Duong Son BBQ -- yummy Chinese close to home

Duong Son BBQ

9081 Bolsa Avenue

Westminster, CA 92683

(714) 897-1269

It's been a really long and hard road in trying to find some decent Chinese food in OC and especially a place where the food is reasonably priced as well. Duong Son is run by Vietnamese Chinese folks and their homestyle Chinese cuisine is by far some of the

best I've had in the area. It is not fancy, but very hearty, comforting if you will. Something your mama might make at home.

The meal starts with complimentary Chinese soup which changes daily. To me, this is the best part of going for Cantonese food because the soup usually is a great indicator of how the meal will follow. If your soup is bland and watery, your meal won't be much better either.

We ordered a BBQ combo plate which includes steamed chicken, roasted duck and bbq pork. The latter was very tasty and not too fatty. The duck and chicken were also good, but I don't think I would order those again on subsequent visits since there is just so much offered on

the menu to sample.

Steamed rock cod was tender and just what I was craving. I love steamed fish Chinese style with scallion and soy sauce. I did think they needed a tad more soy sauce as it wasn't salty enough, however, the fish was very fresh which made up for whatever was lacking in the sauce.

Fried tofu is absolutely fantastic -- served with a chili soy sauce -- and it was apparent

because my son devoured the entire plate on his own minus two pieces which we took. This is definitely a keeper.

Chinese broccoli (gai lan) with beef was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Tender pieces of beef stir fried with gai lan with a hint of garlic and ginger -- highly satisfying.

We also ordered salted fish and diced chicken fried rice. Ordinarily, this item is very s

alty, but for some reason, the version here was just right. You could eat it on its own without fear of having a thirst attack later on.

When you're done with your meal, complimentary Chinese dessert is brought to the table. On our visit, it was red bean and sago and in true Chinese tradition, it wasn't super sweet.

Even I, who traditionally stay away from these sorts of things, ended up polishing off my little bowl.

Best of all, the entire meal only set us back around $40 (tip not included) and we still had food leftover to bring home.

If you're feeling like some non-pretentious Chinese food, definitely give Duong Son a try!!

Uyen Thy Bistro -- bridging two cultures

Uyen Thy Bistro,
9039 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 898-9889

I suddenly realized I've been too focused on a certain type of Vietnamese cuisine -- noodles, salads, rolls, the more ethnic varieties if you may, but I've failed to give the French-inspired Vietnamese food much thought. So today, with a friend in tow, we traipsed down to Uyen Thy for something a little more Indochine.

Uyen Thy's interior was a little more casual than I had expected since it touts itself as being a 'bistro'. However, it's got that charm one would find at Lulu's Creperie in Laguna Hills or Cafe Casse Croute in Anaheim. We decided upon the chicken curry, beef stew and the fried chicken with two types of rice. Since the chicken was served with rice, we opted for baguettes to go with the other dishes.

The food arrived pretty quickly since almost everything was precooked and on the steam table. I wish they had served it at a piping hot temperature, so maybe next time, we'll have them heat it up a bit more before bringing it out.

Chicken curry tasted just like the Asian style chicken curries I've had in Hong Kong -- good flavor, but the sauce was a little watery. However, that didn't deter me from dipping it with a piece of baguette and popping it into my mouth. Beef stew looked like its western counterpart, but there was a distinctive difference in the taste and that was in the use of star anise as a spice. Both of these dishes tasted like something my mom would cook. It had that homey effect, something which gave me a sense of comfort, like an old blanket I had grown up with, or a stuffed toy which I had shared a good part of my childhood with.

If you like fried foods, then the ga ro ti (fried chicken) will nevertheless be the piece de resistance to your meal. Three pieces of perfectly fried chicken -- crispy skin with moist flesh -- served with three pieces of fried sticky rice and two sticks of bamboo filled with purple rice. This purple rice is a result of mixing sticky rice with black sticky rice and has a slightly sweet taste to it. My favorite was the fried sticky rice triangles. A garlic soy sauce was served alongside as a dipping accompaniment which you can use for the chicken, the sticky rice or all three.

So even though French-Vietnam may be a thing of the past, the cuisine of this era long gone lingers in the food of Uyen Thy. The menu is large and extensive, French-influenced, Vietnamese, or just plain French, regardless of what you choose, you can be sure the food will be reassuringly good.

(note: MSG definitely detected, but it wasn't overpowering enough to send me into a food coma, but I was very thirsty for hours after)

Hue Rendezvous -- Come for only one thing

Hue Rendezvous
15562 Brookhurst Street, Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 775-7192

Came here with a friend of mine who is a regular. She says that although she comes here all the time, most of the items aren't stellar. In fact, she only eats a few things -- the same things -- every time she comes here.

The first thing I noticed was that the owners aren't too excited about servicing their customers. They were all huddled at a table near the register around a laptop, too preoccupied with themselves than their customers. But when my friend came in, one of them hurriedly came over and took our order.

