Nén Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

Our early introduction into Vietnamese cuisine in the GVRD was mostly represented by the South.  However, as time passed by, we started to see Northern Vietnamese enter the market, starting with Mr. Red.  More recently, we have seen Chén Vietnamese open up shop on Hastings in Burnaby.  Now we have a Central Vietnamese restaurant in Nén Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine taking over the space in a strip mall on Canada Way at Edmonds. 

We started our meal with a Central Vietnamese dish originating from Huế in the Bánh Bèo (or steamed rice cake).  These were texturally delightful with an initial firmness and then a silky and bouncy finish.  They were topped with a full-flavoured minced pork sauce that had hits of umami.  Textural contrast was provided by the crunchy fried shallots and crushed peanuts.  This was an excellent version of the dish.

We got an order of their Cánh Gà Chiên with garlic butter.  This actually came quite late in the meal, possibly due to the restaurant being slammed during peak dinner time.  These featured whole wings there were fried pretty crispy with the skin being well-rendered.  The meat was not exactly juicy, but it wasn't dry either.  With copious amounts of butter, we could smell it while it sat on the table.  Flavourwise, it was definitely buttery and could've used more hits of garlic.

We had a few of the bigger plates from the menu including the Nén Special Platter.  This featured 3 types of meat.  The grilled pork with lemongrass was charred well, but pretty dry.  The grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves was a bit better, but still dry.  It did taste good though with hits of brininess, herbaceousness and sweetness.  The most tender and juicy of the bunch was the sweet ground pork skewers.  We found some rice noodle sheets, pickled daikon and carrot, herbs and lettuce to wrap the meat.  For $27.75, this was a lot of food and enough for 2 people.

We went for a bowl of the Nén Special Phở or their version of Phở Dặc Biệt.  The most prominent meat in this bowl was the whole back rib.  In addition we found tender slices of AAA brisket and AAA sliced beef along with beef meatballs.  The one thing that was quite evident with the first sip of broth was the amount of fat.  It really did add aromatics and meatiness, but at the same time, there was just a bit too much of it.  Otherwise, the broth was intensely meaty and full-bodied.

Full-sized and stuffed with bean sprouts and sliced pork, the Bánh Xèo was super crispy with a medium thickness.  Inside, the sprouts were still crunchy while the pork was tender.  Since they plated the shrimp on the outside of the pancake, they remained in their optimal doneness.  They were meaty with a rebound texture.  When combined with together with some fish sauce, we had plenty of textures and flavours.

With my son around for this dinner, we knew a plate of Lemongrass Chicken was incoming.  They didn't skimp on the chicken as we found 2 large deboned and marinated chicken legs on the plate.  They were charred nicely and completely caramelized.  There was so much sweetness and savouriness from the marinade that the chicken ate well with the rice without the need from the nước chấm.

With the same tender chicken, the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi featured a crunchy and fairly light baguette.  As you can see in the picture above, they stuffed the baguette full of chicken, so it ate hearty with plenty of flavour.  Overall, we were pretty happy with our meal here.  The portions are massive, so the higher prices are justified.  Furthermore, the food is tasty.  Would come back for sure.

The Good:
- Tasty eats
- Large portions
- Some unique items

The Bad:
- Service was polite, but not enough servers, so hard to flag someone down
- Is pricier than other spots, but the portion size justifies it

Song Huong Eatery

Many years ago, I would visit Song Huong out on Nanaimo for their Vietnamese fare, in particularly, their Bò 7 Món.  For those who are not familiar, this is seven courses of beef that is usually served during celebrations.  So when they opened a second location near me, I knew I had to go.  I actually went twice with the second visit being the one I had their Bò 4 Món.  Yes, they no longer have the 7 courses, but hey, I'll take 4 courses!

But before, we got to the 4 courses of beef, we had the Bánh Cuốn Chả Lụa Bánh Cống on our initial visit.  This consisted of steamed rice rolls with ground pork and wood ear mushroom as well as deep fried fish cake and Vietnamese ham.  I thought the sheets of rice noodle were a bit firm, but still soft enough.  Filling was tender with the crunch of the wood ear.  Fish cake was crispy and soft in the middle.

