Vietnamese Archives

In Chinese

Cold Tea Restaurant: Modern Chinese and Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine in Vancouver

July 2, 2020

Cold Tea Restaurant has now taken over the spot of the historical Tsui Hang Village Restaurant. The veteran owners have reimagined the space and have filled a hole in the market through creating a modern dim sum experience with a Vietnamese twist that is laid-back and accessible to everyone.

We were invited to check out a few of their dishes at Cold Tea Restaurant.

The restaurant’s name is paying homage to the history of the building they have leased, as their predecessor, Tsui Hang Village Restaurant, was notoriously known for serving late night tea pots full of beer, which you could order as “cold tea” after legal serving hours.

Interior

The space seats 130 people seated and 160 people standing, but with the pandemic, they currently can only have a 80 person capacity with social distancing. The space is unpretentious, inviting, modern, earthy, with classic Chinese elements.

Garden Fizz

This cocktail has Hendricks Gin, Pimms no1, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, and egg white. It was a nice drink strong in flavour with citrus notes. The addition of lemon juice made it very refreshing. It is served in a tall glass served with strawberry and fresh mint.

Dark Tea

This mocktail has blackberry tea syrup, black tea, lemon, simple syrup, bitters, and coke. The dominant flavours were of the blackberry and black tea. You can taste the hint of bitters with the coke. There is definitely a lot of depth to this drink. The drink isn’t too fizzy because of the coke. It was a good drink served in a tall glass with blackberry and fresh mint.

Pork Belly Bao

This has braised pork belly, marinated cucumber, pickled red onion, sriracha mayo, and scallions. This bao has a very nice flavour and it was tender.

Big Bird Bao

This other bao has fried chicken thighs, marinated cucumber, pickled red onion, sriracha mayo, and cilantro. It was ok, but we did like the pork belly bao more as it fit more with our flavour preferences.

Vegan Potstickers

We tried the vegan potstickers and it has kobacha squash, coconut cream, and lemongrass. We normally wouldn’t have chosen this option, but the flavour combination surprisingly worked. We wished there were more pieces to an order.

Lai Fun Carbonara

This dish is definitely very fusion. It has lai fun noodles, 5 spiced cured bacon, cream, sous vide egg, parmesan, green onion, and chili threads. This turned out to be very good. It was flavourful and not too salty. Since they do use lai fun noodles, they are more soft in texture than regular al gente pasta.

Green Papaya Salad

This salad has beef jerky, green papaya, cucumber, red bell peppers, cilantro, mint, Thai basil, and a sweet and sour fish sauce. The flavours are very nice and refreshing. A good balance of flavours so nothing is too overpowering. The strips of beef jerky was really good. There is also a vegetarian option with tofu on the menu.

Vietnamese Coffee Creme Brulee

This was a good end to the meal. This has French roast coffee in the creme brulee with condensed milk.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we liked how each dish is thoughtfully put together and well balanced. They really nailed the combination of Chinese and Vietnamese flavours. Well executed and we will definitely be back.

Cold Tea Restaurant is a great addition to the neighbourhood.

Address:
1193 Granville St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.coldtearestaurant.com/

In Uncategorized

Bonjour Vietnam Bistro: Instagramable Cafe in Vancouver on Fraser Street

June 17, 2020

Bonjour Vietnam Bistro is one of the newest restaurants to open in Vancouver. During the pandemic, we are seeing lots of restaurants close down, but there are still lots of restaurants in the pipeline that are opening. It’s a hard time for all, you’ll want to make sure to pay Bonjour Vietnam Bistro a visit to experience their food and beautiful Instagramable space.

They are located on Fraser Street in Vancouver putting a modern twist on authentic Vietnamese food which is very Vancouver.

Keeping You Safe

To keep everyone safe, we noticed these safety measures:

Sanitize hands at door
All servers wearing face shields
Washrooms had a side that said max 1 person at a time even though there are 2 stalls
Distancing of tables
Limiting group sizes

Interior

The space is like a garden! It’s so stunning and makes you feel like you’re outside. They have definitely put in a lot of thought into their interior design. It’s the perfect spot for photos and a meal with all your friends.

We absolutely enjoyed the ambiance. The music is mostly jazz and went nicely with the theme of the restaurant.

Dishes

On the menu, you’ll find items like skewers, salad rolls, spring rolls, tropical salads, noodle soups, vermicelli bowls, platters, BBQ rice dishes, and dessert.

The currently have a smaller menu due to the pandemic, so they won’t have their full menu as they were originally intending.

Chopstick Drive

You can purchase their beautiful chopsticks for a cause! All proceeds go to BC Children’s Hospital. The chopsticks come in pink, blue, and yellow.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a fun space with solid food from what we tried so far. While we were here, there were lots of people passing by trying to get a glimpse of the space since it does stand out. Now that it’s open, you can see for yourself, what the buzz is all about.

Address:
3944 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4E4

Website:
https://www.bonjourvietnambistro.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

[Sneak Peek] The Lunch Lady: Legendary Vietnamese Street Food in Vancouver

June 12, 2020

The Lunch Lady is the famous Vietnamese street stall in Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam made favour world-wide by Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. They are opening their first North American location in Vancouver. I’ve personally never been to The Lunch Lady, but I do appreciate really good flavours in food especially noodles.

