Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Banh Xeo Quan

Allow me to profess my love for Banh Xeo Quan. My love for them began on one of my earlier trips to Vietnam. I can't remember which trip it was, but it was one that was more than 8 years ago. There, we had some delicious bahn xeo aka Vietnamese pancake at a place called Banh Xeo Quan. After returning from Vietnam, my mom and I were driving through the San Gabriel Valley and saw a restaurant with the same name. Of course, we stopped and enjoyed. Sure, the food was good but the restaurant was literally that of a ghetto Mexican taco joint. In fact, the restaurant just took over a Mexican bar. Ghetto fab indeed (not that I minded). Fast forward many years, and I remember how I hadn't been to Banh Xeo Quan in a long time. Their decor has not changed, but now there's a personal TV on each seat so you can ignore whoever you're eating with in typical Chinese style. (Chinese people don't like having conversations during dinner.) 

And here was the famous banh xeo. They have a regular one and a "special" one. The special has different types of meat inside and just sounds more awesome. So pay a few bucks more for this baby. It's good! Make sure to use fish sauce and chili sauce for the dip. 
Also, don't forget to order their banh canh. It's the traditional Vietnamese flour soup dish. I'm so-so on the typical broth that banh canh is made with, but the one from here I love. Their broth must be Northern style because it's definitely different. 

The real standout of the place is the sugarcane juice!!! I don't like plain sugarcane juice, but add some kumquat inside and I'm all yours. This is definitely the best sugarcane juice you can find in L.A. outside of Singapore. Nothing can beat Singaporean sugarcane cause they have the mini limes and other exotic fruits you can only find in Asia. But hey, for L.A. it's pretty darn good! Plus it's so healthy for you! Why wouldn't you want to come here?


If you've been keeping up with my blog, then you know I've been coming here for balut. They only serve it on weekends though. So whether you want to try some good Vietnamese food or try out balut for your inner bizarre foodie, you should definitely check this place out. Plus, I'll be there drinking up their whole sugarcane supply.


Happy Eatings!

Banh Xeo Quan
8742 E Garvey Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770















3 comments:

  1. Nearly all the Vietnamese/Chiu Chao joints add kumquat/citrus to the nuoc mia. Quang An Duong & Fresh Roast both also have sugarcane + kumquat...

    Vien Tay in Garden Grove seems to have the most ardent sugarcane juice supporters.

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    Replies
    1. Agreed, but in the SGV, I'd say that this place is the strongest joint for sugarcane. Still can't compare to my favorite which is from Singapore but it's not bad.

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  2. What is sugarcane juice?

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