Vietnamese Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Colorado

Pho 95: Vietnamese Food in Denver

January 7, 2018

Pho 95 is a popular Vietnamese restaurant for locals in Denver Colorado to get their piping hot bowl of comforting pho. They currently have 2 locations – one in Littleton and Denver. When we were visiting Denver, we were all craving pho, so we went on Yelp and found this gem.

Pho consists of beef broth, thin slices of beef and rice noodles. Their pho soup comes in several variations; some contain soft tendon, flank, steak and brisket. People commonly like to add a hearty helping of fresh basil, beansprouts, jalapenos, lime juice, and sauces like Siracha or Hoisin sauce to their broth.

Interior

The space is pretty large and they were able to seat our large family right at the lunch time rush.

Tea

Dac Biet (Tai chim nam gau gan sach)

This has the rice noodle soup with a combination of a variety of meat – rare steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripe. The broth was very delicious and had a depth of flavour to it. I got the small size, which is a good size for a regular person. A large is pretty large for my standards.

Don’t forget to add any of the extra herbs, limes, bean sprouts, jalapeno, or sauces to your pho.

Pho Bo Vien

This is their meatball pho, but we added in rare beef into it as well since they didn’t have that combination on the menu. The meatballs were nice and large.

Bun Ga Nuong

This bowl of vermicelli rice noodles is topped with marinated grilled chicken and served with cucumber, lettuce, beansprouts and chili lime sauce.

Bun Heo Nuong

Similar to the bowl above, it has grilled pork instead.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the pho here is good and the portions sizes were great too. Everything was flavourful to the right amount.

We Rate Pho 95:

Address:
1401 S Federal Blvd, Denver

Website:
http://www.pho95noodlehouse.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Dundas Six O Pho Challenge in Vancouver: 5lbs of Meat and Noodles

December 19, 2017

There’s a new food challenge in town at Dundas Eat + Drink for their Six O Pho challenge until December 31, 2017. There’s some satisfaction to devour such a beast but I personally couldn’t conquer this. Other’s have dared and have failed by making a tiny dent into it. Seattle has been know for their huge pho challenge at Dong Thap Noodles, but now you can stay in Vancouver for this. Just a quick drive to East Vancouver for this gem.

The details of the Six O Pho challenge:

Be the fastest person to finish the 5 lb bowl of pho in under 30 minutes (meat and noodles)
The big bowl of pho is $34.95 if you fail to finish it in time. Your name and time will still be recorded if you finish it.
Unlimited water is provided.
Limited quantity per day – FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Available everyday from 5-10pm
The fastest time by December 31, 2017 will be the winner of the grand prize and names will be announced on January 2.
Contestants are allowed to challenge this multiple times.
Grand Prize – $100 Cash and your name on our trophy; 2nd and 3rd place winners receive $25 gift cards

Regular vs Six O Pho Size

I could easily down a whole regular bowl, but the Six O Pho size is probably 4 or 5 times the size. It’s massive for one person to finish. If you have the stomach for it, good luck!!

I found the taste of the pho actually good. The Beef Brisket, Rare Beef, and Beef Balls were delicious and the broth was equally as good without any MSG. I would come back again for their regular pho.

Are you ready to take on the Six O Pho Challenge?

Address:
2077 Dundas St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.eatdundas.com/

In Fast Food

Banh Shop at Vancouver International Airport

November 30, 2017

Banh Shop is located in the US Departures area of Vancouver International Airport (YVR). As it’s fairly new, I thought I would give it a try before my flight. They also have this at Pearson International Airport in Toront, DFW International Airport in Texas, and soon Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

I just missed breakfast, so I ordered off the lunch menu at 10am.

It comes all wrapped up if you need it to grab and go to make your flight. I did have a bit of time, so I ate it at the tables.

Grilled Pork Meatball

This banh mi has minced pork marinated with black pepper, Vietnamese caramel glaze and scallions; with a cucumber-cilantro aioli. The sandwich was ok, but you can tell it’s Americanized. It bread was doughy and hard on the outside. The meatballs itself was decent.

It’s a good alternative to the different fast food options in the area, but it’s won’t rock your tastebuds.

