Tre Viet

It is nice to see the increasing amount of Northern Vietnamese spots opening up in the GVRD.  Growing up, all I was exposed to was Southern Vietnamese, where the menu sported various versions of Pho, Rice dishes and Vermicelli Bowls.  Yes, there is more to Southern Vietnamese cuisine than that, but that is what we got.  The latest Northern Vietnamese spot is Tre Viet on Denman in Downtown Vancouver.   This is the sister restaurant the CHÉN Vietnamese in Burnaby, hence you will find many of the same delicious dishes on the menu.  We dropped by for a tasting of the menu.

To start, we had the Hanoi Crisp Crab Parcels and the Anchovy Chicken Wings.  Although crispy (from the rice paper wrapper) and generally pleasing, I would've liked to see more crab in the parcels.  I would gladly pay more money for it.  As for the wings, they were quite good.  Nicely caramelized fish sauce with its classic salty brininess.  The meat was juicy and tender.

Our next appie was something that would appear in another dish later.  These were the Deep Fried Young Rice Cakes.  Really enjoyed the "meatiness" of these with a pleasant chew that went well with the sticky rice.  We also got the Rainbow Salad with prawns.  This was a fresh and appetizing mix of purple cabbage, carrot, onion, mint, peanuts and fried onion.  Lots of crunch and aromatics to go with the chili sweet & sour dressing.

Onto the soup noodle portion of the meal, we had the veritable Bún Bò Huế.  I found the broth to be clean with sweetness and the impactful aromatics of lemongrass.  Then we had the hit from the spicy oil as well as some brininess.  Pretty good!  In place of a pork knuckle, we got sliced pork hock instead.  We also found cubes of pork blood in addition to the other meats.  

Rather than ordering the typical Phở, we went for Tre's Special Soup.  The moist interesting thing in the bowl was beef meatballs encasing a salted egg yolk.  Like a Vietnamese Scotch egg, this was bouncy and flavourful with the nutty and salty egg yolk.  There was also thinly sliced rare beef with rice noodles in a phở broth.  Again, the broth was clean with mild flavours (just like how Northern-style phở generally can be).

We tried a new item that isn't on the menu yet in the Peanut Satay Phở.  This was aromatic and of course, nutty.  It was rich, but not thick (if that makes sense).  Hence, it was completely drinkable with some briny spice at the end.  There was also a balancing amount of sweetness.  We got some aromatics in a herbaceous manner.  Really good and the thin-sliced beef was tender.

 

Our last noodle soup was the Lemongrass Chicken Phở.  The chicken was actually served on the side, but we put it in the broth for the picture.  However, that actually was great in function too.  The smokiness from the charred chicken helped add depth to the broth.  Normally, a Phở Ga is pretty mild-tasting and sweet (which this was), but with the chicken added, we got the lusciousness from the chicken fat.

All of the dishes we've had so far was delicious, but the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm Đặc Biệt was striking and even more delicious.  This platter consisted of pieces of vermicelli noodle, fried tofu, sliced pork hock, fried young rice cake, fried intestines and blood sausage.  All of this could be dipped into a punchy fermented shrimp paste sauce.  On the side, we found calamansi, peppers and lime.  Great for brightening up the flavours and cutting through the richness of the fermented shrimp paste.  Really enjoyed this as the textures of each item were different and that shrimp sauce was full of umami, funk and brininess.

So we did get one rice dish and it was the Grilled Lemongrass Pork Slices and Prawn Skewer.  We added 2 fried eggs for good measure.  This was a generous portion of food where the pork was charred and caramelized.  Since it was fairly fatty, it was tender as well.  Good marinade on it where it was plenty sweet, briny and salty.  The prawns were charred as well but a little overdone.

We had the Tre House Special Banh Mi.  This was similar to a đặc biệt where it had a variety of hams and meats.  It was plenty saucy with butter mayo and pate.  It wasn't devoid of flavour where the meats provided umami while the ample pate added aromatic meatiness.  Pickled veg offered up crunch and tanginess while the cilantro did its herbaceous thing.  The baguette was crunchy and fairly soft on the inside.