Of course we have to try the Phở Tái Nạm Gân and this featured a broth that was fairly clean and not overly fatty.   I would say the overall impact and flavour of the broth were good where we had some meatiness and I also could taste some of the usual components including star anise, daikon and charred onion.  Noodles were al dente while the meats were tender.  However, the portion size was concerning.  Sure, I do have a bigger appetite, but really, this would be more of snack for me.  At least maybe offer the option of an XL and I would gladly pay the higher price.

As for the Bún Bò Huế, there was definitely spice and a touch of brininess, but as for depth, it didn't have the hit of lemongrass that I would've liked.  It was there and not strong enough, or not there at all.  Even the brininess could've been dialed up by 3 times.  Also, the portion size, like the Pho, was pretty small with a limited amount of noodles and only just enough meat.  Again, an optional larger size would've been appreciated.

Moving away from noodle soups, we had the Lemongrass Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl.  There are pros and cons about bone-in chicken, but for me personally, I'm not a fan of bone-in as it makes it really difficult to eat.  With that being said, the chicken was moist and flavourful though.  Spring roll was great with a crunchy rice paper wrapper.  Pork and veggies in this was sweet and briny while being juicy.

Here we are with the Bò 4 Món with the first course being the Sliced Beef in vinegar hot pot.  All the fixin's were there including rice paper and the hot water to dip them into (you only need to dip it for a few seconds!).  Rice noodles, herbs, pickled veg, bean sprouts, onions and anchovy sauce were also there to wrap inside the rice paper along with the beef.  There was a small amount of lemongrass, peanuts (on the side because my daughter has sensitivities) and chili sauce as well.

The next 3 courses consisted of Grilled Beef Rolls (Satay Beef, Beef wrapped in La Lot Leaves and Beef wrapped in Caul Fat).  Naturally, these were all very similar where the ground beef was juicy and tender.  They were well-seasoned being a bit sweetness while nicely charred and caramelized.  We enjoyed wrapping the meats and making our own salad rolls.  I really wished they still had the 7 courses, but I guess it might not have been a big seller, so it is understandable.  Overall, the food is pretty solid at Song Huong, but portions are either too small or just average in size.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- They have Bò 4 Món

- This location is spacious and clean

The Bad:
- Portions are too small (should offer larger portions for an extra charge)

- Service is good, but sparse

Phở Kim Long

"Let's go to the Pho place with the lineup!" exclaimed my uncle.  "Oh Phở Hanoi?" I replied.  No, he wasn't referring to the social media darling in San Jose.  Rather, he was going ol' skool with Pho Kim Long.  They have recently renovated, so it isn't dumpy anymore.  It is actually quite nice, at least inside that is.  Sure, the lineup is still there, but is the food still solid?  One cannot argue that it isn't good value, but the food has to stand on its own too.  So we did have to lineup and yes, it was difficult to get a parking spot in the crazy parking lot.

Once seated, the service was hurried and efficient.  We ended getting a Salad Roll to start and although it wasn't the biggest, we found it fresh and carefully prepared.  It was wound up tightly enough that things were falling all over the place, but not so it was dense either.  Inside, I liked that they added basil as it was herbaceous.  The noodles were firm but not hard while the shrimp had a nice meatiness.  The thin layer of pork was tender too.

Next, we added sides of Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Chop and Short Ribs as well.  These were really good since they were marinated and it penetrated throughout the meat.  Hence, there was enough seasoning that they were a bit salty and sweet.  Nice caramelization and smokiness from the grill.  Best of all, due to the marinade, the meats were tender and especially in the case of the short ribs, it was buttery with a tender chew.

For the soup noodle portion of the meal, Viv went for the Phở Sườn Bò while my uncle had the Tô Xe Lửa.  As you can see, they didn't skimp on the meat.  For the beef bone, it was super tender and fatty while the sliced brisket in my uncle's bowl was tender.  The beef bone broth itself was meaty and flavorful, but maybe there was a decent amount of MSG.  Overall, a decent bowl of Phở though.

For myself, I went for the Bún Bò Huế and I thought it was tasty.  The broth was briny and a bit spicy.  Sure, there was probably MSG in it, but I found it tasty and not overly salty.  The ingredients were legit with pork knuckle and pork blood along with the ham and sliced shank.  Came with all the condiments (except for banana blossoms) but would've preferred lime over lemon.  Overall, the food at Phở Kim Long is good and served in large portions.