We rate Banh Shop:

Address:
Vancouver International Airport
Level 3, Gate E84

Website:
http://banhshop.com/

In Noodles

Pho Xe Lua 24: Vietnamese Cuisine in Vancouver

January 8, 2017

Pho Xe Lua 24 is a little restaurant on Cambie Street serving up traditional Vietnamese food. A few of us came here for dinner an event. We all haven’t been to this restaurant yet, so we decided to come in and give it a try.

Just note, it is cash only.

Appetizers

Shrimp Salad Rolls comes with 4 pieces and a dipping sauce. It good, packed with vermicelli noodles, lettuce and shrimp held together by the rice paper. The sauce was delicious too.

Deep-Fried Chicken Wings comes with crisp pieces of wings and drumettes. The sauce that came with it was nice and tangy, which balanced well.

Vermicelli

Lemongrass Chicken with Spring Roll and Vermicelli had the chicken cooked well, the spring roll was crisp.

The fish sauce poured over the vermicelli was good.

Pho

Extra Large House Special Pho was what we ordered since we wanted to see how big this bowl really is. There’s a bit of everything in here from beef balls to tripe to rare stake. Good clean tasting broth that wasn’t too salty.

Overall, we had a good time dining here, the food was good and the price was cheap. The 3 of us spent $40 after tax and tip. Not bad at all. If you’re in the area and want large portions of good food at good prices, it’s here.

We Rate Pho Xe Lua 24:

Address:
3346 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC

In Cambodian

Phnom Penh: Lunch Time Essentials

January 28, 2016

Phnom Penh is a Vancouver staple and if you haven’t been here, you’re missing out on some amazing Vietnamese/Cambodian dishes. It’s crazy busy everyday for lunch and dinner. Try to get reservations or avoid peak times. They only take resos for groups of 5 or more. I’ve come here so many times in the past 5 years and I can’t get enough of a few of their signature dishes.

One of my coworkers haven’t been here, so we made it a mission to come here!

Essential Dishes

Butter Beef is a must! It is raw beef with a delicious soy vinegar mixture on top with garlic and cilantro. It’s so good and that sauce is just so addictive. We wish we ordered 2 of these, but decided to pace ourselves as other dishes would arrive at the tables.

Luc Lac with egg is another popular dish. This is a good dish if you want it all to yourself. Its a good portion for lunch, but in our case, we shared it amongst the 3 of us. The beef is very tender and the sauce is so good with the rice.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings is probably ordered by every single table in the restaurant. It is served with a lemon pepper dip. Super crunchy and full of salty garlicy flavour.

Vietnamese Rice Roll was an item that we randomly ordered from the menus we wanted to try something new. We found that it was a great dish to balance out the other ones as its not as salty or sour.

Overall, the food is pretty consistent at Phnom Penh. If you haven’t been here before, make a visit and order the above dishes.

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:
244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

In Chinatown

Ba Le Sandwich Shop: Quick Cheap Banh Mi

January 9, 2016

Ba Le Sandwich Shop in Chinatown is a tiny shop that sells incredibly cheap banh mi sandwiches. Any lunch thats under $5 has got my attention. It’s even cheaper than McDonalds. I’m trying not to spend much for lunch, so anything cheap and decent is good enough for me.

Even when I went to order, they just handed it to me right away. I supposed since it was the lunch rush, they have a few sandwiches premade.

Cold Cut Banh Mi ($3.50) is always one of my favourite kinds of banh mi sandwiches, so I gave it a try to see how it is. When I unwrapped it, it’s really does not look impressive at all. It’s kinda hidden inside.

Inside the crispy bun are the slices of cold cuts and veggies inside. I could always use more ingredients inside, but for $3.50, I won’t complain.

It filled me up for lunch and it wasn’t bad at all. I would come back again for a quick cheap lunch to bring back to the office. Most people come here to get take out.

We Rate Ba Le:

Address:
638 Main Street, Vancouver

In Cafe

Ha Cafe: Vietnamese Cuisine

January 2, 2016

Ha Cafe is a Vietnamese cafe located in the Old Orchard Centre near Metrotown. KoreanGirl and I wanted to grab some pho but find a place that we haven’t been before. Looking up online, Ha Cafe seemed like a promising restaurant, plus it wasn’t far from home.

The space isn’t too large but their mirrors in the back make it seem like a bigger space. The space is decently clean but there is a bit of a draft closer to the washroom.