To go with our food, we had a variety of beverages including Matcha Coconut, Avocado Coffee, Calamansi Ice Tea and Fresh Sugar Cane Juice.  Hands down, the calamansi was a hit for me.  The tartness and sweetness really was refreshing and help compliment the dishes we had.  Avocado coffee was rich and smooth.  This would be the drink I would have by itself.  Aromatic and tropical, the matcha coconut also had the requisite bitter aftertaste.  It was nicely balanced.  Of course the cane juice was sweet, but on the other hand, it was diluted enough that it was not too sweet.  Overall, the food at Tre Viet is delicious and served in generous portions.  Some real distinctive dishes you'd not find at the run-of-the-mill Southern Vietnamese spots in town.  Definitely worth checking out.

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

The Good:

- Distinctive Northern Vietnamese dishes

- Large portions

- That fermented shrimp sauce!

The Bad:

- Wished there was more crab in the parcels

- Pork slices could've been a bit less fatty

Crab Hot Lau

I finally made it out to Crab Hot Lau.  Yes, it took me this long.  Like, it has been in operation since 2021, so that makes it 4 long years that I've seen their signature Crab Spring Rolls grace social media.  Originally, the owner was making these spring rolls and other Northern Vietnamese specialties during the pandemic in 2020 where people would be putting in orders for them.  It got so popular, she figured that running an actual B&M restaurant would be the best course of action.  Despite some reservations and warnings from the previous owner of where Crab Hot Lau sits now, she went full steam ahead.  Great move, because they have done quite well and are in the process of opening more locations!

Seeing how Mijune was about to pop, I met up with her for some lunch before she became a mom!  We started with the Pâté Mini-Breadsticks which were stuffed a with delicious meat spread which was smooth, sweet and savoury.  There was also some pork floss for extra texture and sweet meatiness.  The bread itself was firm, but not heavy.  We also had the Green Papaya Beef Jerky Salad.  In addition to the beef jerky on top, we found some slices of liver too.  Nice add as it provided body and texture.  As for the salad itself, things were fresh and crunchy.  Nice tang and sweetness with the usual brininess of fish sauce.

Here we are, the famed Crab Spring Roll from Crab Hot Lau!  This thing was gigantic, stuffed full of tender pork, wood ear and of course whole leg portions of crab.  Beyond the obvious briny sweetness of the crab and umami from the pork, this spring roll was all about textures.  We had the super shattering crunch of the rice paper wrapper with the fluffiness of crab and meatiness of the pork.  Combined with the herbs on the side and some spiced nuoc cham, I could've had a few of these myself!

 

Another delicious appie we had was the Ha Long Squid Cake.  This also came with a side of sticky rice and sweet & sour dip.  They don't mess around with this one as the squid is shipped by air from Ha Long Bay!  It is hand-pounded to create a springy and bouncy texture.  I loved the light and crispy fried exterior and the natural, but subtle squid flavour.  Definitely needed the sweet & sour for some added impact.  With a bit of sticky rice, it added a different texture and rice nuttiness.

 

By default, we had to also try the Northern Style Phở Dặc Biệt.  In terms of the basics, this was similar to Southern Style, except the brisket was sliced differently and the soup was more clean.  However, I still found it rather flavourful and meaty. Hence, it was did taste more like the Southern style to me.  As for the noodles, Northern employs the wider flat version.  Also, the typical condiment was at the table in the form of garlic vinegar.

 

Now the Phở was good, but we had to get their signature bowl in the Hai Phong Crab Noodle Soup.  This featured wide red rice noodles which were firm and nicely chewy.  The broth was full of umami with the sweet brininess of crab while being properly seasoned. It was balanced without being too much of one particular taste.  In addition to the fish cake and golden crab roe, we found pork wrapped in lolot.  I'm familiar with the beef version, but this was the first time trying pork.  It pretty much ate the same with the meat being a bit more bouncy and tender.  Really solid bowl of noodles.

We also had a beverage in the form of the Cà Phê Trứng or Egg Coffee and it was fantastic.  Beyond the richness of the coffee itself, the creamy egginess of the foam and sweetness from the condensed milk helped tempered the strong coffee. I really enjoyed drinking this.  For dessert, we had the Thai Sweet Soup with house-made jellies with a side of whipped durian.  Again, this was delicious with a balanced sweetness and lots of chew textures.  The coconut milk was fragrant and adding the durian really amped up the flavours with the unmistakable sweet funkiness.  Gotta say this was a delicious meal where the quality of the food was apparent.  Prices are definitely on the higher side though as a result.  Worth it for me at least and I will be coming back.

The Good:

- Those crab spring rolls!

