken. It wasn't a perfect half circle. Inside were bean sprouts, halved shrimps and pork (cut thicker than I was normally used).
I'm glad I got to try this. Every place I've been makes it different. There was one restaurant (I can't recall at the top of my head) that served it with mushrooms inside. Another had chicken instead of pork. I like the classic pork and shrimp as the filling. No mushrooms please.
Toilet paper or what other kind of paper?
I was kind of curious to check out Vien Dong but we had a few more errands to run this morning so another time it shall be.
We noticed a truck that looked pretty close to Bert's old truck (missing a racing strip). Next to the truck, were a couple of squirrels which emerged from a small crack/hole in the cemented over hillside! There was also another tiny squirrel (not shown) running nearby. Yeesh.
See their tails?
Who else has been to Van Hoa?
Kirk wrote a two part post back in 2007 ; Cathy posted seven years later and had a more recent writeup from last summer.
Previous visit to Cali Baguette:
May 2016 (my compilation of visits from earlier this year)
Pho Van Hoa
4016 54th St. (near University Ave)
San Diego, CA 92105
(619) 582-2642
There is no website but here are the mixed bag o' reviews from you know where (some are pretty vicious, some people need to CHILL) + the more tame tripadvisor
I'll have to try that sugar cane juice this summer; Bert wants to give their pho a try and I'm sure that TC will want those familiar spring rolls since Van Hoa is the one who supplies Thuan Phat (and formerly the old but still waiting to be rebuilt K Sandwiches).
4 comments:
That Banh Mi Trung from Cali Baguette is a breakfast staple of mine.
Hi Kirk,
I like Cali Baguette's version too but this one is pretty good as well.
I used to go to Cali Baguette for a breakfast sandwich but they never open early enough for me anymore. Boo. No more breakfast sandwiches for me.
I have passed by Van Hoa a crap ton of times since Jake lives pretty close to it, but we have never been! The Vien Dong right next to it is where Jake first saw Balut eggs and I had to explain to him what Balut was. hahaha. That visit was his first time in an Asian market and I don’t think he believed me when I said there was a whole aisle dedicated to soy sauce. Perhaps I’ll swing by Van Hoa and finally try it out.
Hi Mary
Yeah, give this place a try. Although I do like the way this one place makes it (in Orange County, near Cream Pan) because the egg is fried over hard.
Omg, Balut eggs. You could NOT pay me enough money to eat one of those. That being said, a Filipino uncle could have won those early episodes of Fear Factor, ha ha. I think they had the white contestants eat one of those.
I want to explore that Vien Dong next time I go to Van Hoa...
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