Little Saigon Confidential
For a time in the eighties my brother and I carpooled to Santa Ana College in my Dodge Omni, and later my Buick Skyhawk. Both were fire engine red. This brought out our many aesthetic differences. Even then I could take only so much of ethereal Cockteau Twins and Dead Can Dance in the tape deck and he had an olfactory aversion to my Vietnamese food fetishes.
I’d pick him up for class after lunch. “You’ve been in Little Saigon, I can smell it.” he’d say as a blast of heady lemongrass and pungent nuoc mam assaulted him when he opened the passenger side door.
It’s twenty years later and little has changed. My brother still loves 4AD bands and I have a car permeated with the lovely reek of pâté during frequent bánh mì sprees. Here just a few of my current Little Saigon obsessions.
Sandwich + newspaper = happiness.
Bánh Mì Thit
The three-for-five deal assures perpetual lines at the orderly, utilitarian Bánh Mì Saigon, and sheer chaos at the popular, third world Bánh Mì & Che CALI chain. For a more refined sandwich, head to the Parisian-pretty Top Baguette where the Lemongrass Beef sandwich is superlative. Top Baguette 9016 Bolsa Ave. Westminster 714 379-7726.
Banh Mi & Che CALI regulars.
Roasted Pork Spring Rolls
Lushly lit and filled with the zen sounds of Buddha Bar, comely Brodard Chateau is known for its massive take-out business built on roasted pork spring rolls. It’s no wonder: they are portable, snackable and come with house-made special sauce sauce unlike the usual nuoc cham. Still, in Little Saigon’s plushest fine dining spot, it’s tempting to dine in. Try the bánh khot, sizzling, turmeric-stained coconut-scented rice flour crepes no bigger than a communion wafer with an impression that holds minced shrimp, mung bean and pork. Brodard Chateau 9100 Trask Ave. Garden Grove, 92844. 714 899 8273.
Iced Coffee
Café Sua Da used to fuel me through many a day answering phones at the County of Orange Probation Department, Westminster branch. (note to future parents: Cross Ghengis and Attila off list of potential baby names.) Van’s Bakery chain is my fave. Why? Whole beans, freshly ground, Nestle’s Sweetened Condensed Milk and the house-whipped cream they use to frost cakes piped in the middle of the ice layer. They stock many permutations of the eminently snackable thit kho bò, sweet sesame-flecked shards or fiery, curry coated chunks of beef jerky. Pâté chaud is always available at check-0ut: irresistable hot pastry puffs with curried chicken or pork inside. Van’s Bakery, 14346 Brookhurst St. Garden Grove, CA 714 839-1666.
Soup's on!
Mì Quang and Bún Bò Huê
Pho is lovely with it’s anise scented broth and elegant, paper thin filet mignon slices, but Huê-style soups from Vietnam’s mountainous central region provide long-term sustenance. At the homely, economical Ngu Binh, the proprietress doles out each bowlful individually to assure equality for all. Maybe if you’re born in central Vietnam, you bleed bún bò huê, but for me, it’s an aquired taste. Swarthy beef sausages, blood cake and fiery, chili spiked broth equal a sinus cleansing, delicious good time. Mi Quang is another matter entirely. This is south central Vietnam’s grandmotherly fare: spicy chicken and pork stock poured over the bowl of steaming, wide yellow rice noodles rife with shrimp, chicken morsels, banana blossom, bean sprouts and shrimp paste and crushed peanuts. It goes down your gullet as easily as a middle schooler slides down the Bazooka Bowl attraction at Wild Rivers. Ngu Binh Restaurant 14072 Magnolia St., #107 Westminster, 714.903.6000.
Mango madness.
Banana Fritters and Pickled Mango
Located at the corner of Bolsa and Mag, Trái Cây Ngon specializes in one type of fruit: tropical. Jackfruit the size of armadilloes are prepped in back to extract their soft, date-sized fruits that taste of custard. Juicy longan, perfumy lychee and dragon fruit are all fresh and delicious. At checkout, don’t miss the chili-laced pickled mango and molten banana fritters.8920 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. 714.894.5852.