The Good:

- Large portions

- Reasonable prices

- Generally good food

The Bad:

- Good but not great

- Parking lot is a disaster

Saigon Drip Cafe

You'd think that heading into Downtown Seattle, in particular Pioneer Square, on the Sunday of the NFC Championship would be a great plan right (yes, they already won the Superbowl...)?  Well, we had a date with Saigon Drip Cafe blocks away from Lumen Field.  But there we were, amongst the sea of Seahawk fans decked out in their blue and green.  But we were about to see it was worth the trouble!  Go Seahawks!

We got to the main event with the Ribeye Hot Pot (or Bún Bò Huế for 2).  This featured a heated hot pot with a rich and savory broth that had brininess and definite spiciness.  We found 2 large beef ribs with tender meat that included 6 ounces of shaved ribeye.  There was a wealth of meat and also some pork's blood.  By having the noodles on the side, it ensured that they stayed al dente with a wonderful elasticity.  The usual compliments such as cabbage, banana blossoms, basil, lime and chilis were there to customize your bowl.  This was a lot of food and could feed more than 2 people if you ordered some other dishes.

Some of those other dishes included their Pho with steak, meatball and brisket.  Again, this was fully-loaded as the picture suggests.   I found the amount of meat to be generous.  There was enough all the way to the last bunch of noodles.  The meat was sliced thin and extremely tender.  Noodles were al dente despite sitting in the hot broth while we took pictures.  About that broth, it was clean and not overly salty.  Therefore, the natural meat flavors were present.  Solid bowl of Pho.

We also got their Vermicelli Bowl with Pork.  Staying with the theme of large portions, this was loaded with tender and charred pieces of marinated pork.  Lots of caramelized sweetness and definitely savoriness.  It came with a crispy spring roll that was stuffed with tender pork that was well-seasoned.  The rice was fluffy while still firm at the same time.  Perfect for accepting the nước chấm.

They have a section of the menu dedicated to Bánh Mì and we chose to try the Bánh Mì Drip featuring a boatload of beef brisket.  There was so much of it that we could barely keep it all in the baguette.  It was tender, saucy and full of umami.  The bread was light and crispy while the side of bone marrow soup could be used as a dip.  However, I didn't do that as there was plenty of moisture already.

Of course we couldn't forget about the drinks too right?  We went for the Cafe Sua Da & Salted Foam as well as the Cafe Sua Da & Durian.  I found the coffee itself to be rich and aromatic as Vietnamese coffee is typically like.  The salted foam added some creaminess and further intensified the flavors.  Absolutely loved the durian as it was definitely funky, but just enough to give the coffee some extra without being overwhelming.  Overall, some solid eats at Saigon Drip Cafe and served in large portions too.  Great place to grab a quite bite on your way to the game!

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- Solid eats and drinks

- Large portions

- Reasonable pricing

 

The Bad:

- Limited seating other than 2 large tables

 

Hủ Tiếu Mom Vietnamese

Here were are with another new Vietnamese restaurant taking over a former one.  Pho Extreme Xe Lua on Broadway is no more and now we have Hủ Tiếu Mom Vietnamese.  If you know, the name refers to the dry noodle dish that you might know from Phnom Penh.  I should've guessed there was an incoming restaurant at this location because when I dined at Pho Extreme in the Summer, it looked like a bare-bones operation with half of the dining room open and the food was meh.  Well, we got to try this new place and yes, the dish of its namesake too.

Going for some basics, we had some appies in the form of the Chicken Salad Roll and Spring Roll.  These were pretty typical except the chicken salad roll had cilantro in it, which made it more flavourful.  I'm personally not a fan of cilantro, but I can see how this would really provide more herbaceousness.  Nice crunch with the veggies too.  As for the spring rolls, they were crispy and the filing was not mushy.  Pretty solid.

 

Continuing with another appie, we had the Fried Chicken Wings.  These were all flats (or "mid-wings").  As you can see, they were fried golden brown with a thin coating of starch/flour.  They were rather mild-tasting and could've used just a touch more marinade, but it didn't make or break the dish.  Inside, the meat was juicy and had a silky texture.  There was a bit of lettuce and pickled veggies on the plate as well.

