Don’t miss the beginning of this story at Quan Hy, click here.
After a very satisfying lunch at Quan Hy, we went to the market in the same plaza. It was like a Vietnamese Costco, with huge containers of sauces, spring roll wrappers, and food service containers. We spotted six different types of bananas. Does anyone know anything about these oddly shaped ones?
Do you see how flat these are?
Next stop, Van’s Bakery 8926 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster, CA 92683, a popular chain in CA. My friend Tammy recommended getting Che Chuoi, a coconut milk dessert with tapioca and banana. It’s a thick but soupy dessert, extra sweet and creamy. It can’t hurt to try something new for $1.
Next, ABC Supermarket 8970 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster, CA 92683, which looks as messy, crowded, and chaotic, as the ones we have in Flushing. We did see some interesting produce though, like banana bud and taro leaves.
Notice the distinct holes in the thick taro leaves. It feels spongy too.
Just a few doors down, you can get freshly made sugar cane juice. They add a bit of citrus, which is nice and refreshing, but we couldn’t get over the saltiness. It was definitely unexpected.
Go another door or two down and you’ll find Tay Do, an exotic fruit store with rose apples, rambutan, cherimoya, and Jackfruit.
The jackfruit is huge and would probably take two people to carry so you wouldn’t be able to eat one yourself. They cut it up and sell it in different portions. They offered us some to taste and it is a combination of apple, passionfruit, and a hint of banana. The texture is uniquely of semi-dried fruit, kind of like the moist dried apple rings but thicker. It smells like bubble gum!
There seems to be three different kinds, varying in shade of yellow to orange but we couldn’t communicate well enough to understand what the difference was but in taste, I preferred the middle shade of yellow-ish orange and Lon preferred the orange colored one. We got a very heavy (about quart sized) plastic box full for $5.
We browsed a ton of bakeries and then hit Gala Bakery (also recommended by Tammy) for a Vietnamese Iced Coffee. I then had another one at another bakery. Let’s just say I love it, strong aromatic coffee, sweet and creamy, drinkable dessert.
I was starting to wobble from overload by the time we got to Asian Garden Mall, full of more quick bites I wanted to sample, but just couldn’t anymore. It was only 45 minutes till we were meeting my cousins for dinner at Brodard 9892 Westminster Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92844.
At Brodard, we wanted everything on the menu! We got Nem Nuong Cuon and Chao Tom Cuon, the pork and the shrimp spring rolls. I’ve never liked any of the spring rolls I’ve had in NY but these were different. The wraps were so elastic I imagine I could have pulled it over a bowl and made a drum. The fillings were fresh and flavorful and packed tightly! Nothing fell out at all.
Their house dipping sauce is thick and adheres nicely with sweet and savory, mildly spicy.
The only dish I didn’t like was the Banh Xeo, a pan-fried rice flour crepe. It was folded over a pile of mung bean sprouts, pork and shrimp. The oil was a bit overwhelming and I didn’t get as much flavor as the other dishes.
The Roasted Duck Salad was reminiscent of the clam salad we had at Quan Hy. I think I’m in love with the Vietnamese super salads. They are a world of flavor, texture, and freshness that bursts from the seems of your tastebuds. Everything is shredded or chopped up so that you get all the flavors in every bite.
Crispy Cha Gio is a classic, filled with pork, shrimp, and vermicelli.
We got two broken rice dishes. Both had egg loafs on them which seemed like pork and egg meat loafs, pretty tasty. One had barbecue pork, shredded pork. We didn’t care for this one but it wasn’t bad.
The other had grilled shrimp, grilled beef, shredded pork, and shrimp paste in tofu wrap. I loved the shrimp in tofu wrap which was reminiscent of dim sum for me.
The whole meal for 5 people came out to $62.10, a steal in our book. We wish we had a few more days to try more on their menu and more all over Little Saigon. It is definitely a top eating destination in the US. Don’t miss it!
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Very cool! I’ve had those rose apples before. Never knew what they were called!
What a fantastic food experience! I love different kinds of banana, there are so many and we get such boring kinds in Canada. In Venezuela, where I’m from, we get so many funky varieties! Especially the tiny ones that are firmer and not so sweet. delicious!
Asianmommy, I ate them in Taiwan years ago but I didn’t know the English name either. I had to look it up.
Marta, I love the tiny bananas that are firmer and a little more tangy. The skin is thinner too….that one right? I wish I got to try these oddly shaped ones but at the moment we were really maxed out.
oh! i wish i had known that you were going to go to brodard. i would have told you to get the bun cha saigon.
Becca, I should have asked you! We were so busy before this trip that we didn’t as thoroughly research as usual.
You bring me back to Little Saigon with your pictures! I’m so happy you discovered the sugar cane juice place. I use to go there too for the refreshing treat. If only NYC had 10% of the variety that Little Saigon offers, I would be complete!
Tammy, we do seriously lack in Vietnamese food in NYC. Get your mom and aunt to give me some of their recipes!
we hated NYC Vietnamese food when we lived there 2 yrs ago. We love that ABC plaza esp, trying to bargain with those fruit vendors–harkens back to shopping at the markets in Vietnam. Try our version of Brodards’s Nem Nuong Cuon. You’re right about that pork egg custard..looks really bland…try our version of cha trung with com tam
Ravenouscouple, I am planning on getting into some more Vietnamese cooking and looking forward to trying some of your recipes.