Michael Tran and his mother Victoria, the restauranteurs and owners behind Five Elements restaurant on Commercial Drive are the people behind The Lunch Lady in Vancouver. They bonded with Mrs. Nguyen Thanh’s dishes and her stories that they had to bring her recipes to Vancouver and continue her legacy.

We were given a sneak peek of The Lunch Lady for take out to see what they are all about.

Keeping You Safe

With the Covid-19 pandemic, they are ensuring everyone’s safety when dining in. When they open, they will have the following safety protocols.

Physical Distancing

The restaurant will be set up where social distancing is possible. There will be designated waiting areas from take out and delivery too.

Strict Safety & Hygiene

They follow WorkSafe BC’s hygiene protocols. Staff undergo wellness screenings and will ensure everything that is touched is either responsibly disposed of or thoroughly sanitized.

Limited Capacity

For dine-in guests, there is 6 people maximum per party and will be seated at tables 2 meters apart.

Spiked Soda Chanh

One of the cocktails on the menu is the spiked soda chanh, which has fresh calamansi, lime, simple syrup, vodka, and Contreau. It’s very refreshing and pairs well with their dishes. I love the addition of the fresh calamansi.

Lychee Passion

The second cocktail is their Lychee Passion, which has lychee and raspberry fruit, fresh lemon, gin, dry vermouth, and lychee liquor. Very delicious as well.

Banh Tom Chien

This is Miss Thanh’s crispy prawn fritter with sweet chili sauce. I really enjoyed this. For takeout, it stayed very very crisp.

Nem Nuong

These are housemade pork sausage salad rolls with a house sauce. I loved it and the addition of the pandan leaf gave it a lovely aroma.

Bun Thai

This beautiful bowl of noodles has prawns, squid, local clams, sliced beef, and vermicelli noodles with sweet and spicy tamarind broth. The dish is beautiful and the broth isn’t too spicy at all.

You can only find this on the specials on certain Mondays, but make sure to follow them on social media to see if they are featuring this.

Banh Canh Cua

This bowl of noodles has prawns, crab and shrimp cake, sliced pork, and tapioca noodles in a rich crab broth. I enjoyed the texture of the tapioca noodles with that delicious crab broth.The prawns were large and had a natural sweetness to them. You’l want to eat the crab and shrimp cake soon as it can get soggy in the soup.

You can only find this on the specials on Saturday only.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we had a really good impression of The Lunch Lady from the items we have tried so far. Everything was great and I’m sure it’ll taste even better at the restaurant when everything is fresh to order.

We are excited to see them open on July 1st to welcome customers from dine-in and take out. We will be back for more of the flavourful dishes.

Address:
1046 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://thelunchlady.com/

In Noodles

Pho Kitchen: Vietnamese Comfort Food in Vancouver

February 28, 2020

Pho Kitchen is a newest eatery near Renfrew Skytrain by the Broadway Tech Centre. It’s a much needed addition as it gives the workers in the area more food options for lunch and dinner. It’s definitely packed here during peak hours.

I love pho since it’s so comforting on a rainy or cold day in Vancouver. Can’t go wrong with a big bowl of hot soup and noodles.

We were invited to Pho Kitchen to give their dishes a try.

Interior

The space is really large for this Vietnamese restaurant. Very nice and clean. It can fit quite a lot of people, so having a party here wouldn’t be a problem.

Kids

If you want to come here with kids, they do have high chairs for the little ones. There is also a changing table in the washroom too.

Great and accommodating for families.

Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky

The papaya salad has shredded green papaya and carrot tossed with basil, caramelized peanuts, and garlic lemon soy sauce. We got this with beef jerky too.

The salad was very refreshing with a great combination of flavours. The beef jerky and red peppers were a nice addition as it added a kick of spice.

4 Season Platter

The season platter of rolls comes with 5 different rolls – 1 Spring, 1 Summer, 1 Autumn, and 2 Winter. It’s a good way to try all the rolls if you’re curious.

Spring roll is a deep fried roll packed with lean ground pork, shredded carrot, taro, black fungus, and thread rice noodles in wheat wrapper.

Summer roll has sliced prawns, lettuce, basil, pickled carrot & daikon, and rice vermicelli in rice paper.

Autumn roll has strips of tender chicken thigh slow grilled in sweet lemongrass sauce, lettuce, basil, pickled carrot & daikon, and rice vermicelli in rice paper.

Winter roll has a Spring Roll “wrapped” in Summer Rolls. 2 halves of a Spring Roll, each with pickled carrot & daikon, basil, and lettuce wrapped in rice papers.

These are served with a fish sauce and peanut sauce. Spring roll was packed with filling and was delicious. It didn’t feel too greasy either.

All of them were really delicious and we enjoyed the variety of rolls they had to offer customers. If you want to try them all, definitely get this platter.

Small House Special Pho

The House special pho has beef broth, slices of rare steak, well-done flank, fatty brisket, beef balls, tendon, tripe and rice noodles. This is definitely the most popular pho on the menu.

We found that the soup was delicious, meats were plentiful, but the noddles were a bit soft for our liking. The broth was very clean and not too fatty at all. Very tasty.

Short Ribs with Rice

This has 6oz of short ribs slow grilled with their in-house sauce, caramelized prawns and quail eggs, lettuce, pickled carrot & daikon, cucumber, and tomato slices.

