I Ate Bambi

Ha Tien Quan,but there are many unique Vietnamese dishes at this restaurant that are not typically found at Vietnamese restaurants. One of the more fun bizarre food dishes I recently had there was Deer sate noodle soup. Yup, I ate Bambi. Sorry. 

Deer is very lean with minimal fat. It is more favorable. If you’ve never had deer, the closest way to describe would be that it has a similar texture to lamb, but tastes like a more flavorful beef.

Would you go have deer?

529 E Valley Blvd

San Gabriel, CA 91776

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

Balut, Anyone?

Surprise! Can you tell what I'm eating from this picture? Hint: It's called balut in Tagalog or Hot vit lon in Vietnamese. It's actually a fertilized duck embryo. Sold usually as street food throughout Southeast Asia, many people consider it in the bizarre foods category. 

I haven't had balut in years. I guess my bizzare foods gene kicked in when I was young. I remember  being in elementary school and asking to try balut. I question why my mother didn't stop me at such a young age. Oh, well it all makes sense now... she must have known I'd turn into an street-food-eating monster!

 This balut was from a Vietnamese place so it was eaten with salt, lemon juice, pepper, and mint leaves. 

Sometimes if you get an egg that is more developed, you'll get a peek at a pretty developed fetus. You'll see hair, bones, beak, etc. No worries though. None found here. 

So why do I eat balut aside from my bizarre food tendencies? The soup that comes from the egg is delicious. Chicken noodle has nothing on it! Such a rich, rich flavor. The duck soup is much better than chicken soup. If you are a soup lover and scared of balut, I'd recommend just cracking open the egg and sipping the soup if you are scared of eating it. The yolk inside is also delicious. It much more flavorful than any regular egg. This all depends of course, on how well your balut is cooked and how old your egg is. 

Bahn Xeo Quan
8742 E Garvey Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770


Happy Eatings! Live a little! Give it a try! 

French-Vietnamese Goodness

French-Vietnamese food always hits the spot for me. It's difficult to find a dependable restaurant that can do it well though. Say hello to La Vie. It sits in a shady parking lot in the San Gabriel Valley. My family has been going to this place for over 15 years or so. I kind of forgot about this place for awhile though. The last time I came, my food was a little dry so I didn't go back for around two years. This time, they were on the mark though. The best part of La Vie? All meals are around $20 each, which includes your main dish, appetizer, all you can eat bread, and soup. That's extremely cheap for French food. 

 Here's the bread. 

 Our super buttery pea soup. 

 salad 

 My lobster tail. 

 My whole bowl of butter to dip my lobster in. 

I ended my night with a souffle. Yum!

You definitely don't come here for the ambiance. The place is so small that it can actually get stuffy. Not a place to impress a date, but it's good food. 

2547 San Gabriel Blvd

Rosemead, CA 91770

Happy Eatings!

How I do Pho

I'm a Vietnamese food snob. Regular pho has never done it for me. I'm a snob and I only take Pho Bac-Northern Pho aka Pho using Filet Mignon. I like my beef pho raw where I cook it in the both slowly. I like my beef balls and tripe to go with my pho. I rarely ever ever ever-order pho if it's not filet mignon. The soup is light and flavorful. 

 Here's their #14. 

 Here is my bahn xeo- Vietnamese fried pancake. Rice flour, fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-styled banh xeo contains coconut milk and certain Central region skips the turmeric powder altogether. 

One of my favorite fruits is soursop and they had it as a milkshake here. It tastes like pineapple and citrus and a pina colada flavor. 

Overall, I think the filet mignon pho was decent but my favorite place for that is still Pho Kimmy in Garden Grove. 

If you want to try this pho, you can go to Pho Filet at 9463 Garvey Ave South El Monte, CA 91733.

Happy Eatings!

Hola! Have a dose of Vietnamese food today!

My motto has always been the dirtier the restaurant the better! Look at this baby... if this isn't ghetto fabulous then I don't know what is! Welcome to Thien An in Rosemead. Ah, bo 7 mon, literally means 7 courses of beef in Vietnamese. Love it! 7 ways to have beef. Unfortunately, we didn't get all 7 ways. 

 Raw beef slices were the first to be brought out to the table!

 The different sauces!

 Raw shrimp!

 Egg rolls!

 My mother cooking my food! Seriously... muahaha it's me being spoiled. 

 Beef in grape leaf I believe. This is one of the courses of beef. One of the seven. 

 And here was our main dish: baked catfish! Honestly I've never had catfish in Vietnam but this is what I have all the time in the US of the A. 

Close up of that fabulous meat!

Tien An is known for their 7 courses of beef. They even have a shop in Westminster for all the folks near the Orange Country area. Yum!

Happy Eatings!

Fusion Fail.

     I know it seems as though a lot of the food I eat is just scrumptiously delicious. The truth is, well it usually is but I think it's also important to acknowledge on my blog when things FAIL. Well, technically the high-end restaurant failed. This is Rock Sugar located in Santa Monica. They call themselves an amazing Pan-Asian dining experience that incorporates the best of Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. delights. Well Rock Sugar-you can suck it  because you seriously suck.

Here's some of the sauces they brought out as our appetizer to go along with our rice cakes. 

Oh look, rice cakes? You mean the things you get in a bag for $2 at Vietnamese markets? My grandma makes it better than this. Sigh...

Crispy Chicken Samosas

They gave this a really exotic name- imperial rolls  but when it came out turns out it was just cha gio aka Vietnamese eggrolls less deliciously made by white people. Where's a Pho999 when you need it?