- The Hai Phong Crab Noodle

- Quality stuff

The Bad:

- Prices are on the higher end

Viet Time

Whenever we are in the Bay Area, I make it a point to visit my grandparents at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.  Since we were leaving for the airport, it was somewhat nearby.  Afterwards, we were pretty hungry and considered eating at the airport, but you know, it is a ripoff.  Hence, we started Googling some options in the area.  There was the Koi Palace in Daly City, but we hadn't been there in awhile and my aunt said it wasn't very good.  So we settled on something simple in Viet Time in San Bruno.

We weren't expecting too much from the place, but the mom n' pop place was welcoming.  We had both the Phở Bò Viên and Phở Dặc Biệt.  As you can see, the broth was pretty clean and clear.  It was decent with balance sweetness and meatiness.  I think that it could've been a bit more flavorful, but it was definitely acceptable.  As for the meats, the rare beef and brisket were not exactly thin.  However, they were still fairly tender.  I would've liked it thinner personally.

I really wanted the Phở Dặc Biệt but settled on the Bún Riêu instead.  We needed a little variety right?  Yah, my kids ordered the same thing and Viv kinda did the same.  Ugh...  Anyways, this was pretty serviceable with a sweet broth that had some brininess.  Although there were tomatoes present, it wasn't particularly noticeable.  Noodles had a nice bounciness to them and the meats were fair in portion size.  I enjoyed the pork meatballs with egg as they were fluffy and tasty.

So here are the 3 dishes that were almost the same (sigh...) with the first being Grilled Chicken, Pork Chop, Spring Roll and Egg on rice.  The second was the Grilled Chicken with rice.  I had to include the picture of the Grilled Chicken because it featured 2 large pieces and it was only $11.95!  Not only that, the chicken was juicy, well-marinated and beautifully grilled.  The pork chop was also tender and had a nice sear.  Spring roll was a bit average though.  Overall, these 2 plates were more than enough food for one person, if not more.

Lastly, I added a Bánh Mì Dặc Biệt with all the cold cuts.  As you can see, this was heavy on the pickles, especially the carrots.  There was also plenty of meats as well.  I would've liked to see some more pate as that is what make this sandwich in my opinion.  The bread was pretty airy with a soft crunch on the outside.  Overall, the food at Viet Time was respectable and a great value.  The people are super nice and there is lots of parking available.

The Good:

- Serviceable eats

- Well-priced

- Super nice people

The Bad:

- Not the best, but for the price, I would go back if I was in the area

Rice & Spoon Vietnamese

Sometimes, even on vacay, I don't want to be too creative and travel far for food.  Yes, that is right, I get lazy and want to do something convenient, cheap and somewhat healthy.  That is why we ended up at Rice & Spoon Vietnamese in Newark.  Just a few minutes away from our hotel, it required very little effort and for once, very little money.  When we first arrived, we thought we had to order on the tablet at the counter, but in the end, the nice man came to take our order.

Initially, we were suppose to have all 5 of us (including my mom) go eat here but my son wasn't feeling well.  He seemed pretty well when we got come In-N-Out of him...  Suspicious...  Anyways, we started with the Double Decker Spring Rolls.  These were essentially a spring roll wrapped in a salad roll.  I've had something similar before and I feel this is the best way to go.  Normally, one would wrap a spring roll in lettuce anyways, so adding rice paper to hold it altogether made it easier to eat.  This was good where the wheat wrapper was crispy and the rice paper had a nice chew.  Only thing that could've been better was the filling as it ended up being dense.

Viv went for her ol' standby being the Pho Tái Bò Viên.  As its name suggests, there was beef meatballs and rare beef sitting in the hot broth.  The beef was fairly tender while the meatballs were at their bouncy best.  The broth was decently meaty with it bordering on being salty (without it going over).  Could pick out some sweetness as well as some charred onion vibes.  The amount of noodles was modest and cooked perfectly where it was al dente and not clumpy.

For my daughter, she also went for her usual in the Phở Gà.  Personally, this would never be my choice as the Phở Dặc Biệt ticks more boxes.  But I get it, she doesn't like the tendon and tripe...  So this version featured a clean and clear soup.  It was mild and sweet where the addition of fried garlic provided aromatics.  The noodles were just as good as the previous bowl being chewy.  There was a good amount of chicken breast which was not dry, but not juicy either.

