Vietnamese - The Hungry Nomad

Asian, New Orleans, Pho, USA, Vietnamese

MoPho Nola (New Orleans, USA)

March 15, 2014 No Comments

There have been many new restaurants that have opened up in New Orleans since I last lived there. One of the latest talked about place is MoPho located in my old n’hood of Mid City/City Park. It has brought life to what was once a desolate strip mall type area with a shabby burger king and a few other stores that service the college across the street. MoPho is a beautiful, hip new modern-asian style restaurant serving your traditional vietnamese phos along with rice bowls and appetizers. (see Menu)

We started off with not 1 but 2 orders of the Crispy Chicken wings tossed in a lemongrass/ginger sauce. Result: Perfection. It was so good I was tempted to order more and forget about my main dish. There was also an order of Fried Shrimp which were good but nothing like the chicken wings. An order of handmade fresh spring rolls were also ordered and having recently perfected shrimp rolls in my cooking class I was not overly impressed by the roll. It was falling apart and the noodles too thick for my liking.

For our main dishes the three of us ordered the rice/noodle bowls. You have the option of picking your main ingredients: rice or noodles and the protein of choice. We had two beef cheeks and one grilled jumbo shrimp. At this point, I had already filled up on a full serving of the chicken but had no choice than to finish what was in front of me. The bowl was fresh and flavorful however, I didn’t particularly enjoy the beef cheeks which were overly gelatinous.

MoPho reminded me a bit of NOLA’s version of the Momofoku restaurants in the East Village, NYC. Same types of offerings and flavors and definitely a few hipster waiters and waitresses. Overall, I think it is a great addition to the New Orleans food scene offering something completely different than anything else you will find in NOLA. It is a modern take on Vietnamese food and the restaurant ambiance and food are both great reasons to check out this place if you have not yet done so.

Food, Gourmand, New Orleans, Vietnamese

Will cross over the bridge for a good Pho (New Orleans)

October 23, 2013 No Comments

It is no secret that New Orleans is a foodie haven. With all that gumbo, jambalaya and po boys there is hardly any room left for other types of cuisines. But after having tasted all that Cajun and creole food, you, like me might miss the variety. Luckily, there is another secret for us foodies: Vietnamese Food. If you are hungry for some pho, spring rolls or rice vermicelli then all you need to do is cross the bridge over to Gretna in the West Bank. Known for its large Vietnamese community and other immigrant communities there is some great food to be found on this side of the Mississippi. The Count took me here the first day I got into town due to his deep love for this place (rumor has it he held his birthday dinners here 3 years in a row). Perhaps not the most ‘New Orleans’ experience but for those of us craving a little something different, then this restaurant is a treat, not to mention delicious.

I can attest to the authenticity of their dishes given that I recently returned from a foodie-centric trip to Vietnam (see posts). I’d lie if I said that I have tried everything on the menu given the vast range of options, but one thing is for sure: the grilled quail with lemon dipping sauce is always on our order.

The bbq short ribs served with spicy kimchi and rice is a delight, as is the chicken pho ga served with a side dish of fresh herbs and the shrimp rice roll. You can polish off your meal with a nice refreshing bubble tea shake.

Tan Dinh is located at 1705 Lafayette St # A, Gretna, Louisiana
Telephone: (504) 361-8008

Food, Hoi An, Travel, Vietnam, Vietnamese

The Last Great Taste of Hoi An Food Tour (Hoi An, Vietnam)

June 23, 2013 3 Comments

Hoi An is a magical place in Vietnam. Full of color and beauty. The cuisine is also one of the best we tasted on our journey through Vietnam. With more than 100 restaurants catering for tourists, there were so many restaurants to choose from and within the restaurants so many dishes to interpret. Most offer some Vietnamese dishes including the local specialties of White Rose, Fried Wontons, Cao Lau and Mi Quang along with some house variations of Vietnamese food.

The best way to learn more about Hoi An delicacies was through a food tour of which there were a handful. After a lot of research over the internet through tripadvisor and other travel review sites, we settled for one led by an old Australian couple who have resettled in Hoi An (something I wish I could do). The tour is called, The Last Great Taste of Hoi An and is highly recommended (although it is quite expensive for Vietnamese standards).

We started our walking tour visiting the colorful local Tan An Markets where we met and chat with stall holders about their food. Our walk then continued along both high streets and back streets, discovering out-of-the-way producers and street vendors making and selling a wide variety of exotic foods. Our final destination was a local restaurant where we enjoyed refreshments and tasted small samples of a wide selection of the local delicacies bought directly from the vendors – most of whom we saw or met on the tour.