We came here for the com ga bop, a chicken salad dish served with a side of burnt rice. The rice is from the bottom of the pot which is charred and crispy. I absolutely love this stuff. It's like the bottom of a dolsot bibibap pot. It's the crunchy bits I go back for over and over again. Here, chiffonade cabbage, onions, lettuce, cilantro with pieces of steamed chicken is eaten with nuoc mam (sweet fish sauce) with bits of this crispy rice. It is refreshing and very healthy.

Banh beo or rice cake with various toppings is a filler my friend orders. A crushed rice powder mix is poured into these little plates, steamed, and topped with toppings such as ground dried shrimp, scallions and sometimes, fried pork rind. Put a little bit of nuoc mam into the plate, scoop, eat, repeat. Each order comes with about 10 dishes. These aren't the best I've had, but I like how the layer of steamed rice cake is very thin.

We finished by sharing a bowl of bun bo hue, or, spicy beef noodles Hue style. I actually had bun bo hue yesterday so I was able to do a good comparison. In fact, I love bun bo hue so I think I know what good bun bo hue tastes like. The one here is pretty weak. The broth isn't very flavorful or rich, but the noodles are a good texture. They also don't give you an interesting plate of accompaniment, just some old bean sprouts which I didn't use, and some chiffonade lettuce, two chunks of lime. Generally a variety of herbs are given to add to the flavor of the broth -- more authentic places give you banana blossoms. I wouldn't order bun bo hue again at this place.

If you do come here, just eat the com ga bop. I've never had this dish anywhere else but here. My friend tells me another restaurant in lil Saigon has it, but it's better here.

My obsession with Vietnamese food part 1

I've decided to periodically pay homage to some of my favorite Vietnamese dishes simply because I'm totally addicted to this cuisine. I find that I must somehow satiate my desire at least twice or three times a week, so I might as well document my constant hunt for the next Vietnamese dish so you can also partake on some of these delicious findings.

I'm going to start with cha ca thang long -- dill turmeric fish. This dish is always served with a plateful of fresh greens including lettuce, mint, perilla leaves and cilantro -- the variation may change depending on where you go but you'll be sure to get some, if not all of the herbs. A little plate of peanuts and sesame seed cracker are also given as well as a plate of rice vermecelli and a small bowl of shrimp paste sauce.

I'm not sure if there is a correct way to eat it, but what I like to do is to layer the bottom of my bowl with some vermecelli, then drizzle some shrimp paste sauce on it before I break apart the various greens and top with the fish and wilted onions and dill. The shrimp paste sauce can be intimidating to the untrained palate as it is slightly pungent, and doesn't look very appetizing. However, if you can get over that, it is what binds the entire dish together.

Cha ca thang long is not a cheap dish -- generally it's around $13 although the highest I've come across has been $15. There are quite a few places which serve it up, and I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of what's available out there, but here are just a sampling of what I've found.

Ha Noi
(9082 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 Ph: 714-901-8108)
When the original owners still were in charge, this place had some of the best dill turmeric fish around. I was never partial to catfish, but somehow, the way they prepared it here was that the marinade took away any of the muddy taste which lingered on the flesh. Under new ownership, the fish no longer tastes as good, nor is it as tender. The accompanying shrimp paste sauce is also very watery tasting.

Vien Dong
(14271 Brookhurst Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92843 Ph: 714-531-8253)
One of the first places to offer up this dish, Vien Dong's version uses snapper instead of catfish. My husband really liked the version here, but I thought it was just okay. I didn't like the shrimp paste sauce here and that is essential in how the whole thing ends up tasting.

Ha Noi Avenue
(8432 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683 Ph: 714-898-8838)
The original owners of Ha Noi restaurant recently opened Ha Noi Avenue serving up dishes using their old recipes. Catfish is used here and it's as moist and tender as I remembered when I first had it at the old location. Although it is slightly greasy, the fresh dill and sliced onions are perfectly charred and caramelized because the sizzling platter always arrives splattering from the heat. The shrimp paste sauce here is about as perfect as you'll get with the right amount of savoriness to sweetness.

Canton aka Chao Ca Cho Cu
(8550 Westminster Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 Ph: 714-892-2022)
To date, this is my favorite place for cha ca thang long. I'm not 100% sure what kind of fish they use here -- could be snapper, could be sole -- but it's damn good! The fish is moist and very tender and all the accompanying sides are fresh and flavorful. This is also the most expensive one of all topping out at $14.99 and the portion isn't any bigger than at the other restaurants. The reason why this place takes first place over Ha Noi Avenue is because I am not a huge fan of catfish. Otherwise, in terms of flavor, I'd say Ha Noi Avenue is the best all around.

Pho the record -- the good, the bad and the ugly

My favorite thing to eat on a cold day is a piping hot bowl of pho, and the only place to eat pho is in lil Saigon -- mainly Westminster, but the main drag, Brookhurst, sits in between the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove. You'll find a restaurant on one side of the street with their address in one city and one across the way in another.