For my mom, she had the  Bún Riêu which was loaded with noodles.  Unlike many other versions, the pork and crab meatballs were firm and not loose.  There was the usual tomato, prawns and tofu though.  In terms of the broth, this is where it got somewhat controversial.  She really didn't enjoy it since it was considerably more briny and fishy than usual.  But for me, I love it when it is more briny as that is the point of this dish.  However, I can also see how some people might feel otherwise.

Since my son wasn't with us, I represented him by ordering the Grilled Chicken with rice and fried egg.  Yes, it is his favorite Vietnamese dish but this one was lacking in char.  Despite that, the meat was still juicy and tender with enough marinade so we had some salty, briny sweetness.  Overall, the food at Rice & Spoon was serviceable and inexpensive.  The guy behind the counter was super nice and helpful.  Good option in the area.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Competent food

- Generous portions

The Bad:

- Competent, but there is better

Chopsticks on Pho

Oh wow, it has been a long 12 years since I last set foot into Chopsticks on Pho out in Surrey.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the food there and at the time, they were doing something that wasn't quite trending yet.  You see, they were one of the few Vietnamese restaurants operating in a modern dining space as well as doing fusion cuisine.  I had my doubts about it since it really wasn't a thing yet.  They are still around today, so they must've been doing something right!  Well, the owners remembered me and decided to invite me back.

In addition to the food from the kitchen, they now produce their own artisan sauces that are all hand-made and jarred.  Some of these were used in the Tasting Platter consisting of one skewer each BBQ Nem Pork and the Satay Chicken, Grilled Garlic Prawns, Salad Roll and Crispy Pork Spring Roll.  Now if you look at the picture, you'll notice that the spring roll is missing.  Not sure what happened there, but it will make an appearance later on in another dish.  I really enjoyed the skewers as the meat was tender and full-flavoured due to the marinade and sauce.  The pork was tender with a nice rebound while exhibiting its usual smoky and sweet notes as well as some fish sauce.  The satay sauce for the chicken was sweet and nicely spiced.

Here is one dish where the spring roll makes an appearance...  in the Chef's Special Rolls.  As you can clearly see, the spring roll was encased within a salad roll.  Now the picture doesn't do this roll justice in representing its size.  I ate half of one and that was a lot.  First things first, the spring roll itself was large and stuffed with moist and seasoned pork filling with veggies and noodles.  The roll remained crispy despite being surrounded by a salad roll.  What really elevated these rolls was the dips on the side.  In particular, the satay sauce was out-of-this-world.

After this, we moved onto the BBQ Pork Banh Mi with all pickled veggies, jalapeno, cilantro and house aioli on a French baguette.  This featured an airy and light baguette that still had some bread texture left.  The outside was a bit crusty but didn't shatter completely upon the first bite.  Inside, the pork was moist and tender while having a pleasant natural flavour.  Good crunch from the ample pickled daikon and carrots as well as some acidity.  Peppers provided heat while the cilantro did its usual herbaceous thing.  This came with a bowl of broth that could be eaten as soup or used as a dip for the sandwich.  I personally wouldn't dip it because I love the crunch of the bread, but hey, you do you!

If you have followed me for awhile, you will know that if something is going to be vegetarian, it'd better be delicious for me to like it.  Well, their Pho Xao Tofu or veggie Pad Thai was something that I really enjoyed.  The ample amount of noodles were chewy with lots of elasticity.  They were bathed in a sweet and tangy sauce that was also briny and a touch spicy.  The addition of pickled veggies and the sprouts added crunch while the peanuts provided the aromatics.

A similar-looking dish was the Curry Basil Fried Rice with chicken.  Being a fried rice, this ate remarkably different though.  The chewy rice was fairly sauced, hence it was a touch moist instead of being dry.  The initial spoonful was definitely sweet and full of caramelized flavours.  The basil did come through while the curry was more in the background with an earthy spice.  I felt that with the squeeze of the lime wedges it really helped balance out the sweetness with acidity.

Moving back to the vegetarian side of the ledger, we had the Buddha Bowl which was presented much more like a platter.  It consisted of rice noodles topped with pressed tofu in a satay curry peanut sauce.  This was like liquid crack as it had elements of sweetness, spice, pepperiness and nuttiness.  The texture of the pressed tofu added body to the dish and I kept eating it.  We also found some crispy veggie spring rolls and a wealth of veggies with a vegan vinaigrette dressing.