Spring Rolls has 3 pieces per order and you can choose between meat or veggie. We got the meat spring rolls and it was very crunchy and was very tasty. I would highly recommend it.

Special Beef Noodle and Soup has beef brisket, rare beef, tripe, and beef balls, rice noodles, bean sprouts, onions and cilantro. I found the broth to be quite clean tasting. It’s not overly salted and it kinda has a corn taste. The bowls are big but the broth is definitely different from most places. Sweet, but it seems to lack depth.

Spicy Beef Noodle and Soup has beef flank, Vietnamese ham, rare beef in spicy beef soup, rice noodles, bean sprouts, onions and cilantro. It’s supposed to come with thick vermicelli noodles, but we asked for the rice noodles instead. It’s not too spicy but it has a bit of a kick. To have it more spicy, we just added chili oil to it.

Overall, not a bad alternative for Pho in the area. Looking at the menu and what other people were ordering, the rice/vermicelli bowls were popular and so was the banh mi sandwiches. Prices were good under $10. The pho is large but the broth is sweeter and lacks depth to it.

We Rate Ha Cafe:

Address:
Old Orchard Centre, 28-4429 Kingsway, Burnaby

In Chinatown

The Union: Drinks and Pan-Asian Eats

January 1, 2016

The Union is an industrial-chic hub serving creative cocktails & Pan-Asian eats, including bibimbop and banh mi. I was quite surprised by the pan-asian menu. It is located right by the Georgia Viaduct.

I came here with my coworkers after work for a few drinks and bites. It was close to our office and it wasn’t too busy yet. Most of the space was reserved for reservations later in the evening, but they were nice enough to squeeze us in.

Main Street Session IPA has a smooth hop bitterness balanced with premium malts, then dry hopped to create this “sensational session” IPA.

Main Street Saison No. 7 is a blend of three Saison yeasts. Light in colour with a golden haze, this Saison shows through with fruity esters, pepper and citrus notes. We all enjoyed this beer as it was definitely lighter than the IPA.

Crispy Pork Belly Vermicelli Bowl has noodles, carrot daikon pickle, cucumbers, lettuce, bean sprouts, peanuts, herbs, scallions, and nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce. It was a pretty big bowl! I couldn’t even finish it. The pork belly was delicious deep fried and tasted so good. You can’t go wrong with that.

There are a few different types of sauces that you can also add to your bowl.

Around 7pm, this place got a lot busier. It’s a great place to hang out after work. We all got super full from the items we ordered, plus great selection of beer, wine and cocktails.

We Rate The Union:

Address:
219 Union St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://theunionvancouver.ca/

In Cafe

Golden Garden: Vietnamese Food in Chinatown

July 29, 2015

Golden Garden Vietnamese Cuisine / Kim Saigon Sandwiches is an affordable restaurant with amazing items like pho, bahn mi sandwiches, spring rolls, and a lot more. I was introduced to Golden Garden by my coworkers a few years ago and this has become my go-to place for lunch. Take out is quick and I always made sure I get a bahn mi since it’s only $4. Every few months, a couple of my coworkers will have a group lunch and dine in.

When you look inside the dining area, its clean and quite nice compared to other places. It’s not sketchy at all. You will find families, business workers in the area, and some tourists.

Vermicelli Bowl with chicken was what I ordered. It came with a small bowl of fish sauce and I poured a bit over the noodles. I added some hot sauce too for some added heat. It was really good as there were lots of bean sprouts and veggies. I couldn’t stop eating this.

On another day, I got bahn mi for take out. Remember that they can only do debt or credit card transactions for an order $5 or more. If not, you will have to have cash on you. Thats why I ordered a Bahn Mi and a drink to get me to $5.25 so I could use my debt card.

I love how its wrapped up and then tied up in a plastic bag.

I know I could have made this look better, but I didn’t have a knife to cut this in half.

Pate Bahn Mi ($4) has assorted cold cut meat, pâté, pickled vegetable, jalapeno, cilantro and some fish sauce. The bun is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Overall, a great restaurant in the heart of Chinatown with good food and prices. It’s a comfortable space and not sketchy at all.