This comes with 4 large meaty pieces of short rub and lots of rice. The caramelized prawns and quail eggs were delicious. The meat is so flavourful so you don’t really need too much of the fish sauce. The fish sauce was good to add acidity to the dish.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great location close to Renfrew Skytrain with a few free parking spot out front and some street parking available. They have great happy hour deals as well as Six o Pho Deal on Tuesday with drink purchase.

The menu has great variety and does cater to people with dietary restrictions as well. Very accommodating to those who are Vegan. The food is good and satisfying but doesn’t have anything out of the ordinary. A solid place to visit.

Address:
2915 Hebb Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://phokitchen.ca/

In Food Carts

NaMì Food Cart: Vietnamese Cuisine on Wheels in Downtown Vancouver

February 26, 2020

NaMì Food Cart is located in the heart of Downtown Vancouver right by the City Centre Station on the Canada Line. It’s bright and blue so you can’t miss it. They specialize in Banh Mi and vermicelli bowls as those are their 2 main types of items they offer.

We were invite to check out a few of their signature items.

What are the hours?

It can vary, so best to check out their website for the weekly schedule.

Chasu Pork Belly Banh Mi

This banh mi comes with pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, mayo & pate, pork belly, hoisin glaze, and spring onions. The pork belly has a good portion size and the flavour was really nice with the hoisin glaze. It didn’t feel too greasy either.

The price is a tad high, but then again, this is located in Downtown.

Garlic Beef Vermicelli Bowl

Garlic Beef vermicelli bowl comes with shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, mixed herbs, garlic beef, vermicelli, and a Vietnamese herb dressing.

There is quite a bit of dressing that comes with the bowl, but good thing it’s on the side. The garlic beef has a very strong taste of garlic which is nice for this bowl, but it felt greasy because of all the oil in the herb dressing.

The herbs were very nice and vibrant to freshen up the bowl. Make sure to grab a bit of everything to get all the flavours in one bite. The pieces of beef could be a bit bigger and meatier.

Final Thoughts

The menu item seems a bit fusion to fit with what Vancouverites are looking for. The food quality was good for a food cart as a grab and go option. The price is a bit high compared to what you would find at a Vietnamese restaurant especially for Banh mi.

It’s great for the area as it give people more options in the Downtown core. Plus, working in Downtown, I know how important it is to get something quick and delicious.

Location:
Granville St &, W Georgia St (Weekdays)

Website:
http://www.namivietnamese.com/

In Victoria-Fraserview/Killarney

Hanoi Old Quarter Restaurant: Northern Vietnamese Cuisine in Vancouver

February 24, 2020

Hanoi Old Quarter Restaurant is located on Victoria Drive and they specialize in North Vietnamese cuisine. They are also the sister restaurant of Mr Red Cafe. I’ve been to Mr Red Cafe many times and I really wanted to try out their unique dishes here. I came with a few friends to catch up over lunch.

Interior

The interior has a decent amount of space and easily configurable for small to large groups. It has similar decor to Mr. Red Cafe. The seating is comfortable and lots of space to move around.

Kids

They do have one high chair for the entire restaurant, so if there are multiple kids dining at one time, the rest will be out of luck. When we were here, there were no other kids dining here.

There is also no changing tables in the washroom.

Egg Coffee

Egg Coffee is a Vietnamese beverage made with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and coffee. It is served in a hot bowl of water. At first it seemed very strange as every time you drink the coffee, some water droplets may drip on your clothes. The water bath is there to keep the coffee warm.

I really enjoyed the egg coffee. You mix everything up before you consume so it so the egg mixture, coffee and sugar all combine. It’s really good. The egg adds a nice touch. The coffee is still bold but it adds depth, texture, and character to the drink.

We really enjoyed it.

Vietnamese Coffee with Condensed Milk

The Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk isn’t served with the metal dripper contraption like other places. It’s already done for you. Some love to put it together themselves and others don’t. As there is a lot of ice in the cup, we drank this so fast.

Westlake Shrimp Cake

This is pretty fantastic. I haven’t seen this anywhere else in Vancouver. It’s like a deep fried potato pancake with a shrimp on top. Then is it paired with some greens and sauce.

Fresh Avocado Rolls

There are 4 rolls to an order and it was really delicious. It is paired with a peanut sauce on the side. A great appetizers that is lighter, but very good.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings

There are a good amount of wings to an order, but I wanted more flavour in the wings. It is served with a wedge of lemon and salt and pepper.

It was a bit too bland for me.

Steamed Rice Noodles with Grilled Pork Patties and Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls

This is not what we imagined this dish to look like. It was more like a platter of the items described plus greens, herbs, beansprouts, and cucumbers.

We weren’t really sure how to eat this, so we grabbed a bit of everything and ate it together with the rice noodles.

Chicken Lemongrass with Rice

There is 2 pieces of lemongrass chicken, broccoli, rice, and sauce. The flavour of that lemongrass chicken was really good. A good dish for an individual person.

Free Range Chicken Pho

This was the special on their board. It was very fragrant and had a good depth of flavour. Lots of noodle and a good amount of chicken.

Final Thoughts

Hanoi Old Quarter Restaurant is pretty good and a great addition to the neighbourhood with it’s Northern Vietnamese cuisine. Not all Vietnamese cuisine is the same, so it’s great to experience different types of dishes from that region.

The food was pretty good and the only item we didn’t like were the wings. Everything else was solid.

