Huong Binh
Aug. 15th, 2006 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
christopher575Citysearch info
Huong Binh is a standout in the dense competition in Little Saigon, one of 4 vietnamese restaurants in the same strip mall at the Southeast corner of 12th and Jackson. It's small, clean, and efficient, which ensures a lot of regulars will be in. Sometimes I go twice a week.
CONDIMENTS ON THE TABLE
I think their emphasis on central vietnamese cuisine and simplicity in presentation are what lead to their selection of condiments. Each table only has pepper, chili sauce, chili oil, soy sauce, and the brown fish sauce (which I confirmed with them today is fish sauce, I wasn't sure before). They don't serve pho, so I don't mind that they don't have hoisin sauce, but as always, I'd love to see salt.
THE MEAL
Today I had what I order most often, the bun thit nuong (noodles with charbroiled pork). Theirs is just about perfect. In fact, the only reason I often went to An Thin (in the same shopping center, but now closed) is that they offered it with the egg roll, and there are no egg rolls at Huong Binh at all. The bun bo xao (beef) is also very good. The kitchen is so efficient, I was honestly surprised when my food arrived today. The chef rang the bell and I thought, that can't be mine. But there it was, about 3 minutes after I ordered it.
Huong Binh also has something I've never seen anywhere else: a large assortment of candies, cooking ingredients, desserts, preserves, pastries, nuts, and other snacks. It just has to be seen to be believed. There are two coolers out front for cold items, the front window is lined with large glass jars (like the ones in The Man with Two Brains) and the cash register is surrounded by piles of plastic containers stacked in neat rows. It's a neat idea, and obviously works well for them.
The best time to go is when I do, weekdays at 10am. There are usually a few other people there, but it's pretty quiet. Before my schedule changed, and I was going in at noon, it was often a madhouse. I tried to go on a Saturday once, only to find it full of huge families with a couple more waiting to eat. One thing I've noticed, even when there are lots of kids, they're so much quieter than american kids.
Huong Binh is a standout in the dense competition in Little Saigon, one of 4 vietnamese restaurants in the same strip mall at the Southeast corner of 12th and Jackson. It's small, clean, and efficient, which ensures a lot of regulars will be in. Sometimes I go twice a week.
CONDIMENTS ON THE TABLE
I think their emphasis on central vietnamese cuisine and simplicity in presentation are what lead to their selection of condiments. Each table only has pepper, chili sauce, chili oil, soy sauce, and the brown fish sauce (which I confirmed with them today is fish sauce, I wasn't sure before). They don't serve pho, so I don't mind that they don't have hoisin sauce, but as always, I'd love to see salt.
THE MEAL
Today I had what I order most often, the bun thit nuong (noodles with charbroiled pork). Theirs is just about perfect. In fact, the only reason I often went to An Thin (in the same shopping center, but now closed) is that they offered it with the egg roll, and there are no egg rolls at Huong Binh at all. The bun bo xao (beef) is also very good. The kitchen is so efficient, I was honestly surprised when my food arrived today. The chef rang the bell and I thought, that can't be mine. But there it was, about 3 minutes after I ordered it.
Huong Binh also has something I've never seen anywhere else: a large assortment of candies, cooking ingredients, desserts, preserves, pastries, nuts, and other snacks. It just has to be seen to be believed. There are two coolers out front for cold items, the front window is lined with large glass jars (like the ones in The Man with Two Brains) and the cash register is surrounded by piles of plastic containers stacked in neat rows. It's a neat idea, and obviously works well for them.
The best time to go is when I do, weekdays at 10am. There are usually a few other people there, but it's pretty quiet. Before my schedule changed, and I was going in at noon, it was often a madhouse. I tried to go on a Saturday once, only to find it full of huge families with a couple more waiting to eat. One thing I've noticed, even when there are lots of kids, they're so much quieter than american kids.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 05:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 05:21 am (UTC)