Vietnamese Miscellany

First, my compliments to Mike Sula on his latest Reader Restaurant column, "The Quest For The Best Banh Mi." Also, my thanks to Mike for the kind mention/attribution.

I had meant to say, at any earlier point, something about the Ba Le sandwich. Specifically, I wanted to say that I don't care for the pate that they use, and for this reason, I generally get my banh mi sandwiches from Vinh Phat. Ba Le's pate has a pronounced funk and livery flavour that disagrees with me. I find Vinh Phat's pate to be more palatable. As Mike mentions, two of the standouts in the Vinh Phat lineup are the roasted chicken and the steamed pork meat ball. Vinh Phat's chicken sandwich tends to have more dark meat chicken and, as Mike suggests, it has a nice taste. [Five Spice, I presume.] I find that their pork meat balls are generally more juicy and (properly) fatty than those offered elsewhere. [I am recalling a Five Spice-type flavour, as well..]

I stopped in Tank, this afternoon, for a pick-me-up Mango Bubble Freeze. [My apologies, JeffB. I just can't do an Avocado shake.] I noticed that they presently have a jar of Trai Coc on the counter. I have mentioned this seasonal offering a couple of times over on the other board. These are green hog plums that have been scored and lightly pickled. They are ordered by the piece and are served with a spicy dipping salt. I would strongly encourage all of you to try them if you are in the area. To my knowledge, Tank is the only place that makes them, and only for a short period of time.

Given the time of year, I will also take this opportunity to mention two other great summer items. [While not seasonal offerings, I think that they are particularly enjoyable at this time of year.] Bun Nuoc Leo/Bun Mam is a rice noodle soup with chunks of catfish, Vietnamese fresh "bacon," and shrimp in a zesty, tangy, anchovy-based stock. Bun Rieu is a rice noodle soup with shrimp and hand-formed balls of crab paste, in a sweetly spicy, light tomato broth. Both of these soups are traditionally served with shredded cabbage and mint, in addition to lime, bean sprouts, basil, etc. [FWIW, I have written about both of these items, too, over on the other board.] As you might imagine, my favourite renditions are those of Tank, but Pho Xe Lua, Tien Giang, and Dong Thanh serve decent versions, as well.

Lastly, I stopped in at the new Asian Supermarket (written about elsewhere on this site), on North Broadway, today. I wasn't particularly impressed. Actually, I left feeling rather disturbed. Remember what I had to say about Chinatown Market? It being "sterile," and all? That being a real turn-on for me, etc.? Well, this place makes that look like a mess. I felt none of the enthusiam and excitement that normally accomapanies a new shopping discovery. Its like some kind of WalMart, or something. I couldn't smell anything.

Regards,
Erik M.[/i]

Erik M wrote:I noticed that they presently have a jar of Trai Coc on the counter. I have mentioned this seasonal offering a couple of times over on the other board. These are green hog plums that have been scored and lightly pickled. They are ordered by the piece and are served with a spicy dipping salt. I would strongly encourage all of you to try them if you are in the area. To my knowledge, Tank is the only place that makes them, and only for a short period of time.

Should we start looking for these soon?

Cathy2 wrote:

Erik M wrote:I noticed that they presently have a jar of Trai Coc on the counter. I have mentioned this seasonal offering a couple of times over on the other board. These are green hog plums that have been scored and lightly pickled. They are ordered by the piece and are served with a spicy dipping salt. I would strongly encourage all of you to try them if you are in the area. To my knowledge, Tank is the only place that makes them, and only for a short period of time.

Should we start looking for these soon?

We have a few weeks yet, I believe.

Extrasmg has a picture somewhere...

E.M.

Erik M wrote:I noticed that they (TANK) presently have a jar of Trai Coc on the counter. I have mentioned this seasonal offering a couple of times over on the other board. These are green hog plums that have been scored and lightly pickled. They are ordered by the piece and are served with a spicy dipping salt. I would strongly encourage all of you to try them if you are in the area. To my knowledge, Tank is the only place that makes them, and only for a short period of time.

Are these available now?

Cathy2 wrote:Are these available now?

Not as of yesterday afternoon.

You can buy a commercial product in the shops on the Argyle Strip, but it is just not the same.

I will inquire about it this week.

E.M.