Address:
5207 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.mrredcafe.ca/Menu?selectedStore=HanoiOldQuarter

In Kensington

Viet Mama Cafe: Homey Vietnamese Food on Victoria Drive

February 7, 2020

Viet Mama Cafe is one of the newest restaurants to open up on Victoria Drive. This little shop serves up home-style Vietnamese Cuisine. The menu is small, but they put a lot of love into each dish.

All the recipes come straight from their family kitchen. They decided to open up Viet Mama Cafe after getting multiple compliments from friends and family about how great their food is. The whole cafe is family run, so there is a lot of heart in the kitchen and in the food.

They do not use MSG in their pho and all their dishes use fresh ingredients.

We were invited to check out Viet Mama Cafe for some lunch.

Interior

The space isn’t too large, but has a decent amount of seats. We did notice on a weekday that it was pretty busy around 1pm. As the space is new, it’s very very clean and organized.

Kids

I brought along my 11 month daughter and they have high chairs available. They do have a handicap accessible washroom, but unfortunately no changing table. They were kind enough to let me change her on a table at the rear of the restaurant.

Iced Vietnamese Coffee

I love Vietnamese coffee. They serve this a bit different. It’s shaken up and then served so its already milked with the condensed milk. Nonetheless, it still tastes good and give you a kick of caffeine into your day.

Salad Roll / Goi Cuon

The salad roll has shrimp, pork, cilantro, mint, and vermicelli served with fish sauce. The sauce on the side was a bit on the salty side, so we used less of it. Everything tasted nice and fresh.

Meat Rice Roll / Banh Cuon Nhan

This has ice flour with pork, shrimp, fried ham, meatballs, fried shallots, and veggies served with fish sauce. There is also fresh herbs, lime and red chilis if you want to enhance the flavour. I love the addition of the fried shallots. I really enjoyed the dish and I would order it again.

Special Beef Noodle / Pho Dac Biet

This has beef brisket, rare beef, and beef balls over noodles. The pho was quite nice. More subtle in flavour as they don’t use MSG, but its such a clean tasting broth that makes you feel good afterwards. The portions were a great size.

Crab Meat Noodle with Fish Cakes / Bun Rieu Cua Cha Ca

This pho is also very popular. It has Real crab meat, fish cake, tofu and veggies over the broth and noodles. I really enjoyed it and the flavour had some depth to it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we enjoyed dining at Viet Mama Cafe. The flavours were very clean, not too salty and just had a homey feel to the dishes. The menu doesn’t have too many items, but it’s a solid set of items that will satisfy customers. Very family friendly as well. I loved both pho dishes as well as the rice roll.

Address:
5118 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC

In Dessert

Tina Cake Desserts: Vietnamese Dessert Shop in Vancouver

May 18, 2019

Tina Cake and Desserts is one of the first Vietnamese Dessert Shops in Vancouver. Very refreshing to see that it doesn’t just focus on Che. I was looking online for some new places and this place popped up and looked pretty interesting for the Salted Egg Yolk Cakes.

I came with my friend to check this out with our kids. Since our kids and under 1 years old, it was just the adults devouring all the desserts hahaha.

Interior

Tina Cakes has a very bright blue interior with lots of tables. Nothing fancy, but it’s really all about the dessert here. The tables are set up in 2’s and 4’s but I’m sure you can move around tables and chairs for a larger group.

Salted Egg Yolk Cupcake

When you check in with Yelp, you get this salted egg yolk cupcake for free. A nice touch since they just opened up recently and its good to encourage people to spread the word. It’s a two bite cupcake topped with floss, a glaze and the salted egg yolk. Good unique flavours.

Salted Egg Yolk Slice

I then ordered a slice of Salted Egg Yolk Cake and it was pretty good portion size.

Pandan Jelly with Flan

What a unique dessert to have pandan and coconut jelly filled with flan. The look with the piggy and the piglets are really cute too.

It wasn’t too sweet at all and it worked well together. You have the sweetness from the caramel flan but the pandan and coconut jelly aren’t as sweet, which is nice.

Coconut Pearl Dessert with Flan

The flan comes with different assortment of coconut pearls, coconut milk, and a caramel sauce. It was surprisingly really good. The pearls aren’t like the pearls in bubble tea and a lot less chew.

Thai Mixed Fruit Dessert with Durian in Coconut Milk

There is durian, jackfruit, tapioca, pandan jellies, mungbean paste, matcha balls, pandan balls, coconut milk, and crushed ice. There is definitely a lot going on in this bowl, but I enjoyed how there was such a good assortment of fresh toppings. The durian was very fragrant and took over the whole taste of the bowl, but that’s what durian does.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the desserts we ordered were really good and well executed. Everything was very affordable at around $5-$6, which was great. I’ll definitely be back for some more.

Address:
888, Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/888Kingsway/

In Renfrew-Collingwood

Banh Mi Saigon: Vietnamese Sandwiches in Vancouver

March 18, 2019

Banh Mi Saigon is a quaint family owned banh mi shop on Victoria Drive. A lot of people rave about this being one of the best banh mi shops in Vancouver, so I had to come here to give it a try since I’ve never been.

I dragged my friend along so we can go on a weekday for lunch. They had a steady amount of traffic and a lot of people were grabbing to go. Some really large orders too because when you buy 10 sandwiches, you get 1 free.

Interior

The interior is quite small but most people end up doing take out. There is a small eating area but fits parties of 2. There are 4 or 5 tables I think.

