Vietnamese Dessert – Wong Eats

Pho Kevin

In past blogs, I have posted and quibbled that finding a decent Vietnamese restaurant outside of their established communities has been like searching for the Holy Grail. Complicating matters and my hunt, the few that I have blogged about have folded up to much of my dismay. I had pretty much resorted to trekking to Northern Virginia (read blog) to savor some of my favorite dishes when the mood hits me to endure the 35-mile drive.

Recently, my BFF and I were driving around Laurel, MD, to find fabric to replace the upholstery of his dining room set, he having just become a new home owner just like I have. On our way out, we spotted a new establishment that had taken over a defunct Chinese take-out. Looking at the new restaurant sign, we couldn’t help but remark that its name was an eye-catcher, one being that most Pho places are never named after a particular person, the other that it was my bestie’s name; he posted a photo of it on Facebook and many fell for the joke thinking that he had opened it himself. A few days later, BFF and I decided to pay Pho Kevin a visit during one of our rendezvous around the area. After that visit, I knew that it was going to be featured as my next blog.

Some of my favorite appetizers are the Vietnamese kind, especially their rolls. On one visit, I ordered the Cha Gio, or Fried Spring Roll. The two thin rolls arrived piping hot with a fish sauce concoction and some pickled carrots and daikon on the side. The rolls were decent with a rather compact stuffing of minced shrimp and pork, tasting very savory and more peppery that what I was used to. The outer shell was the Chinese spring roll skin rather than the rice paper used in more traditional places, encasing the stuffing that was a bit too dense for my taste – the traditional use of taro root would lighten it up. Most Vietnamese places have gotten away from serving these rolls with some fresh herbs and lettuce, and unfortunately, this place was no exception. However, the side of Nuoc Cham was the right mixture of quality briny fish sauce, acidic vinegar, sweet sugar, and some chili heat. Anywhere that serves quality fish sauce that is smooth and not overly pungent indicates a house that cares and pays attention to the small details.

The other type of roll is the Fresh Spring Roll, or Goi Cuon. The rolls arrived just like what I expected. Rice paper is used to wrap a filling of rice vermicelli, lettuce, slices of pork, and slices of boiled shrimp, served with a Hoisin-based sauce sprinkled with some crushed peanuts. What made these rolls good were subtle. The rice paper skin was slightly moist and tasted recently made, not prepared in advance and refrigerated which would turn the starch slightly chalky to the bite. But here, it was all fresh and supple to the bite, with the shrimp tasting sweet and the pork slices exuding its porcine beauty. Despite the lack of salt in the rolls, it was the sauce that was the compensatory note with its sweet and salty fragrant Hoisin sauce cooked with some creamy rich nutty coconut cream, while the bits of peanuts added its nuttiness to the dip. Unfortunately, an extra note of mint and basil leaves would have completed the whole package. Nevertheless, this was quite good and it did not take me long to finish these two rolls off.

A friend’s order one day was Pho Tai, or Rare Eye Round Steak Noodle Soup. The bowl was filled with a slightly murky soup surrounding a mound of rice noodles and topped with slices of raw lean beef, thin enough to be gently cooked by the piping hot broth. Having a sip of the liquid, I could taste the use of cinnamon and star-anise in the broth, as well as the use of beef bones causing the pieces to lend its marrow goodness and depth of flavor. My Vietnamese friend gave his approval with this bowlful as he thought that it was up to scratch. My order on that day was Bun Bo Hue. It is a Spicy Beef Noodle with various “pieces” of uhm, meat and etc. The noodle was the proper kind, being the round thicker version not found with the regular noodle soup, moistened by a beefy soup made spicy with whole dried red chilis. What makes this dish unique is the use of “off-cuts” in the dish: skin, tendon, knuckle, and other unrecognizable pieces. Unfortunately, the traditional use of congealed blood was not served which was a bit of a disappointment for this diner who doesn’t mind that funky bite. The customary serving of the slightly fishy shrimp paste and a dollop of dried chili paste added to the unique experience, along with a plateful of chopped cabbage, fragrant Vietnamese mint (Rau Ran), and a slice of lime that added some crunch and citrus kick. I have not found many Pho places serving this unique spicy bowl, and I’m glad that this is close to my house.