We Rate Golden Garden:

Address:
509 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://goldengardenrestaurant.ca/

In Cafe

Che-Licious: Bahn Mi and Vietnamese Dessert in the West End

June 26, 2015

Che-Licious is located in the West End close the English Bay. They serve up Vietnamese classics like bahn mi, salad rolls, skewers, and of course their speciality – Che – Vietnamese dessert.

I’ve seen lots of pictures from this place on Instagram and on my Facebook feed, so I decided that I would take a trip out here during lunch to catch up with Wongers and of course eat.

There are a good amount of tables in here. It may be hard fitting a large group, but 2’s or 4’s would work well.

Chè-Licious Special ($6.50) is filled with pandan jelly, agar jelly, pom pearls, toddy palm, jackfruit, longan, coconut milk and ice. What I love about Che is that its so colourful. I remember going to pho restaurants and this would be every kids dream.

With each slurp and spoonful of Che, I really had no idea what I was eating. You get the dominant flavour of the coconut milk and then the textures of all the jellies. They are really generous with the amount of jellies.

They have a good variety of che ingredients as you can see from their list. Not bad at all.

Saigon Signature ($6.50) has various cold cut meats, BBQ pork, pork floss, pate, served with pickled veggies, cucumber, cilantro, house made mayo with optional jalapeño.

The best part was the bread! Crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. As for the ingredients inside of the sandwich, I wish there was more pate. I love me some good pate.

Ducking Good ($6.75) has roasted duck, ginger, scallion with pickled veggies, cucumber, cilantro, house made mayo with optional jalapeño. The ingredient to bun ratio seemed a bit off for this sandwich, but the duck was pretty awesome and it had it’s skin intact.

Overall, the bahn mi is a bit more expensive compared to other places, but that bun is delicious. What makes this place stand out are their varieties of che, you don’t see it anywhere else. Most places just have one option.

We Rate Che-Licious:

Address:
1120 Denman Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.che-licious.com/

In Cafe

Linh Cafe: French Cuisine with a Twist of Vietnamese

April 16, 2015

Linh Cafe is located on West 4th in Kitsilano. I’ve heard very good things about this café, so when I saw a deal on Groupon for $49 to get 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts, I thought it was a steal. An entree is around $25, so getting the Groupon was awesome! What can I say? I like a good deal!

The other half of the restaurant by the front entrance looks for like a café.

Their menu is quite unique as it serves French Cuisine with a Vietnamese twist. Owner and Chef Tai Nguyen merges his two loves of French food and family.

Mussel ($16.50) comes with a wine and fresh herbs cream sauce. It is served with 4 pieces of bread on top.

The mussels were nice and plump! Very delicious and the sauce was great. We dipped a lot of the bread into the sauce.

Nem Cha Gio Spring Roll ($10.50) is packed with shrimp, pork, wood-ear mushroom, and glass noodles.

I loved how crisp the outside was. One of the best spring rolls I’ve had.

Cassoulet ($23.90) has duck confit, house made sausage, pork confit, and white beans in a hot skillet. This was really good! How can you not love all this meat in a pan?

It also came with frites. Very crispy on the outside.

Gigot ($27.50) has 12 hour braised lamb legs in red wine and mirepoix. It is also served with bread.

I found the meat to be a tad dry and the portion is a bit on the small side.

Don’t forget to dunk it into the stew.

By this point, M and I were quite full from the meal, so we had to take the dessert home.

Apple Chausson ($4.50) are French Apple Turnovers. I popped it into the oven until the pastry crisps up a bit more. It’s pretty good, but I wish I had some vanilla ice cream to eat it with.

Three Chocolate Mousse ($6.95) M loved it. He was very satisfied with the dessert.

Overall, the entire meal was very delicious and I loved the combination of French and Vietnamese. You really get the best of both worlds. Our entire meal would have been over $90, but with the Groupon, it was around $50. Not bad at all. You know it’s a good meal when M can’t stop raving about the restaurant.

We Rate Linh Cafe:

Address:
2836 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.linhcafe.com/

In Chinese

Banh Mi Boys: Asian Fusion Sandwiches in Toronto

August 21, 2014

Banh Mi Boys is located on Younge Street close to Ryerson University and a few blocks away from Eaton Centre. They also have another location on Queen Street West. As this was right across from my hotel, I had to come to one of Toronto’s most talked about restaurants.