Iced Condensed Milk Coffee

I love a good Vietnamese Iced Coffee! For sleep deprived people like me, I really needed it and it had the right balance of sweetness with the bold taste of coffee.

Pâté Chaud

This is a Vietnamese savoury puff pastry filled with meat inside. The puff pastry was flakey and the filling was meaty and delicious. Good flavours too. Good price too as it was 2 for $3.

Special Banh Mi

The special banh mi has a bit of everything. This has ham, headcheese, meatball, Vietnamese meatloaf, cucumber, carrot, pickled radish, cilantro, a smear of spiced pate and a drizzle of soy all inside a delicious baguette. The baguette is crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

The special banh mi has everything so if you’re indecisive, get this.

Che Dessert – 6 Colours

I just had to try the che dessert with 3 different flavours. It has coconut milk, pandan jelly, red bean, white bean, green bean, and water chestnut jelly. It’s a very fun and colourful drink but I thought it was a touch too sweet for my personal taste.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the banh mi at Banh Mi Saigon were really good. Lots of great filling and delicious bread. Do remember that it is cash only, so you’re out of luck if you only have debit and credit. The items on their menu are affordable, so you don’t have to carry too much cash.

Address:
5397 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC

In Chinatown

DD Mau: Modern Vietnamese Cuisine in Chinatown

March 14, 2019

DD Mau opened their second location in Chinatown with an expanded menu and bar. Their original location in Yaletown has a limited menu and mostly serve Banh Mi sandwiches. I’ve been here several times since their opening but finally had enough dishes to write a proper review of DD Mau in Chinatown.

Interior

The interior is pretty unique and seems like you’ve stepped back into time. When you walk in, there are antique bird cages above, the sight of metal tables, metal utensils and plates just like if you’re out in a market place.

DD Mau Wings

This is their deep-fried chicken wings with their housemade fish glaze sauce. It is crisp on the outside and you can taste the fish sauce glaze on the wings. A good item to share among the table.

Fried Crispy Pig Ears

The fried crispy pig ears were very crisp where it was tough to chew some pieces. It is seasoned with five spice and it’s not too strong. I can see this pair well with beer.

Liquid Tiramisu

This is a Ha Noi Style Coffee with sweet egg cream. The coffee below is strong and bold. The sweet egg cream really balances it out. Highly recommended.

Grandma’s Tea

Who knew you could combine oolong Tea and Johnnie Walker into a shot.

Lychee Soda

The sodas on the menu come in a variety of flavours – lychee, soursop, passion fruit and guava. We went with the lychee flavour but it was way too sweet for our liking.

Pho Beef Dip Banh Mi

Inside the French baguette is beef shank, eye round, onions, bean sprouts, and herbs. It has the pho broth on the side for dipping. It was an interesting concept to switch up the traditional beef dip. I found the beef shank and eye round to be a bit tough, so when biting into it, I would drag out more beef.

Grilled Betel Leaf Meatball Platter

A large dish where you can eat it for 1 person or share among the table. It has banh hoi rice noodle bundles, lettuce, herbs, pickled veggies and an anchovy-pineapple sauce. It was a pretty solid dish and I really liked the noodle bundles as they were really easy to grab and dip into the sauce. A good combination of flavours in this dish too.

Damn Good Chicken and Rice

This is a popular Northern Hoi An dish. It has free-range chicken salad on tumeric rice and served with a side of soup. A solid dish and I really enjoyed it. We asked the server for this recommendation and she wasn’t wrong at all.

Beef Pho

This has beef balls, flank, and rare eye around with their beef broth. It’s a pretty good clean bowl of pho that feels healthy. It also comes with herbs, bean sprouts and jalapeños on the side.

Final Thoughts

It’s a good place for lunch and dinner in the Chinatown area. It definitely add something that is much needed in the neighbourhood. The modern twist to some of the dishes aren’t for everyone, but they have a good amount of options on the menu that isn’t just pho and banh mi sandwiches.

Address:
145 E Pender St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ddmau.ca/chinatown

In Noodles

Pho Kim Long: Vietnamese Cuisine in San Jose

February 23, 2019

When we were in San Jose, we were looking for some a well rated restaurant that had lots of space since we were with lots of our family members. Pho Kim Long in San Jose specializes in Vietnamese cuisine, so, dishes like pho, BBQ meat dishes, iced coffee, and much more.

They don’t take reservations, so we called ahead to see if they had some open tables before driving here. Luckily they did. Also note, it’s cash only.

Spring Roll

The spring roll comes in 2 pieces cut in half and it comes with a peanut sauce where you can dunk them into. The rice paper as a little bit harder so I feel like it may have been made ahead of time for the dinner rush.

BBQ Pork Chop and Sunshine Egg Over Rice

This rice plate has a big piece of BBQ Pork Chop, veggies, rice and the sunshine egg but it was more just a fried egg.This dish was ok, but the pork was a bit tough.

Regular or Large Pho?

Here is the regular and large side by side. For about 75 cents more, there is a subtle difference in size. The bowl is better, taller and wider. If you’re hungry, you might as well get the large.

#1 Tô Xe Lua (Tai, Chin, Nam, Gan, Sach)

This has rice noodle soup with rare filet mignon, tendon, tripe and flank brisket. A little bit of everything in this bowl. I like to have a variety of items in my pho when I go to a new Vietnamese restaurant. It was decent and you’ll definitely be satisfied.