This noon, the owner of Tank informed me of two things:

1) his wife is in charge of the trai coc production (it is left to her discretion), and

2) he has not seen hog plums in the marketplace recently.*

I told him that I would be very excited if his wife were to make trai coc again this year.
I also told him that they would probably sell quickly with this most recent LTH ad campaign.
That is the best that I can do.

E.M.

*Nor have I, for that matter, and I am in the Argyle markets 2-3 times a week.

Erik M wrote:That is the best that I can do.

Thank you kindlly for your efforts. I'm sure when the good day comes, LTH will be on the cutting edge of this seasonal opportunity.

Regards,

At lunch today, I managed to score the last pickled hog plum from Tank's first batch of the season.

Assuming that the fresh fruits can still be found in the marketplace, they will soon be making another batch.

Oh, here is one of extramsg's photos of the item in question.

E.M.

Thanks --- something to look forward to.

While I am presently working on a lengthy Vietnamese post, I don't want to muck it up with hate, so I am letting it all fly, right here.

I suggest that you take cover.


Why, oh, why do people like Pho Hoa?

I have been three times in the past six months, and each time it was the same story:

-The pho broth had all the pizzaz of two-day-old dishwater, and a similar scuminess, too.

-The tendon was not only undercooked, but it had been added to the bowl while it was chilly cold.

-The fatty brisket was nearly all gristle.*


And, since I am already on the subject of pho, I may as well ask:

What the hell is with the slices of jalapeno, people? I can deal with the residual oils that they release into the broth, but to actually eat them? Bah. If you must have chiles, ask for scuds. Most shops have them.

Oh, and about that plant life. We gotta talk. Why do you insist on chucking all of it in your bowl? A certain amount is fine, yeah, but add too much of it and you really screw up the broth's delicate taste and aroma. If you want a salad, you should order one.

------------------------

OK, did that sound like TonyC? It was supposed to sound like TonyC.

Gee, will you have a look at this idiot? Enough with the jalapenos already!!

Remember, folks: "No Rules. Just Right."

Oh, and one last thing: Never, never buy a car from this man.

E.M.

* Hey, anyone who knows me knows that I can get down with my fair share of gristle and fat.

I suppose it's not too surprising that on Argyle Street I haven't managed to find much in the way of dishes from north Vietnam, outside of some specialties from Hue. But I live in hope. I'm especially looking for cha ca--though I wouldn't follow this particular recipe--and for banh khoai with nuoc leo. Has anyone come across them recently? Also would love to hear about your favorite places for grilled eel.

JanD wrote:I suppose it's not too surprising that on Argyle Street I haven't managed to find much in the way of dishes from north Vietnam, outside of some specialties from Hue. But I live in hope. I'm especially looking for cha ca [...]

Over the course of the past year I have asked a few of the Argyle shopowners about cha ca, and the response has generally been the same:

1) It is a dish of Northern Vietnamese origin, and as such, it does not have much currency with the local Vietnamese population.

2) "It smells. Our customers would complain about the smell."


Cha ca is a favourite dish of mine, and so I "approximate" it at home on a regular basis.

Cha ca @ Noodlepie.

E.M.

It smells? I thought it smelled great. Oh well. I guess I'll have to try it at home myself. What is the green stuff called? I remember it looking and tasting a lot like dill, but not exactly. [/i]

JanD wrote:It smells? I thought it smelled great. Oh well. I guess I'll have to try it at home myself. What is the green stuff called? I remember it looking and tasting a lot like dill, but not exactly. [/i]

I don't think that it smells bad, either. Actually, I love the smell of this dish.

If it is not true dill, Jan, that is news to me. Lengths of the fibrous dill stalk are used, which might make it somewhat unique in both appearance and taste.

E.M.

I don't have time to write it up properly, but I wanted to alert readers here to the fact that the newly-revamped/remodeled Pho 888 is presently offering Càri Dê.*

"What is that," you might ask?

Càri Dê is "Curried Goat." **

Just as it is very often the case with Càri Ga ("Curried Chicken"), you have the option of eating it with bread, rice, or with rice noodles (soup-style***).

The curry sauce itself is prepared in a manner very similar to that of Dong Thanh, i.e., without coconut milk.****

Great stuff.

Oh, and here's an entry on Càri Dê @ Noodlepie.

Pho 888
1137 W. Argyle
773.907.8838

Dong Thanh
4925-B N. Broadway
773.275.4928

E.M.

