The Northern Vietnamese dishes we had at Little Saigon was unforgettable. Thank goodness I read from Eat drink and be merry that there’s a closer alternative: Pho Le Loi. It’s in San Gabriel Valley right across from Saigon Flavor. A much shorter drive than Westminster.
Very good Banh Tom (Crispy fried Yam with shrimp). Fresh and cripsy, better than Hanoi’s. Our group couldn’t get enough that we got another plate. Sesame crackers that came with the following dish:
Cha Ca Thang Long (BBQ fish on sizzling platter). Really delicious! Though I think the one at Hanoi was slightly more flavorful, this is still really good. The fish was fresh and the dill smells wonderful. A must get!
Bun Bo Hue (Hue Style Beef Vermicelli and noodle soup). Very very different from pho nor it taste anything like Chinese’s beef noodle (even it sorta look similar on the picture). It’s a dish originated from Hue (central Vietnam). Very interesting tasting with lots of different flavors. Beside beef bone, a lot of lemongrass and shrimp paste were used for the broth. The soup was mildly spicy which gave an extra kick as well. I love it.
Bun cha hanoi (BBQ pork with rice vermicelli) and the very interesting tasting Bun cha ca thi la (Fish cake with dill and turmeric and bac ha noodle soup). The soup is tomato-based with a lot of dill, very tasty. I’ve never had Bac ha before (the root looking vegetable thing in the picture), they absorbed the broth so they’re flavorful. It’s the most exotic tasting dish out of all the ones we tried.
Pho Le Loi
107 E. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tags: Noodle, Vietnamese
Wow they sound very exotic!!
Something out of the blue. I have been very hooked to this potato chips which is fried in olive oil and flavoured with Rosemary(here). It is imported goods so quite expensive(almost 600yen) but I just can’t stop eating it. I was recommending to everyone around and one of my foodie friend said this Swedish potato chips flavoured with Dill(here) is really good, but you can only get it in IKEA and the Tokyo branch is very far….must get it next time I go back to HK.
Sesame crackers look so good! I’ve seen Japanese versions of it too haha
So are Northern Vietnamese dishes really different from other Vietnamese dishes? I’ve never had them, so curious!
I can’t get enough of Cha Ca Thang Long. You wouldn’t expect dill in an Asian recipe, but it really works!
Yeah, val, the Northern Vietnamese are very very different from southern, the taste is stronger in general.
Seat, lemme look up those chips here. But you know…600 ($6 chips) isn’t THAT expensive compare to here (well for a huge bag). There’re so many brands of gourmet chips here, and many claimed to be natural and ‘healthy’…^^;; Where is the IKEA in Tokyo? I gotta try that next time I go. The Ikea cafeteria is my guilty pleasure (love the meatballs potato set…^^;;)