#6 Pho Tai

This has rice noodle soup with rare filet mignon. The longer you leave the meat in the soup, the more it cooks. Just submerge the pieces to cook it to your desired doneness.

#7 Pho Tai Chi

The pho tai chi has the addition of the well-done brisket with the rare filet mignon. Soupy, hot and hits the spot.

Final Thoughts

It’s a solid restaurant for Vietnamese Cuisine in San Jose. The prices are fair, they have a lot of seats in the restaurant, but it is cash only.

Address:
2082 N Capitol Ave, San Jose, CA

Website:
http://pho-kim-long.cafes-world.com/

In Noodles

Dundas Eat + Drink: Epic Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge

December 12, 2018

Dundas Eat + Drink are at it again offering up another epic food challenge. Last year, they introduced their Six O Pho challenge where you have to finish a 5lb bowl of pho in under 30 minutes.

Earlier this year, they launched a whole new vegan and gluten-free menu to accompany their other items on the menu. What better way to cater to those with dietary restrictions than to offer the first ever vegan eating challenge.

With a growing vegan community, it makes sense to offer this so more people can give food challenges a try.

Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge

The Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge totals a whopping 3 pounds of just noodles and toppings. This doesn’t include the broth. It has deep-fried tofu, king oyster mushroom, thinly sliced vegan Vietnamese ham, rice noodles, and a sour and mildly spicy veggie broth. You get 20 minutes to devour this whole bowl.

Finish noodles, toppings, and soup in 20 minutes. If you fail, you have to pay $25, which isn’t too bad at all.

The fastest five to finish will go into a final table round where they contend for a $500 worth of cash and prizes and each of the five will automatically receive a $100 gift card to Dundas.

This challenge is on until December 30, 2018.

Regular vs Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge

We weighed the total weight of everything and the bowl, it totaled – 5.45kg, which is over 12 pounds. My friend was able to eat a total of 1.96kg which is 4.28 pounds. With the super hot broth, it’s definitely very difficult to finish it all unless you have a stomach of steel.

For $25, this is an affordable eating challenge where it won’t break the bank. It definitely has more the 2 regular bowl fulls of pho.

The regular Vegan Bun Bo Hue was obvious a breeze to finish and costs $11.75.

Final Thoughts

The broth and toppings were really delicious for a Vegan Bun Bo Hue. There is a good depth of flavour and has a good kick of spice to it. If you didn’t tell me it was vegan, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. My vegan friend was very impressed with the taste too even though the challenge left her bursting at the seams and sweating a lot.

Address:
2077 Dundas St, Vancouver

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

In Noodles

White Lotus Cafe: Vietnamese Cuisine in North Burnaby

November 5, 2018

White Lotus Cafe just opened up in North Burnaby in a plaza with Buy Low Foods. A few people told me to check this place out as people in the neighbourhood seem to enjoy it. They serve up a variety of Vietnamese cuisine.

Interior

The space is small inside and there are only about 4 tables. At peak times, it’ll be hard to get a table, so come early or even do take out. They seem to do a good amount of take out and delivery.

Vietnamese Coffee

An essential item to order at a Vietnamese restaurant is their coffee. It has condensed milk and freshly brewed coffee. It’s a bit strong for some but so good with the condensed milk. Make sure to mix it well.

The White Lotus Platter

You get 2 pieces of each item – BBQ pork skewers, meat patties, spring rolls, and sugar cane shrimp. It also comes with a variety of vegetables, vermicelli noodles, and fish sauce.

It’s a good item to share with the table with the variety of items that comes with this platter.

Com Rice Platter

This dish has broken rice with vegetables and a side of fish sauce and soup. You can choose between lemongrass chicken, lemongrass pork chop, or meat patty. M chose his with lemongrass chicken and added a fried egg on top.

The chicken had a lot of good flavour of lemongrass and was a solid meal.

Bun Bo Hue

This has vermicelli noodles in a spicy beef broth with slices of beef shank, pork meat, and Vietnamese ham. It is then topped with cilantro, coriander, and green onions. You can choose from mild, medium, or hot spiciness level too.

I went with medium and it was quite spicy and I can handle a good amount of spice. Other than that, the broth was clear and clean tasting, which was nice. There is also a good amount of meat in there too.

BBQ Pork Banh Mi Sandwich

We got take out for their banh mi sandwiches to get a good sense of the menu. Their buttered baguette is stuffed with mayo, pate, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled daikon, carrots and BBQ Pork. M added extra meat and fried egg into his.

Cold Cut Banh Mi Sandwich

This has their buttered baguette with mayo, pate, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled daikon, carrots and cold cuts. This is their regular size and it’s still a great size for $5. The bread was crisp on the exterior and fluffy inside. The pickled veggies were a bit sweet for my personal taste, but I still liked the amount of meat.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great addition to the neighbourhood with decent Vietnamese cuisine. You can dine in or do take out and the prices are reasonable for the area.

Address:
5901 Broadway, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.whitelotuscafe.ca/

In Event

Taste of Yaletown 2018 Preview: House Special

October 18, 2018

Taste of Yaletown is back for their 14th year, where you have the opportunity to select special tasting menus from participating restaurants, each at $25, $35, or $45 price points. This starts October 18 to the 28th and you can savour Vancouver’s best dining district. It’s sure to tempt the most adventurous foodie.