It’s been on my list forever and I finally made it here! They serve up Vietnamese subs – Banh Mi and a few other fusion items like tacos and steamed baos.

We came here during dinner time and this place was packed! There were barely any seats left and tons of people were taking their food to-go.

Their menu items are quite cheap and perfect for students on a budget. Plus, the food is good.

Once you put in your order, you wait on the side for you order to be called. When they call your name, they also ask you if you want any spice on your items. To be on the safe side, I chose everything I ordered not to be very spicy.

Five Spice Pork Belly Steamed Bao ($3.49) looked amazing and I couldn’t resist anything that has pork belly in it. The steamed bao also has cucumber, pickled carrots, picked radish, and cilantro.

I really liked the pork belly, but then again, who doesn’t?

Braised Beef Steamed Bao ($3.49) is what my aunt ordered. She thought this was ok, but it seemed strange to her as she’s never tried anything like this in Asia.

Kalbi Beef Taco ($3.99) has purple cabbage slaw, kimchi, pickled carrots, cilantro and the kalbi beef on top of the taco.

Kimchi Fries ($5.99) has pulled pork, mayo, kimchi, and green onion on top of the fries. My Korean relatives thought this dish was disgusting and weird. It was hard for them to grasp the concept that kimchi and fries go together. I thought this was a delicious dish! The hot and sour taste from the kimchi blend beautifully with the pulled pork.

Overall, Banh Mi Boys is a fun place for fusion food if you taste buds are up to the challenge.

We Rate Banh Mi Boys:

Address:
392 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.banhmiboys.com/

In Cafe

Cafe Mai-Mai: Pho and Waffles

March 9, 2014

Cafe Mai-Mai is located in Marpole and is a family run Vietnamese cafe. They serve up Pho, Bahn Mi sandwiches, rice dishes, coffee and waffles. Their food also doesn’t contain any MSG.

M, Scarface, Mandy and I headed here after work to chow down on some pho. Pho is really just amazing winter comfort food with it’s warm broth heating you up from the inside.

Cafe de l’Orangerie previously occupied this place but has since moved to another location. Similar look but refreshed walls.

Vietnamese Coffee ($3.50) has the layer of condensed milk and then the coffee dripping from the top container.

Once it’s done dripping, you give it a good mix and then you can add your ice. What I like about this place is that they put a good amount of water so it make a cup of coffee. You definitely have enough to last you through the meal. It was good.

Shrimp salad rolls ($5.50) comes with 2 huge pieces cut in half, so you get 4 pieces. You have the noodles, shrimp, lettuce wrapped up in the rice paper. It also comes with sauce to dip it into.

The salad rolls are made to order, so they are fresh and slightly warm.

Spring rolls ($5.50) comes with 3 rolls and cut up in half to create 6 pieces. It’s crispy on the outside and savoury on the inside. There is also fish sauce to dip it into.

Vietnamese special ham and sausage sub (9″ – $4.49) is filled with vietnamese mayo, pate, pickled carrot, daikon, cucumber, cilantro and the ham and sausage. I wasn’t that hungry, so the 9″ was a good size.

Lemon grass chicken rice ($7.49) is served with vegetables, pickled carrot, daikon, cucumber and dish sauce. You also have the salad on the side.

#2 Phở đặc biệt (tái) House special pho ($7.80) has medium rare beef slices, flank, tendon, tripe, beef ball, and rice noodle in soup. It has no MSG and used some thin tender beef. The pho comes in only one size but it is comparable to a large size.

#11 Phở tái nạm, gân, sách ($7.50) has medium rare beef slices, beef flank, beef tendon, beef tripe, and rice noodle in soup. It was a large bowl, so

Single waffle($5) comes with butter and maple sauce. It’s the best way to try the waffle since it is crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Scarface and Mandu really loved the waffle and would stop eating them until it was all gone from the plate.

Waffle, apple, top with vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce ($7.50) was ok, but the toppings was a let down. I’ve never seen wedges of apples on top of a waffle. They could definitely improve their toppings in the future.

The food at Cafe Mai-Mai was pretty average, there’s still a few kinks they need to work out on their menu. The prices are quite fair and you’ll be full.