One thing that sets this Pho house apart from other noodle houses is the serving of rice dishes and grilled meats. When I set foot here for the first time, I ordered the Grilled Beef Rice dish, and was I impressed. The dish arrived with the grilled beef, meat loaf, shredded pork, and a mound of steamed rice. What got my attention immediately were the pieces of well-marinated and moist pieces of meat, tasting both salty and slightly sweet, with a hint of caramelization, and brought to another level with the fragrant lemongrass that left its mark in the aftertaste without overwhelming the subtle flavors – I bite into each morsel intrigued by all the different notes that sang harmoniously. The shredded pork compromised of finely sliced pork skin that belied its nature by the flavor hinting of smoky ground rice powder, but betrayed by its bouncy texture (a friend finished it with no idea what it was). The meat loaf was a light concoction of minced meat pressed together with a beaten egg topping, tasting savory and akin to French paté but a la Vietnam. The side broth was so good with a rich tasting body made more enticing with drops of shallot oil swimming on top, which made it the perfect accompaniment and palate cleanser to the meaty morsels. A friend’s order of Grilled Pork was equally tantalizing with the similar treatment in seasoning and cooking. Indeed, the rice dishes here are definitely worth one’s attention when perusing the menu.

During my last visit, I was in the mood for the Grilled Shrimp Bun Salad since it was sunny and in the 60’s, which felt like a heat wave after weeks of Polar frigid weather. The bowl arrived filled with springy (and slightly al dente) rice vermicelli, finely chopped lettuce, julienned cucumber, bean sprouts, pickles, fresh mint, and 5 pieces of large shrimp, sprinkled with some crushed peanuts and green onions. But what sets this version apart from the others is the shrimp that had a beautiful caramelization from its stay on the grill and the slightly sweet marinate with bits of slightly charred lemongrass that added more interest to the seafood. And the pieces were perfectly cooked with no bouncy texture in each bite, which astounded me. The quality fish sauce was the icing on the cake in this salad, and I was spooning up whatever was left in the bowl once the noodles were gone. I’m looking forward to savoring this noodle salad in the warmer months to come.

On one visit, I was inspired to try out one of their desserts, which is a combo of a few of their offerings – Che 3 Mau or Three Color Dessert. The milkshake glass contained some red beans, cooked yellow lentils, and green jelly – such starches are commonly found in Southeast Asian desserts. But turning these ingredients into a sweet bite was the use of sugar syrup and a good douse of some coconut cream, topped by a mound of ice shavings. Even though my dining companions were quite sated from their main dishes, they could not help but dip their long spoons into the tall glass for the sweet beans and a spoonful of the chilled sweet coconut cream – definitely worth trying if there is room, or no room, for a sweet end.

Ah, Pho Kevin is worthy of a write-up for its wonderful offerings. Its Pho dishes are well-made, but what sets it apart from other places is the spicy beef noodle (Bun Bo Hue), to the tasty and fragrant grilled meat dishes, to the wonderfully grilled shrimp in the Bun Salad with that quality fish sauce, to the sweet bean dessert. I am thrilled that I can visit an establishment close to my home that serves such variety of dishes beyond the beef noodle soup Pho dish that can be found nearly strip mal in the region. After nearly 5 months in business, seeing a steady stream coming through its doors is a good indicator of the savory dishes that people are beginning to recognize and enjoy. I’m just hoping that this place is here to stay, and judging by what I have enjoyed there, it stands a great chance of doing so.

Huong Viet

Restaurants

This must be some bad economic times that we are going through. Uncertainty seems to hover over the housing market, the stock market, the job market, a looming sequestration, and undoubtedly the restaurant business. More than a handful of restaurants that I have reviewed have folded up since I started a year ago. To make matters worse, both Vietnamese restaurants on my blog have shut their doors, one after nearly 15 years of business, and the other just a mere 8 months. As you may have read about my elusive search for a good Vietnamese eatery near me and in DC, this series of events was quite a blow.