House Special

We got a sneak peek of House Special and their $35 Taste of Yaletown menu consisting on an appetizer, entree, and dessert. You will need a minimum of 2 people as items are shared family-style. If you are vegetarian, there is another menu as well.

House Special is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in Yaletown. They have been dazzling locals and visitors for years with their delicious creations and tempting cocktails.

Xiu Mai Sliders

These are traditional Xiu Mai pork meatballs on a jalapeño herb biscuit. The biscuit holds well together and the meatballs were so flavourful and delicious especially when paired with the other items on the side.

Banh Hoi Platter

This interactive dish has a grilled meat platter with fresh greens & herbs. It is served with rice paper for wrapping. You can create your own lettuce wraps or salad rolls with:

Lemongrass beef tenderloin brochette,
Sugarcane minced pork,
Betel-wrapped Beef,
Crispy wonton-wrapped shrimp,
Marinated pork jowl, and
Vietnamese seafood coral.

It’s such an interactive meal and we all enjoyed it very much. If it’s your first time here, they will help guide you through how to make a wrap.

Mix a little bit of everything in your wrap and you can’t go wrong.

Dessert Three Ways

You get an assortment of traditional Vietnamese Che desserts all on one plate for the table. There is sweet rice and mango, their modern version of che, and sticky rice red bean item on a spoon.

Vegetarian Menu

There is also a vegetarian menu for those who can’t have any meat in their diet. It’s great that they offer this option.

Mushroom & Egg Slider

There is mushroom and egg on a jalapeño basil biscuit

Vegetarian Banh Hoi & Banh Xeo Platter

This version has a platter of angel hair vermicelli, fresh herbs and traditional veggies for wrapping. Also served with:

Banh Xeo
(Crispy turmeric crepe with jicama, mushroom, beansprouts, and pickled vegetables)
Vietnamese Coral
(Taro, sweet potato, carrot, mung bean fritter)
Vegan Spring Rolls
Salted Radish & Green Onion Omelet

Dessert Three Ways

Final Thoughts

It’s a great menu for any special occasion or a good night out. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time or else you may be disappointed as House Special is a very popular restaurant in the neighbourhood. For $35 per person, the menu is well crafted and gives you a taste of modern Vietnamese cuisine.

Address:
1269 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.housespecial.ca/

In Noodles

Banh Mi Tres Bon: Vietnamese Cuisine in Richmond

July 29, 2018

Banh Mi Tres Bon is a new restaurant in Richmond by the Walmart Super Centre. I’ve heard lots about this place, so I decided to come here after work to grab some dinner with M before we went home. We don’t spend a lot of time in Richmond, but when we do, it’s for eating.

Interior

The space isn’t too large but can fit small to large groups if you come at non-peak hours. On a weekday, it did start getting busy later in the evening. There were other couples and families coming here.

Savoury Mini Crepes

This comes in a hot cast iron pan and has 7 pieces of mini crepes. This is one of their popular dishes. There is a jar of fish sauce that you pour into each slot and it starts steaming up due to the heat. As much as it looks great in a photo, I didn’t really like the taste of it as the fish sauce wasn’t the best pairing in my opinion.

Vietnamese Fresh Soy Milk

This soy milk is very unique and seems like it is infused with pandan, which was very nice and subtle.

Phở Très Bon

I got the beef tenderloin and meatball noodle soup. The broth was very clear and delicious with depths of flavour. There is even a piece of decadent bone marrow too. There were a lot of jalapeños but it wasn’t too spicy.

There is lime, bean sprouts, and basil on the side on this cute boat. You can add it to the pho to add more flavour to it.

Bánh Mì Jambon-house special

This has Vietnamese ham & braised pork belly. The bun is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Delicious flavours.

Butter Garlic Chicken Wings

We also ordered some crispy chicken wings. Nice and crispy. It comes super hot and right from the fryer, so you’ll want to wait for it to cool down.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the food here and we’ll definitely be back for more pho and banh mi.

Address:
4720 Mcclelland Road #1840, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.banhmitresbon.ca/

In Noodles

Bun Cha Ca Hoang Yen: Vietnamese Cuisine in Vancouver

July 23, 2018

Bun Cha Ca Hoang Yen serves up Vietnamese Cuisine that sets themselves apart from other Vietnamese restaurants. They have more than their regular beef pho and they are more known for their specialty pho. I saw a lot of other people coming here, so I thought I would give it a try to see why all the hype is about.

Just remember, they are cash only, so make sure you have some.

Interior

The space isn’t that large and it looks bigger due to the mirrors. I went at 4:30pm on a weekday and it was decently bust but no line up. If you come at peak dinner times, be ready for a little bit of a wait since they have gotten quite popular for their pho.

Spring Rolls (#1 Cha Giò)

We ordered their pork spring rolls and they came piping hot out of the fryer. It comes with a side of fish sauce too for dipping. These were packed full of meat and not too much fillers.

Special Crab Soup with Vermicelli (#23 Bún Riêu)

This is one of their popular dishes. It has vermicelli noodles, tofu puffs, Vietnamese pork ham, pork leg and shrimp in special crab soup. It was really good and not too overpowering with the crab. The crab is subtle but it works with the other ingredients very well.

Special Fish Cake & Vermicelli in Soup (#24 Bún Cha Ca Dac Biet)

Another popular dish too. It is loaded with dill and herbs, fish cake, tofu, garlic and tomatoes. At first we didn’t know if the dill would work so well, but it make sense in this dish.