We Rate Cafe Mai-Mai:

Address:
8636 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.cafemaimai.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=8636+Granville+St&sll=49.2080257,-123.1403123&sspn=0.0053832,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=8636+Granville+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6P+5A1&z=16 “]

In Cambodian

24 Train Express Noodle House: New Pho Restaurant in Yaletown

December 23, 2013

There is a new Vietnamese/Cambodian restaurant in Yaletown. KoreanGirl, Mandu and I came here for lunch to devour bowls of pho. There’s no other Vietnamese restaurant in the area, so it’s nice to have something different around this area.

24 Train Express Noodle House is located in the previous locations of Sunset Burgers and Ace Burger Bar.

There’s outdoor seating, but it was a cold day so no one was there.

It’s packed during lunch, but the turnover of the table are quite quick.

Their menus have a different restaurant name on their menus. Perhaps they are part of the Gold Train Express chain of pho restaurants. They have one near UBC.

Spring Rolls ($5.80) comes with 2 pieces. It’s not uniformly shaped like other places, but it was decent and crunchy.

#14 Pho Tai Nam, Gan, Sach (Small – $6.50, Large – $7.50, XL – $8.75) has rare steak, tendon, tripe, brisket and noodle in soup.

#10 Pho Tai, Sach (Small – $6.50, Large – $7.50, XL – $8.75) has Rare steak, tripe and noodles in soup.

The different types of pho was decent. Nothing really special about it but it’s a easy quick lunch. Mandu said the broth was not as flavourful as other places, but was quite light.

The pho comes with lemons, bean sprouts, and basil. We asked for the bean sprouts to be cooked and they were nice enough to do so.

Overall, the food is decent with large portions and the prices are pretty good for this area.

We Rate 24 Train Express Noodle House:

Address:
550 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=550+Nelson+Street+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=550+Nelson+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+6R5&z=16 “]

In Hastings-Sunrise

Pho Don: New Vietnamese Restaurant on Hastings

October 15, 2013

M dragged me to a new Vietnamese Restaurant he found near the PNE. There’s so many Vietnamese restaurants on this block that there are so many options. We usually go to Bao Chau and their spring rolls are addictive.

Pho Don is a family run business and you can see the owners children helping out at the restaurant. It’s quite cute.

The interior is clean compared to the other Vietnamese restaurants in town. There are lots of seats if you want to come in a group. As its new, it’s not too busy, so great place to go during the day or night. They are also open till 2am!

Ice Vietnamese Coffee is a must. M and I always seem to order this to keep us awake.

Complimentary Spring Rolls came with the order of meals. It’s one of their current promotions. We were delightfully surprised since we were going to order them anyways. They were good but I had a feeling they might be frozen beforehand. It was crispy but a bit soft.

Rare beef and beef brisket slices was good but by the time it got to the table, most of the meat was cooked. Not a big problem, but I hate when its not like the pictures on the menu.

The broth was great and tasted super clean and full of flavour.

Bean Sprouts, Bail, lime and jalapeno on the side. I added it all to the pho and it was gooood.

Lemongrass Chicken on Vermicelli Noodles is what M ordered. He thought it was ok but would rather go to Bao Chau to order this.

They definitely have great pho and is open for long hours. There is also free parking in front and lots of buses close by.

We rate Pho Don:

Address:
2838 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2838+East+Hastings+Street+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=2838+E+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5K+1Z9&z=16″]

In BBQ

Urban Belly: Pork Belly, Ramen, and Communal Tables

September 21, 2013

When I was vacationing in Chicago, I went to visit Urbanbelly near Logan Square. They are also recipients of a Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago award in 2010. It basically means they are a quality restaurant with affordable price.

They don’t take reservations, but on a weekday lunch hour, there was no wait.

The counter is at the back, so you just line up and order. They have daily specials written on the wall.

You can find the rest of the regular items on their menu. The prices are quite decent with nothing over $13.

The interior is one large room with 4 communal tables. Better get cozy and meet some new friends.

Asian Squash and Bacon Dumplings ($7) comes with 4 pieces of the steamed dumplings. It has a predominantly squash filling. It is topped with bacon bits, orange slices and other things. It was pretty good and has a nice balance between the sweet oranges and the savoury dumpling.

Urbanbelly Ramen ($13) is made with a pho broth and has pork belly and shitake mushrooms. Its deep rich broth with layers of savoury flavours is quite delicious.