 

Okay, we couldn't make a visit here without trying its namesake right?  Yes, we had the Hủ Tiếu in its dry noodle form (it can be had with soup too).  If you've ever been to Phnom Penh (the restaurant) before, you will recognize this.  Atop rice noodles (can be egg noodles too), we found liver, squid, shrimp and pork slices.  The whole thing was dressed in a sweet soy sauce.  Mixed together, this thing sang with sweet salty brininess, aromatic fried shallots and the meatiness of the liver.

 

Of course we had to get their soup version of Hủ Tiếu which was also called House Special Noodle Soup on the menu.  So we essentially got the same ingredients as the dry version except with the addition of quail's eggs in a hot broth.  About that broth, it was clear and clean with a background meatiness and a touch of brininess.  Nice balance of sweet and savoury.  Beyond the tender slices of lean pork, the liver was not overdone and hence, it was still springy.  Good texture on the prawns too.

 

We also got the Bún Bò Huế and it was more or less decent.  The broth had hits of lemongrass, but could've been somewhat stronger.  But the brininess was definitely there and it helped make the broth bolder.  There was some spice, but it was generally mild.  There was no absence of meat as you can see in the picture, however, there was no pork blood nor pork knuckle.  Not a necessity, since many restaurants do not have it either.

 

Moving onto some rice dishes, we had the Beef Rib with Rice as well as the Lemongrass Pork and Meatloaf with Rice.  Served atop broken rice (which was nicely texture being chewy and somewhat dry), there was ample meat on top.  However, the short ribs were sliced rather thin and hence it was more crispy than meaty.  The pork was really good being tender and well-marinated.  There was sufficient char on them too.  The pork meatloaf was a bit stiff, yet was meaty and full of umami.  Overall, the food at Hủ Tiếu Mom Vietnamese is competent presented in good portions at reasonable prices.  I like how they focus on Hủ Tiếu, which is not usually featured at most Vietnamese restaurants.

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- Large portions

- Reasonable prices

- A bit unique with its focus on Hủ Tiếu

 

The Bad:

- I thought the shortrib was sliced too thin

 

Phở Anh Vu

It seems like there are more and more Northern-style Vietnamese restaurants opening up in the GVRD recently.  It all started with Mr. Red, which has sadly closed its doors.  However, they could be reopening at another location.  Crab Hot Lau, Hanoi Old Quarter and Chen Vietnamese are some examples of more well-known Northern Vietnamese restaurants.  Now we have a massive chain from back East setting up shop in Richmond.  Phở Anh Vu occupies the former location of Dragon Group and is now one of the largest Vietnamese restaurants in town.  We made 2 separate visits to try a variety of dishes.

We began with their Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm Với Xôi or Fish Sauce Fried Chicken Wings with sticky rice.  Really good wings with rendered skin and a firmly crispy exterior.  This was still the case even though it was coated with a considerable amount of caramelized fish sauce.  About that sauce, it was richly sweet with the unmistakable funky brininess of fish sauce.  There was also the aromatics of garlic as well.  Within the wing, the meat was juicy and flavourful.  Really enjoyed the sticky rice on the side as it was moist and not dry while not being wet.

For those who don't already know, Northern-style Phở Dặc Biệt is lighter tasting and less rich than its Sourthern counterpart.  Also, it generally isn't served with sprouts and the sort (although since we are used to it here, they offer it).  Rather, there is the traditional pickled garlic condiment you would normally find at your table.  As expected, the Pho was definitely cleaner and less flavourful than the others found in town.  I did find it a bit too fatty for my liking, but it did add plenty of natural beef essence.  Although a bit more pricey than usual, the large portion size was considerable with lots of al dente noodles and tender meats.  Was nice to see they offered saw leaf herb on the side.

There was one dish on the menu that caught our attention, which was the Bún Chả Hà Nội Chả Giò or Ha Noi Style Vermicelli Noodles w/ Grilled Pork & Spring Rolls.  The only other place we have found this dish locally was at Cô Châu in New West.  That is sadly now closed and we were delighted that Phở Anh Vu has it on their menu.  We thought this version was very close to the Cô Châu dish.  The pork was beautifully grilled exhibiting caramelized flavours as well as smokiness.  It was tender and juicy while the fish sauce was mildly sweet with the usual brininess.  It went really well with the vermicelli noodles on the side as well as the variety of herbs.  The spring rolls were made with rice paper, hence, the outside was crispy and shattered upon every bite.  I found the filling to be a bit dense, but tender with some sweetness and slight pepperiness.