Herbs, Bean Sprouts, Chili, and Lime

Herbs, bean sprouts, chili, and lime come complimentary if you choose to customize your pho a little bit more.

Rare Beef (Tái)

We ordered a side of rare beef for $3.50 extra, which is not too bad at all. The beef was bright red in colour. You would dunk this in your hot pho broth to begin cooking it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good experience and all the dishes were reasonably priced. We were not disappointed with any of the dishes during this visit. The downside is that this place is cash only and closes very early.

Address:
5083 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Dundas Eat and Drink: Vegan Vietnamese Dishes

February 19, 2018

Dundas Eat and Drink is best known for their Six o Pho 5lb pho challenge. They recently came out with a new vegan menu to cater to those with dietary restrictions. A few of us were invited to check out this menu and I was pleasantly surprised at these dishes since I love vegetables.

Vegan Bao Sliders

Between these bao buns are veggies, eggplant, king oyster mushroom, and lemongrass tofu.

Vegan Pad Thai

There are rice noodles, mushrooms, tofu, broccoli, carrot, chives, beansprouts and tamarind sauce. The tamarind gives it a good flavour and balance well with the ingredients in the dish.

Vegan Curry

This is a red curry with taro root, tofu, mushrooms, potato, carrot and eggplant. It comes with rice on the side.

Vegan Pho

This pho has veggies and tofu in the slow simmered broth that has lots of depth in flavour which I was really surprised. Very delicious.

Kale Salad

The salad has kale, jimaca, grape tomato, tofu and garlic vinaigrette. A healthy item to have on the side when you have a bowl of pho.

Vegan Wontons

Inside these vegan wontons are sweet yam, taro root, king oyster mushroom, shallot, and leek all in the vegan wonton wrapper. It’s crisp on the outside and then inside are all the veggies.

Final Thoughts

It’s great that they are able to offer these items to their customers so vegans and carnivores can eat together with no issues as there are lots of options on the menu.

Address:
2077 Dundas St, Vancouver

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

In East Village

Vietnamese Tea House: Pho in Vancouver

February 11, 2018

Vietnamese Tea House opened a few months ago serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine in the East Village on Hastings Street close to Nanaimo Street. A few of us were invited to come dine here for dinner. The restaurant is small but there is definitely a lot of soul in the kitchen for making good food with great value for what you are paying. Even tax is included in all prices. Everything is under $10.

Pandan tea

As we sat down, we were given a delightful pandan tea.

Avocado Rolls

This comes with 2 rolls cut in half, so you get 4 pieces per order. Nicely wrapped in a rice paper with lettuce vermicelli noodles and slices of avocados. There is a sauce on the side to dip in the avocado roll.

Beef Sashimi

Beef sashimi is cut thin and plated. It is topped with cilantro, peanuts, onions and sauce. Eat it up with a bit of everything on the plate. It was ok, but I felt like it needed some more acidity for my personal preferences.

Chicken Wings with garlic butter

The wings are golden brown topped with garlic butter sauce on each wing. With the addition of the sauce, it made the wing less crisp.

Chicken Wings with honey sauce

The honey sauce covers each wing but I guess kinda miss one of them. It was good but not as crisp similar to the other one. Some people do like saucy wings, but I prefer a bit crisp.

Stir Fried Corn with Shrimp

My favourite dish of the night was this dish of corn and shrimp. Such a simple item, but so full of flavour. It’s better known as a Vietnamese street food in Saigon, so you won’t typically find this in a restaurant.

Green papaya with beef jerky

The shredded green papaya and carrots are mixed with some basil, nuts and topped with pieces of beef jerky. Sounds like an odd combination, but this is another popular item in Vietnam.

Pork Spring Rolls

There are 2 spring rolls per order. Crisp on the outside and stuffed with a good amount of pork.

Pho

We chose ours with Beef Balls, Beef tripe and Rare Beef. A large is very affordable and you can add on all this meat. The broth is delicious and full of depth. tastes healthy too.

Bun Bo Hue

This is the spicy beef vermicelli soup loaded with lots of meat. Another favourite dish of the evening.

Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup

They use real crab in this noodle soup, so it can be too crabby for some people. I liked it because it was hearty and goes well with the Vancouver rainy days.

Lemongrass Chicken and Pork Patty Vermicelli

The bottom has vermicelli noodles and topped with veggies, lemongrass chicken, pork, nuts and green onions.

Shredded Pork Banh Mi

The banh mi has the pork pickled veggies inside the soft bun. The exterior was a bit crisp but could have been a bit more.

Chicken Curry on Rice

The chicken curry comes in a small bowl with a huge plate of rice and veggies.

Then there is also a soup that accompanies this meal too. The curry sauce was a bit thin and could have been a bit better. I could stick with the other dishes and pass on the curry next time.

Special Vietnamese Pandan Milk Tea

Being called a Tea House, the tea better be good. I had the special Vietnamese Pandan Milk Tea with coconut jelly. The pandan milk tea is subtle but was yummy.

Avocado Slush

Avocado slush is made with real avocados. There is even a slice on top.

Jackfruit Slush

Everyone loved the jackfruit slush. Not very icy compared to other places around town and its great that there are a few pieces of jackfruit on top. If you’re looking for something quick, casual and affordable, this is the place to go.