* You will find it listed on a small handwritten placard on the east wall. The other items listed on the placard are Cơm Gà HAI NAM and Bún Bò Huế. For those that may not know, Cơm Gà HAI NAM is the Vietnamese take on "Hainan Chicken & Rice," and Bún Bò Huế is a (Central Vietnamese) spicy beef/pork soup with rice noodles.

** I have been eating regularly in the Argyle neighbourhood for years and this is the first time that I have seen this dish offered. Perhaps I am just slow.

*** Pictured: bun càri ga, or "rice noodles with curried chicken," at Tank Noodle.

**** Most of the restaurants in the neighbourhood which offer Càri include coconut milk in the sauce.

Re: Noodle Soups / Soup Noodles

At a number of the Vietnamese restaurants in the Argyle neighbourhood, diners have the option of being served Hủ Tiếu Dai, or clear tapioca stick noodles, in place of the standard Hủ Tiếu (flat rice stick) noodles.*

And, FWIW, "Dai" is pronounced like "Yai."

-----

Just so you know, and because my brain works like that.

E.M.

* These include Tank Noodle, Pho Xe Lua, Tien Giang, Thai Binh, and Dong Ky. And, at least in the case of Tank Noodle, diners have the option of being served Hủ Tiếu Dai in place of any other soup noodle type.

After doing an exhaustive search for both Blue and Dungeness crabs in the Argyle neighbourhood yesterday, it appears that there is some sort of live crab embargo in effect. I was given numerous reasons for this, and, by sort of cobbling them all together, the best that I can make of the situation is that vendors consider the current wholesale prices to be prohibitively expensive.

Interestingly enough, a quick jaunt down to Cermak/Chinatown later in the day revealed that, for the time being, at least, the embargo appears to be limited to the North Side, and retail prices remain unaffected.


Now, for all of the trainspotters out there, here is what I'm eating in the 'hood these days:

Pho Tai, Nam, Bo Vien @ Pho 777 (the homemade meatballs rock!)
Banh Mi Ca Moi @ Pho Xe Lua (warm sardine sandwich)
Chao (Various) @ Pho Xe Lua (the richest, creamiest rice porridge in the 'hood!)
Egg Noodle Soup with Fresh Shrimp Dumplings @ Hon Kee (the homemade egg noodles rock!)
Roast Pork @ Hon Kee (the best in town!)
Bo Nhung Dam @ Hai Yen (beef fondue...be sure to ask for mam nem, a fermented fish sauce!)
Ca Nuc Muoi Sa Ot @ Tank (fried mackerel with salted lemon grass)
Thit Heo Xao Mam Ruot @ Tank (claypot pork with shrimp sauce)
Suon Non Ram Man @ Tank (claypot pork ribs with homemade sauce)
Banh Hoi Nuong La Lot @ Tien Giang (rice paper rollups with grilled beef/betel leaves)
Grilled Beef Spring Rolls @ Pho 888
Homemade Cha Lua & Meatballs @ Pho 888 (keeping the art of Vietnamese charcuterie alive!)



E.M.

ORIGINAL POST EDITED TO INSERT PHOTO LINKS.

Hi,

I saw people picking over blue crabs at H-Mart just a few days ago. I didn't check the price.

Blue Crabs in Maryland have been very expensive for several years now. Bushel quantities are well over $100, when they have been in the past far cheaper. This is pretty consistent anecdotal information learned from people who have visited there and some who live in the area.

Regards,

Interestingly enough, a quick jaunt down to Cermak/Chinatown later in the day revealed that, for the time being, at least, the embargo appears to be limited to the North Side, and retail prices remain unaffected.

Whew. Thought I was going to have to send you one on ice. Since Malay Satay Hut is doing whole dungeness at $15 per right now served up in a variety of preps, I don't think prices are too high out here where they're being caught.

btw, a photo of the hog plums from a couple years ago:

extramsg wrote:Since Malay Satay Hut is doing whole dungeness at $15 per right now served up in a variety of preps, I don't think prices are too high out here where they're being caught.

That's a good price. I purchased two Dungeness crabs in Chinatown for Bridgestone's dinner at TAC the other night. [$7.99/lb -- $33 total] Andy didn't charge us for their preparation but I am sure that he made an exception for me.



E.M.

Out here, for some context, they're usually about $2.99/lb.

extramsg wrote:Out here, for some context, they're usually about $2.99/lb.

Nick, must you constantly point out how badly I've got it here?

Now you will tell me that the crabs in Portland are healthier specimens too...