So here we have the Crispy Pork Spring Roll make another appearance.  Since it was cut diagonally lengthwise, you can see how there was so much filling.   This came with the Chicken Satay (which was also in the Tasting Platter).  Really love that satay sauce with the coconut rice as the aromatics were off the hook.  Normally, this comes with vermicelli noodles, but since we've had that in other dishes, the rice was definitely a great canvas for the impactful sauce.

In addition to the Curry Basil Fried Rice, the other new dish on the menu is the Curry Beef Pho (this can be had with other proteins as well).  Piled up high, the rare beef was sliced thin and as it cooked in the hot broth, it turned out to be buttery tender.  About that broth, it started off sweet and clean but had a considerable kick at the end.  There was nuttiness and briny spice from the red curry.  Really delicious and a good alternative to the regular Pho.

But we couldn't pay them a visit and not have a bowl of "The Works" Pho right???  With the same rare beef majestically on top of the other meats (brisket and beef meatballs), this was a hearty bowl of soup noodles.  The broth was very clean and did not have any muddled flavours.  In fact, it was sweet and meaty despite not looking as such.  There was some background daikon and star anise vibes.  Hidden underneath, there was a considerable amount of al dente rice noodles.

To compliment our savoury and spicy food, we got a couple of smoothies including the Aloe Avocado and Mango Tango.  Both were creamy and smooth while not too thick, so they were very drinkable.  Since I love mango, that was my favourite of the two.  They were on the sweeter side, but paired well with our food as it was almost like a palate-cleanser.  Onto dessert, we were served some Vietnamese Coffees that were so rich and flavourful.  The condensed milk really balanced it off with creamy sweetness.  The dessert was Deep Fried Dough Sticks with a sweet peanut dip.  These "yau tiao" were super light and airy with a crispy crunch.  Loved the dip as it was purposefully sweet with lots of peanut flavour.  In the end, it was so nice to be back at Chopsticks on Pho.  Glad to see that the owners are still doing well while continuing to innovate with their artisan sauces.  Sure, prices are a touch higher than most, but you are also getting both quality and quantity as well as a nice dining space.  I really should bring the fam out, even though it is a bit of a drive for me!

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

The Good:
- Great-tasting food
- Well-portioned
- Super nice people (I can say that because my first visit was on my own coin!)

The Bad:
- It does cost a bit more than most

Saigon Dish

Sometimes, even while on vacay, you just might want to go basic with something less expensive and also less heavy.  This was the case here when Viv and I decided to just grab some Vietnamese nearby our hotel.  We made our way to the highly-rated Saigon Dish in Lawndale.  I guess we weren't the only ones thinking that as there was an extensive wait list going on.  Instead of giving up, we merely put our name down on the iPad and waited in the car.  Almost 45 minutes later, we were seated.

A bit out-of-character, we decided to order the Shrimp Tempura.  Nope, no spring rolls, no salad rolls and no salad.  Nothing really unusual about this dish as it was what we expected.  It consisted of meaty shrimp that had some rebound texture while coated in a light tempura batter.  The outside was crispy while the batter was slightly greasy.  It came with a sweet chili dip and the whole thing just ate pleasantly.  Not sure if this would be the most interesting thing to order as a starter though.

Viv went for the Phở with lean steak and brisket.  This was a solid bowl of noodles as the broth was clean but had depth.  It wasn't too salty while the natural sweetness of the components did come through.  There was sufficient tender meats, but they could've put a bit more to balance out the amount of al dente noodles.  But really, it was a good value and was more than enough food for Viv.

For myself, I had the Bún Bò Huế.  Unlike many versions out there, this one was legit as there was a large pork knuckle sitting in the fragrant broth.  Unfortunately, there was no pig's blood, but I can understand it may not be a big seller.  Now back to the broth, we could taste the lemongrass for sure, but there could've been more shrimpiness.  The spice was medium where it did add impact.  The noodles were slippery and chewy while the meats were tender (including the pork hock).

Lastly, we added the Bo Luc Lac with rice.  Despite the considerable amount of onions, it really didn't define the dish.  The cubes of beef were super moist and tender.  It had been stir-fried enough to slightly caramelize the onions and hence provide some sweetness.  This complimented the black pepper and soy.  I would've liked to see some peppers added to the mix rather than just onions.  Overall, the food at Saigon Dish was quite good and very reasonably-priced.  That is probably why they are so busy all the time.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Solid eats
- Fairly fair portions

The Bad:
- Pretty busy, you might have to wait (unless you do the online waitlist)
- Seating arrangements are not the most comfortable