Information for visitors:

http://tasteofhoian.com/

Tour Times
7.30 am – 12.00am

Bookings Essential
Family Restaurant
108 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street
Hoi An Ancient Town
Telephone: 09053TASTE (0905 382 783) or 0121 7621 693
Email: theteacher@tasteofhoian.com

Philadelphia, Vietnamese

Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich-Chinatown (Philadelphia, USA)

September 6, 2012 No Comments

After Bubble tea at Tea Talk we headed over to a small Vietnamese sandwich shop serving varieties of Bahn Mi. Apparently, this place has the best Bahn Mi in town. What’s a Bahn Mi? It is an amazing Vietnamese sub sandwich served in a crispy baguette with an accompaniment of vegetables and your choice of meat.

The Bahn Mi dates back to Vietnam’s French colonial era where the baguette was introduced to Vietnamese cuisine. The bread differs from a traditional baguette in the sense that rice flour is also added to a Bahn Mi making it thinner and crispier. Bahn Mi can include seasoned pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, grilled pork patties, pork liver pate, grilled chicken, fried eggs, tofu or cold cuts. The vegetable toppings include cucumber slices, carrots, cilantro and shredded daikon. All of this topped with condiments including spicy chili sauce or mayonnaise. Sounds good right?

We ordered the traditional Bahn Mi and waited in the small area while the older lady prepared it for us.

They were both so nice and friendly and just had to be featured in the post. You know it is authentic when you are served by a friendly Vietnamese mother and/or grandmother.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to take a photo of our Bahn Mi as our group was waiting outside ready to move forward to the next destination. We ate the Bahn Mi while walking through Chinatown. I can say this: it was really good. Perhaps they could be more generous with the fillings but overall it was one great Bahn Mi.

Besides Bahn Mi, QT offers appetizers, rice platters, rice noodle platters and soups. But they are best known for their sublime Bahn Mi.

Philadelphia, Pho, Vietnamese

Nam Phuong- Italian Market/Bella Vista (Philadelphia, USA)

August 20, 2012 No Comments

I heard that Philadelphia has the best Vietnamese on the East Coast. Where are they all hiding? So far I haven’t seen too many downtown. So I turned to Yelp and based on the many reviewer recommendations decided to try Nam Phuong. The restaurant is located in a strip mall on Washington Avenue, surrounded by other Vietnamese restaurants, shops and food markets.

We went on a weeknight and found the place to be full of mostly Vietnamese patrons but also other foodies like us who have a deep appreciation for Vietnamese food. And so we were seated and quickly made our way through the extensive menu. We ordered the shrimp spring roll, chicken pho, barbecued quail and diced cubed beef.

The shrimp roll was served first. It was good with generous amounts of shrimp in each of the two rolls. A shrimp roll is typically filled with diced shrimp, rice doodles and basil wrapped in rice paper. It is usually served with peanut sauce and tastes fresh and healthy. This was no different but not superior to any other roll I’ve had.

Next was the Pho Ga or Chicken Pho. It was filled with so much noodles that there was no room to mix the ingredients all in. I have definitely had better.

In the end I only ended up having a few spoonfuls and moved on to the next dish.

The barbecued quail was on the drier side and was not as tasty as the ones we were used to having in New Orleans. The meat was chewy and dry. Needless to say the count picked at every little tiny bone on that poor quail’s fragile body.

But the winner of the night was the beef cube dish or more commonly referred to as the Boc Luc Lax. It was served on a plate of watercress with a tangy salt and pepper dip on the side. It was so good that I barely touched the Pho and polished the plate clean.

The best part: the entire meal cost well under $30 dollars. I found it to be en par with other Vietnamese restaurants I have visited. We both enjoyed our meal enough and saw some other delicious treats being served to other tables. So needless to say I’m sure we will be back unless I find a far superior local Vietnamese restaurant in Philadelphia. Any advice on where to have the best Pho?

Gourmand, New Orleans, Vietnamese

Magasin Cafe Re-visited (New Orleans, USA)

June 15, 2012 1 Comment

I already wrote a post on this restaurant but I think it deserves another one since their service has dramatically improved. I love Vietnamese food- particularly a good pho and am so happy to have this place so close to home. The Count and I are frequent visitors (don’t tell Tan Dinh since the Count has been their loyal customer for years).

I love the interior of the restaurant. It’s clean, modern and fresh. There are stools lining the windows for additional seating and a cement area in the middle which they have creatively used as a seating area.

Each table comes ready with an assortment of sauces, cutlery and napkins.