E.M.

While this thread has Erik's attention;

What do you think of the new(ish) Viet bakery, Nhu Lan?

2612 W. Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

jonjonjon wrote:While this thread has Erik's attention;

What do you think of the new(ish) Viet bakery, Nhu Lan?

2612 W. Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

There are posters here who, for the time being, at least, have a more informed opinion than I do, i.e., Mike Sula, TonyC, etc., so I'll take a pass on this one.

What is your own opinion, if I may ask?

E.M.

extramsg wrote:Out here, for some context, they're usually about $2.99/lb.

Is this for live dungeness? Costco sells dead/prepped dungeness for $3.99/lb. The $7.99/lb from Chinatown have to be live. Irregardless, it's just more reason for why I'm headed straight to Seattle to look for a job when things are done here.

Erik M. wrote:There are posters here who, for the time being, at least, have a more informed opinion than I do, i.e., Mike Sula, TonyC, etc., so I'll take a pass on this one.

Previous Nu Lan thread on LTHForum.

Erik M. wrote:There are posters here who, for the time being, at least, have a more informed opinion than I do, i.e., Mike Sula, TonyC, etc., so I'll take a pass on this one.

What is your own opinion, if I may ask?

E.M.

Shamed into not having been there, I stopped in tonight.

I had the lemongrass grilled pork sandwich, which was really quite good. In fact I think I prefer it to my only other bahn mi restaurant experience, Ba Le. The meat was tasty, the toppings were crispy, and they didn't overload on jalapenos like Ba Le sometimes does (the key to fresh raw jalapeno use is RESTRAINT).

And especially compared to Ba Le, this place is a sea of tranquility. They burn incense to Buddah in the front doorway, and it's a low key family operation with only a few people working there at a time.

Unlike Ba Le, they also bake their own pastries. I got a danish which was good, but not exceptional. It was fresh, however, as the lady behind the counter was still wearing a hairnet and just pulling them off the baking tray and putting them in the case!

Overall, I like it a lot. I'll definitely be back, and am glad to see a worthy competitor to Ba Le!

Erik M. wrote:

JanD wrote:I suppose it's not too surprising that on Argyle Street I haven't managed to find much in the way of dishes from north Vietnam, outside of some specialties from Hue. But I live in hope. I'm especially looking for cha ca [...]

Over the course of the past year I have asked a few of the Argyle shopowners about cha ca, and the response has generally been the same:

1) It is a dish of Northern Vietnamese origin, and as such, it does not have much currency with the local Vietnamese population.

2) "It smells. Our customers would complain about the smell."


Cha ca is a favourite dish of mine, and so I "approximate" it at home on a regular basis.

Cha ca @ Noodlepie.

E.M.

Found!!

It was served as the 7th course in the "8 Courses of Fish" banquet which several of us shared last night at Pho 777. And, while dill was conspicuously absent, it was otherwise quite enjoyable.*

I'm not sure yet whether it can be ordered apart from the rest of the set menu, but I'll soon find out.

Oh, and a complete report on our meal is forthcoming.**

E.M.

* Last night, at least, scallions appeared to stand in place of the traditional dill.

** Isn't that right, Dmnkly?

This thread seems like the best place for this small tease of a post.

This week's Globe Trekker was themed "World Food: Vietnam" and it featured a south-to-north trek through a lot of great food, with a good focus (as is usual for GT) on the lives of locals and off-the-beaten-path opportunities.

it doesn't look as though there are any WTTW airings coming soon but it will probably re-run eventually. Might be worth putting a season pass on your TiVo if you have one...

Erik M. wrote:I noticed that they presently have a jar of Trai Coc on the counter. I have mentioned this seasonal offering a couple of times over on the other board. These are green hog plums that have been scored and lightly pickled. They are ordered by the piece and are served with a spicy dipping salt. I would strongly encourage all of you to try them if you are in the area. To my knowledge, Tank is the only place that makes them, and only for a short period of time.

LTH,

As of yesterday Tank had sour plums (trai coc) on hand. Dense, crisp, flavor and texture reminded me of unripe papaya. These had only been in the brine (water, sugar, salt, vinegar) a day or two. I'd like to try them again in 7 to 10 days, but I doubt they will last that long.

Trai Coc / Sour Plum


Sour Plum served with salt chili dredge



Enjoy,
Gary

Pho Xe Tang - Tank Restaurant
4953 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
773-878-2253