Dungeness Crab with Cellophane Noodles apparently meant dry noodles stuck together sprinkled with a touch of crab here and there. 

Here was their famous princess chicken. Oh gosh. It was good I guess but seriously they can do way better in San Gabriel for $5? This dish was $14!

For the record this  banana custard cake was what saved the meal. This was amazing!!! Wow so good!

Overall though I won't be back. The decor was really nice. They had buddhas all over the restaurant. For those familiar with Vegas, it's like the restaurant version of the TAO club there. This place just didn't do it for me. It's for those typical Westerners who want to try "exotic" foods and go to a place to be transported to an "Asian" country. This is as Asian as Panda Express. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and hit up San Gabriel and thank me later.

Happy Eatings. 

The Pho Real Challenge

(holding up their white flags to surrender to the mighty Pho god) 

Oh food challenges. How I love them. This time though I was smart enough to sit out. Some brilliant friends of mine decided it would be a good idea to take the Pho Real Challenge at Bamboo Cafe in Simi Valley. The bowl was enough to scare me away considering it was bigger than my head. I could have bathed my whole body in it.


Point number 2 why I would never do this challenge is what it was. Pho is something that cannot be eaten when its cold or when it has been sitting for a long time. Pho makes you thirsty. The rice noodles also absorb a lot of soup and make you more full each additional second you spend not eating it. The friendly MSG also inside makes you thirsty so that you are drinking more water to make the noodles already in your stomach expand even more.


Basically it's a fail, fail situation. But of course someone has to do it right?  We chose 4 lovely guys to try the contest. They were eating the whole hour they were allowed and never stopped. It looked completely gross. In fact, they vowed never to touch pho again for a very, very long time after what they went through.


Of the 4 that tried it, we actually did have a winner! It was amazing. He got a T-shirt to show that her conquered the challenge, his bowl of pho for free, and of course most importantly, his picture on the wall. But don't worry there's also a wall for all the losers who were not able to complete the challenge. And best of all-I got a short video to show how it all went down!



 Bamboo Cafe is located at 2792 Cochran St Simi Valley , CA 93065. Just remember, if you don't finish that bowl is going to cost you $22 and your dignity if you don't finish! 2 pounds of beef and 2 pounds of noodles!


Happy Eatings!

Sneak Peek Of My Next Post

'Nuff said. The picture says it all. Pho Real Challenge. Stick around for my next post!

Happy Eatings!

World's Ugliest & Tastiest Fried Fish

Yup, the title is self explanatory. This fish looks like a tadpole mixed with an eel on steroids. Well, looks may be deceiving because this baby is freaking delicious. Salty... and delicious. Available at a delicious Laos/Vietnamese Market in Reseda, CA.

Day Trip To The O.C.

Orange County Baby! I love Irvine. I swear I'm going to retire there when I get old. Good food, wide freeways, not as bad drivers as those Asians in the San Gabriel Valley. Let me introduce you to the best pho that you will be able to find in all of SoCal. Pho Kimmy at 14932 Bushard St. Westminster, 92683 only serves one thing- Beef Pho. All you get to choose is how you want your beef done and any side orders you'd like to add to your bowl of pho. You also get to choose what size you want but that's about it.

Here's my small order of Pho Tai, which is beef noodle soup with raw beef. Don't be scared. The soup cooks the beef so there's nothing to be afraid of. It's actually better to order the raw beef so that your beef won't be overcooked.

Here's my side order of baby egg yolk. It melts and pops in your mouth. Yes, it's also raw! Pho Kimmy can hold it's own with the pho of Vietnam. Seriously it's THE best. They also have the shittiest parking ever. Some 5 year old must have designed it for take your kid to work day.

If Vietnamese food isn't your thing and you want some authentic Taiwanese food, then head on over to Yu's Garden at 5408 Walnut Ave. Irvine, 92604. This place is structured like a school cafeteria. You just pick and choose, and the lady scoops. This place is super small, but they make a mean stinky tofu and sweet potato porridge!

Marianted pork and bittermelon

veggies and tomatoes and eggs. yum to the last part!

Tofu & pork knuckle

Minced pork and string beans

Some really good meat and Taiwanese sausage

And after you get all your dishes, you can choose if you want steamed rice or sweet potato porridge to go with that. Yum!

Happy Eatings!

Legit Vietnamese Food Made At Home For You To Order

I love me some good Vietnamese food anytime, but the best Vietnamese food is when some little lady is sitting there inside her kitchen making it all herself. The following are the 2 best home Vietnamese places in the San Gabriel Valley. They work out of their homes, so make sure to call them at least a day in advanced with what you want to order.

Lady #1: Call her "Ho yi" (yi as in aunt). She's at 1321 Pine St. Rosemead and for $13/14, she will give you this.

This can feed about 4/5 people. There's layers and layers of bahn cuon inside. It's basically a crepe like thing with mushrooms, shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts inside. Yum!

Lady #2 has no name. Just call her lady. Lady is at 212B Avondale in Monterey Park. She makes awesome Bahn Beo right from her home.

You take it home like this along with her sauces.

She gives you everything you need. There's the shallots, the mung bean paste, the shrimp, the fish sauce, etc.

And viola! Bahn beo at home! They're super good. They'd be awesome for parties if my friends actually enjoyed Vietnamese food. If you wanna try them message me for the numbers.

Happy Eatings!