I've had my share of nasty pho, mediocre pho, as well as decent pho, but what I really want is a perfect bowl of pho. To me, the perfect bowl comprises of al dente noodles, broth that is so hot your mouth will burn if you tried to sip it too quickly, and fresh condiments to accompany it with. Another important aspect is the broth, which ideally should have a hearty beefy taste without being murky or greasy. I never knew it was such a difficult task to find this perfection until I went searching for it.

One of my favorite places for pho is Pho 79 (9941 Hazard Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92643. Ph: 714-531-2490). Now, don't be fooled by the other places boasting the 79 name. They are all imposters! Only the location on Hazard has the good pho. The version here is a rich, deep, broth filled with the strong aromas of star anise. My experience has been better later on in the day rather than when they first open at 8am. The broth is a lot stronger around lunch time. The only thing I dislike is the copious use of MSG at Pho 79. Be sure you have some time to wait because this place is always packed. I've had to wait for a table most often than not even during off-peak hours.

If you wish to avoid the MSG factor, try Pho 86 (10528 McFadden Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92843. Ph: 714-531-0512). You'll get a scorchingly hot bowl of pho with fresh basil, ngo gai leaves (or sawtooth herb), beansprouts and jalapenos. The broth is flavorful without being oily and has a rich finish -- not as intense as Pho 79's, but very very satisfying! For about $5 you will leave highly contented without to deal with MSG coma later!

Pho Quang Trung (10072 Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92843. Ph: 714-638-2286) is one of those places even hardcore grandmas agree has pretty decent pho when they don't feel like making it themselves. They get quite busy around lunch time so try to get there early or late.

If you're on a tight budget, you might wish to consider Hoa Binh (14472, Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92842 Ph: 714-531-3088) and Pho Vinh Ky 2 (14390 Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92842 Ph: 714-531-4965). Both are decent enough for what you pay. Hoa Binh has two daily specials each day at 50% off the regular price, while Vinh Ky has pho bo or beef pho at around $3.99 a bowl.

Pho Lu (10141 Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92843 Ph: 714-539-7979) and the sister location of Pho 86 off McFadden Ave (14576 Brookhurst Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 Ph: 714-839-4591) also have decent pho -- not too much MSG and a tasty, flavorful broth. The latter serves a perfect portion for me, not too large and they are very generous with the meat just like the McFadden location except their broth isn't serve as scorchingly hot.

I've discovered that just because a place has "pho" in its name, doesn't necessarily mean it has good pho. Sometimes, it's pretty goddamn awful. Generally, I trust my Vietnamese friends for recommendations, but mostly, it's simply by trial and error. Sometimes, I just stop at a place I've never been to and take my chances. When it's truly awful, I just don't eat it. There's nothing worse than having to eat something disgusting when there is so much good food out there. I know my mom would've slapped me silly 20 years ago had I left a bowl of anything because it didn't taste good. These days, she knows better. My motto is, "why waste your stomach space for something unpalatable? You only get 3 meals a day, make them great!"

My motto came into full effect when I was faced with inedible fare at Pho Thanh Lich (14500 Brookhurst St, Westminster, CA 92684 Ph: 714-531-5789). The broth was coated with a layer of grease and had the murkiness of a river bed when disturbed. The worst part was it tasted like offal. I passed!

Another less than desirable establishment is Pho Thang Long (9550 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 Ph: 714-839-4955), which has extremely high volume in the wee hours of the night because it's one of the few places in lil Saigon open until 3am. I'm told their pho is a hit and miss, but unfortunately for me, it was definitely a miss. Overcooked noodles were squashed into a bowl too small for the volume. Measly portions of meat shared space with overbearing noodles trying hard to garner attention, but without much luck. The ratio was a lose lose situation for the meat and flavorless broth. Very soon, the noodles soaked up all the liquid leaving them in a pile of white clumpy mess.

But pho isn't only restricted to beef pho or pho bo. Chicken pho or pho ga is also very tasty. My favorite can be found at Pho Dakao (15532 Ward St, Garden Grove, CA 92843 Ph: 714-531-2009). The chicken is freshly slaughtered each day, and poached so perfectly that even the white meat is moist and tender. For the hardcore foodie, get it with all the special ingredients such as chicken heart, liver, gizzard and intestines. I love the gizzard, but not the other stuff. You can order your pho with white or dark meat and they serve it on a separate plate with a garlic sauce for dipping.

Alternatively, pho ga at Pho Nguyen Hue (10487 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92684 Ph: 714-839-8916) is not too bad. Here, you can ask for bun (rice vermecelli) instead of pho noodles. Some restaurants won't allow you to substitute.

Eating is very subjective and regardless of what I may think, there will always be others who will beg to differ. All I can say is, if you are a fan of pho, go try it out. That's the only way you'll know if you like it!