On other visit, we had the grilled pork again, since it was so good.  However, we added the Nem Cua Bể Hải Phòng or Square Crab Spring Roll (only available on weekends).  Of course we were going to compare this with the gold standard in the GVRD, Crab Hot Lau!  I thought it was pretty close with a shattering crispy outer shell while the pork filling was looser than the regular spring roll.  It was just as tender and moist.  There was a decent amount of fluffy and briny crab, but they supplemented it with prawns.  The dish came with lettuce (to wrap the spring roll), herbs and a big bowl of Nước Chấm.

We also had the Bún Bò Huế and opted not to have the Dặc Biệt version.  That one would have more of everything including the pork knuckle.  Instead, this one only had beef, sausage and pork blood.  I really enjoyed the broth as it was flavourful with hits of lemongrass, brininess and measured spice.  One of the better ones I've had lately.  Noodles were plentiful and at their chewy slippery best.  The ample amount of thinly sliced beef was super tender.  Overall, we quite enjoyed our 2 visits to Phở Anh Vu.  The food was well-prepared and presented in large portions.  Prices are indeed on the higher side, but the portion sizes made up for it.  Would come back.

The Good:

- Large portions

- Unique dishes (Northern)

- Good flavours (remember the Phở is lighter in the North)

The Bad:

- Prices are on the higher side

CHÉN Vietnamese Restaurant

Always love new spots opening up and especially in my hood since, even though I drive for food, it makes it a whole lot easier if I drive less!  So when we spotted CHÉN Vietnamese Restaurant opening up where Sushi UOmo used to be, it was at the top of my list to try.  We didn't get to it right away since we were busy getting ready to go to Japan.  Well, that didn't go as planned where Viv broke her leg early on.  That meant we were back in town to try the place out, including Viv.  She was in a bit of discomfort, but made it through the meal!

For those who don't know, CHÉN features Northern Vietnamese cuisine, so many things on the menu may not look familiar or may be a little different.  Take the Crab Spring Rolls for instance.  They looked similar to the regular type, but there was crab and loved to see them use rice paper as the wrapper.  We found these to be good with a nice crunch and a fluffy filling.  There was not too much crab in there, so it wasn't that noticeable.  If I had to compare, I like the ones at Crab Hot Lau more due to their size and big pieces of crab leg meat.

So you might be wondering if there is any difference between North vs South Vietnamese Bánh Mì Thịt Nguội.  Well, there are subtle differences such as less sauces and no butter mayo.  Instead, it is usually just pâté and sometimes, there is Maggi added to it rather than soy sauce.  This one here was minimalist but had all the usual ingredients.  The baguette was crunchy and airy while there was enough pâté to add umaminess.

The same minimalist concept applies to the Phở Tái Bò Viên as well with a lighter broth and only a garlic vinegar condiment on the side.  However, just like at Crab Hot Lau, they also have sriracha and hoisin just to please everyone.  I found the broth clean and actually quite flavourful but not salty nor too sweet.  The amount of noodles was a bit meager but did the job.  The meats were tender, but once again, limited in portion.

We also had the Bún Bò Huế and there was much more meat involved in that bowl.  Furthermore, the broth was tasty with hits of lemongrass, brininess and some spice. Loved that they included pork blood in this as many places do not (understandable since many people do not eat it).  There was no pork knuckle though, but once again, that would only appeal to a small percentage of diners.  A really solid bowl of BBH and I would gladly have it again.

Trying to go for something different, I tried a Hanoi specialty in the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm which included sliced pork hock, fried young rice cake, fried tofu, rice noodle bundles, herbs and a bowl of fermented shrimp sauce. If you can imagine, that shrimp sauce was the key to this dish.  It was super funky and briny.  This wouldn't be great for novices, but if you are into shrimp sauce, this was super delicious with different textures combined with also the lime, herbs and bird's eye chili.

Finally, onto a defaultish dish in the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with 2 sunny side eggs.  Unfortunately, this was the one dish that could've been better.  The chicken was flavourful and had some nice grill marks, but it was dry and a bit chewy.  Portion size for the dish was good, but a bit more chicken would've been great.  Overall, we thought the food at CHÉN to be solid and a bit different being Northern Vietnamese.  Loved the decor and also the people there!

The Good:

- Something different than the usual Southern Vietnamese

- Generally good quality food

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Pricing is on the higher end

- Seating is a bit tight