Phat Rice ($9) is a fried rice dish that combined all the other rice dishes into one. There was short rib, pork belly, pineapple, scallions, pea shoots, and Thai basil. I chose this dish because I was pretty indecisive of what to order….so this was the best option. It was pretty good.

Chinese Eggplant with Thai Basil came complimentary because we waited a long time for the Phat Rice. I loved the sauce that came with it.

At the end of the meal, they give you some Ginger Candy to round out the experience.

Overall, the food was pretty good and I would come again. The food is a bit only and rich, but that means its extra delicious.

We Rate Urban Belly:

Address:
3053 N California Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.urbanbellychicago.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60618,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60618,+United+States&z=16 “]

In Riley Park/Little Mountain

Au Petit Cafe: Pho and Banh Mi

April 16, 2013

My friends love food and a cheap meal is what they love the most. We went to Au Petit Cafe on a weekend to get a taste of their spring rolls and banh mi sandwiches. All of their items are under $10 and it’s pretty good. Au Petit Cafe is family owned and has won several awards for their delicious food.

Even though it was a rainy Saturday morning, there was a line up outside. They don’t take reservations and it’s cash only.

Spring Rolls ($7.75) comes with 12 pieces and it’s plenty to pass around the table. The outside is very crisp and tastes great.

Pho Tai Bo Vien (Large $8) has raw and cooked sliced beef with beef balls and noodle in soup.

Banh Mi Dac Biet ($5) contains french bread, ham, meatballs, vegetables and hot peppers. This is one of their most popular items on the menu and tends to sell out.

It was pretty good, the bun is weirdly addictive as it’s soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The ingredients are quite simple. but the way they prepare them for the sandwiches works well.

Overall, it’s pretty solid Vietnamese food and good prices. No wonder there are huge line ups and the sandwiches can get sold out by the end of the day. The food isn’t fancy or anything but it’s good for something simple and easy.

We Rate Au Petite Cafe:

Address:
4851 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.aupetitcafe.com/

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In North Burnaby

Broken Rice: New Vietnamese Restaurant in North Burnaby

December 20, 2012

One day I was passing by Hastings and I saw Broken Rice. It’s great that a good amount of new restaurants are popping up in the area, it makes me really excited because this area his my “hood”. Not in a gangster way or anything, but I love new restaurants when I see them.

Their dishes range from traditional items to more modern Vietnamese dishes featuring French influences.

The interior gives a bit of a semi-fancy vibe, which is reflected in their menu as well. It’s not as cheap as your usual Pho restaurants. You probably don’t want to come here and order the usual Vietnamese items.

Tea comes in a cool looking teapot and cups. I don’t know what tea it is, but it was good stuff!

Fresh Coconut ($5) is what M ordered. He loves fresh coconut and no bottle coconut water can even compare. It’s a really refreshing drink and they give you a spoon so you can eat the coconut meat inside.

Duck Sliders ($5) has duck confit, cilantro, onions, and pickled vegetables inside a steamed bun. The sliders were very average and the flavour of the duck didn’t stand out.

Lemongrass Chicken has lemongrass grilled chicken breast served with a salad of fresh watercress tossed in a house vinaigrette. Also, there is broken rice on the side with fish sauce. M thought the dish was a bit expensive for what you get since you can get something equivalent at Bao Chao for way less. Nonetheless, M did like the taste of the lemongrass chicken.

Vietnamese Crepe is a savory crepe with mushroom, jicama, sprouts, and tofu. It is also served with mixed herbs. The crepe was unlike the usual crepe texture, it was very crispy. There was so much herbs on the side, there was a lot! Every herb you can think of was probably on this dish. It was like eating a garden.

The way I was instructed to eat this dish was take a large lettuce leaf and put some herbs and pieces of the crepe, wrap it up and dunk it into the fish sauce. I did enjoy the herbs since they tasted good!

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream ($5) came with a pistachio macaron and then an edible flower. The ice cream is made in-house and tasted great.

Overall, the experience was good. We tried different traditional and modern Vietnamese dishes and it wasn’t like another Pho restaurant. It was a bit nicer, but then again, you are paying higher prices for your meal.

We Rate Broken Rice:

Address:
4088 Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC

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