On our list of must haves are the crab rangoon, various spring rolls, the chicken pho and lemongrass chicken banh mi. The Count also tried the fillet Mignon steak dish once which he thoroughly enjoyed. The crab rangoon is a crispy fried dough filled with cream cheese served with a side of sweet and sour sauce. It was my first time trying it at Magasin Cafe but ever since I have been hooked.

Below is a photo of the chicken vermicelli which as you can see was served with mint, shredded carrots, spring onions and cabbages. The colorful range of flavors exploded into an amazing spoonful of textures and tastes in my mouth. So good and so fresh.

My main dish is always the chicken pho since I love a good soup and for me the pho is a mixture of your chicken noodle soup with a twist. The addition of fresh basil, jalapenos, bean sprouts and lime with a spoonful of the spicy sauce just makes it oh so good. Even when its boiling hot outside.

I also love how they have set up the outdoor space. It reminded me a lot of Thailand (since I have not yet been to Vietnam). It looked like many local restaurants in the area with one man grilling meats on the barbecue outside. Overall, it’s a wonderful creative space to stimulate your senses…the best part: it is very cheap compared to other restaurants in the area.

Gourmand, New Orleans, Vietnamese

Magasin Vietnamese Cafe (New Orleans, USA)

April 16, 2012 No Comments

Yes. Finally a Vietnamese restaurant on Magazine street! This one being modern, sleek, trendy yet cheap and friendly. Magasin Vietnamese Cafe has quickly become a popular spot on Magazine street so you may find yourself waiting in a line up during rush hours. The staff seemed overwhelmed the night we went and I can’t say that the service was amazing because it was far from it but given that they are a new restaurant I won’t be quick to judge. Hopefully, once everything falls into place they will get the hang of things and provide better and more prompt service. On the night we went, we had to wait 15-20 minutes before anyone came to our table. The food came out in a timely fashion but there was not enough spoons and when we asked it took another 15 minutes (the waiter forgot) and we had to go inside to grab spoons ourselves. There was no alcohol (assuming they do not have an alcohol license) so we went across the street to buy some wine which was fine. We went on a Friday night and were surprised to learn that the restaurant closes at 9 pm until we looked around and saw that the place was empty except for us.

Despite the lack of proper service the food was great (see menu). It was everything you could ask for on a Vietnamese menu: pho, spring rolls, subs and rice noodles. The best part was the vegetarian and vegan options which I found to be extremely refreshing since its a rarity down south. Our vegetarian friends were very happy with the options and ordered several of the veggie dishes off the menu. I am a big pho fan and opted for the chicken pho which was just perfect. The spring rolls (both friend pork and shrimp) were good as well. Perfect proportion of meat and rice noodles served with peanut sauce. The crab rangoon for appetizer was really delicious. I had never had it before and found it to be a perfect dish- creamy cheese and crab wrapped and fried in a crispy dough. The best part had to be the prices. Everything was reasonably priced: dinner for our table of 5 came to just over $60 dollars.

This place is great if you don’t feel like making the trek to the West Bank for your Vietnamese food fix. I for one will definitely be back for more. I just hope their service improves in time.

Canada, Gourmand, Vancouver, Vietnamese

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant (Vancouver, Canada)

March 22, 2012 1 Comment

Joyeaux Cafe- when you hear the name the last thing that comes to mind is delicious Vietnamese treats…instead you are given the impression that perhaps its French. Not until you step inside this unassuming restaurant do you discover that its one of the best Vietnamese places in the downtown core and also very popular amongst downtown workers. I myself am a frequent customer.

Whenever its cold, grey and wet (which seems to be most days in Vancouver) I find an excuse to wonder over to Joyeaux Cafe for lunch. If you go during the week at lunch you will find yourself waiting in a line up. However, don’t let the line deter you as there is a high turnover rate. Most people come on their lunch break, grab a quick bite to eat, and leave right after.

I have tried several dishes on their never-ending menu which is plastered all over the walls and tend to favor the pho and the Korean bbq short ribs. You can’t go wrong with any of the wide range of phos served at Joyeaux nor the other not so Vietnamese dishes. Just remember, this isn’t the most ideal place to go with friends if you are looking for ambiance, décor or sit down service. However, it is a great place if you want fast and efficient service and good food.

Beef Ball Pho- #1

Gourmand, Vancouver, Vietnamese

One Saigon (Vancouver, Canada)

September 15, 2011 1 Comment

Lucky for me, I have a Vietnamese restaurant literally in my backyard. One Saigon is a tiny restaurant offering different specials every day of the week (including phos, Vietnamese sandwiches and shrimp spring rolls). The best part is that it is fast and cheap…making it a great place for a quick work lunch.

One Saigon is located on Hornby street just across from the Vancouver Court House.

Beef Ball Pho