With such daunting news in mind, I approached my trusty Vietnamese barber and asked her for a reliable recommendation. She pointed me to Eden Center, in the Seven Corners neighborhood of Fairfax, VA, where there is a confluence of Vietnamese business that populate that rather expansive plaza. This was one place that I used to visit quite often to savor some good cooking when the Four Sisters Restaurant ran their business there before moving further out to the boondocks. After their move, there was little cause to visit that area except when the occasional taste for steamed tofu with ginger syrup propelled me to drive the nearly 30 miles to terra incognito, as it seems that way to me. But with a strong reference in mind, I coraled my dinner group on the eve of the Lunar New Year, or Tết in Vietnamese, and paid a visit to Huong Viet , a small eatery that has survived all these years since my visit there nearly 20 years ago.

Walking into the establishment, the decor and the set up are not as plush or creative as most modern restaurants, and the regularly spaced long and short tables do bring to mind a nice clean cafeteria. After a short wait outside in the cold, we were shown to our long table that accommodated my party of five. Any feeling of doubt or hesitancy was immediately erased by a sense of assurance brought about by the busyness of the restaurant and the number of Vietnamese-speaking customers in the place. With that thought in mind, I plunged into the menu and quickly ordered some common appetizers. The Summer Rolls came with soft rice crepe paper wrapped around a filling of perfectly cooked moist rice vermicelli noodles, fresh sweet shrimp, mild roast pork, crisp lettuce, fragrant mint leaves, and finished with a long strand of pungent Asian chive. But what tied all these disparate elements together was the dipping sauce. This restaurant’s version had only a bare hint of hoisin unlike other versions that overwhelms the palate with its flavor. Mixed in it was a peanut sauce that made it rich and nutty, and its unique balance pointed towards it being house-made rather than store-bought. This was a good fresh bite.

We also ordered the counterpart to the above – Fried Spring Roll or CHẢ GIÒ. When it arrived at the table, I noticed a few variations from the norms commonly found in other places. First, the large bubbles on the fried skin indicated that it was made in a traditional fashion with Vietnamese rice crepe paper and not with Chinese spring roll sheets that are commonly used these days. The second was that it was cut into two before it was deep-fried, which intrigued me even further. Sheer hunger or delectable food can produce a certain suspension of analysis of thought as I honestly don’t recall much from this dish. All I remember was that the stuffing tasted very moist and savory encased by a crispy shell, and these bites disappeared quickly among my friends who snatched them up while piping hot. The side sweet and salty fish sauce was adequate but not as memorable as the expensive elixir served in the defunct Green Papaya restaurant. However, this dish was worth a moment of relapse during dinner.

Another common appetizer found in this Southeast Asian cuisine is Young Lotus Root Salad. Strands of cooked lotus roots have been mixed with pieces of pork and whole shrimp, lightly seasoned by the ubiquitous sweet and salty fish sauce. Wow, I could barely get a bite of this because it was ferociously attacked by my companions, and deservedly so. The pieces of lotus were perfectly cooked while maintaining its characteristic light crunch along with its savoriness developed from being marinated. The sweet shrimp and moist pork provided the unctuous notes to the mild root, while the crushed peanuts and fried shallot rings added the nuttiness and dark flavors to the clean mild tasting salad. The rounds of addictive shrimp crackers provided some textural interest as well as serving as the perfect scoopers for this melange. This was definitely a hit for all of us and we should have ordered another serving of it.

For our main courses, we ordered a quartet of dishes. The first was a classic Vietnamese dish found in any reputable restaurant – Bánh Xèo. This stuffed crepe dish literally means “sizzling cake” consisting of a rice flour crepe stuffed with pieces of pork, cooked shrimp and a heaping of cooked bean sprouts. The crepe had a hint of coconut milk and it was quite crispy, however, not rich or crispy enough for my taste, compared to the fabulous version in The Green Papaya. Like most versions, the crepe is underseasoned for it is the sweet and salty fish sauce that imparts the necessary seasoning to this very mild dish. Once my companions figured how to attack the dish, they were enjoying every bite of it. But I could not help but reminiscence the rich delectable version of the aforementioned closed restaurant.

While waiting outside, an acquaintance of one of my dining companions recommended that we order Shakey Beef. The name was odd enough for me and I had never come across a dish with such name. The order arrived with pieces of cubed beef along with some onion and green pepper squares, plain and assuming. The first bite revealed a personality beyond its unassuming looks. The beef was tossed and seared on high heat in the wok, judging by pieces of caramelized bits, while maintaining a tender medium-rare inside. Surprisingly, every bite tasted well seasoned and very savory from what tastes like soy sauce, bits of garlic, and a hint of sugar that brought the flavors to another level. This was a truly successful dish for all of the diners and I enjoyed every beefy bite.

To bring some balance to the meat dishes, we ordered Shrimp with Vegetables. Pieces of celery, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and baby corn are paired with pieces of large shrimp in this dish. The sweet tender shrimp made the perfect foil to the pieces of sweet al dente pieces of vegetables, while the mushroom adds some earthiness and the baby corn some young sweetness. What brought all the elements together was the rather rich sauce packed with garlic pieces flavored with oyster sauce and thickened with corn starch. Although it was a rather light dish, the savory sauce made it seem richer, and it was worth ordering this vegetable seafood dish. Another hit among my dining group.

No visit to taste this Southeast Asian cuisine should have a lemongrass dish amiss from the dining table, and we honed on Caramelized Lemongrass Chicken. The plate arrived with chucks of chicken thigh cooked with large pieces of sweet yellow onions, swimming in a shallow pool of brown sauce. What truly made this two-ingredient dish delectable and successful was the sauce that was packed with the citrusy lemongrass paired with the seafood salty fish sauce with a tinge of sweetness from the caramel that rounded off the flavors. The pieces of chicken thigh was not the mild breast version so as to stand up to the punchy sauce while adding the necessary body along with the sweet and pungent onion. Even when the morsels were gone, I was lapping up every drop of sauce with bits of rice as I could not get enough of the sauce that transported me to Indochina. Another must order here for sure!

Despite feeling content with the above dishes, I was curious about the unique Vietnamese sweet servings. There was not much in terms of solid desserts with the exception of Caramel Flan but the menus listed a list of sweet drinks with bits of “stuff” that are commonly eaten by the locals. My glass came with a concoction of whole red beans, sweet corn, crushed peanuts, and bits of green agar-agar jelly. The sweetening agent was a syrup consisting of a mixture of brown sugar and rich coconut milk. Upon mixing the various elements, things did not look very appetizing at first, but with the first mouthful, it was a revelation of flavors and textures. Every element spoke for itself: nuttiness from the peanuts, sweetness from the corn, starchiness from the red beans, molasses sweetness from the brown sugar, and vegetal creaminess from the coconut milk. The green jelly did not add any flavor at all but a jellybean-like texture consistency to the bite, which a couple of my friends found a bit disconcerting – LOL. Before I knew it, most of my dining companions were partaking in this sweet dish, and we finished it con mucho gusto.

Coming back to Huong Viet for me was like the return of the prodigal son. When in doubt, do what the Romans do, or as in this case, what the Vietnamese do. Thanks to my barber’s infallible suggestion, I’m glad to have made the long trek to Eden Center to taste what has always been there all these years – proper delectable Vietnamese dishes that wowed my dining group even days after our visit. Never mind the inattentive service at times and the bare ambience. But what makes up for the shortcomings is the main reason to haul oneself there – the impressive dishes. Note to diner – they only accept cash but we walked out of there with barely with a dent made since it was around $20/person. With such good cooking and low prices, I would easily do the 30-mile drive.