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I must say that I absolutely love going to Eden Center for lunch. It's such an adventure and I can do it every day, or almost every day. Today I visited the last restaurant that I haven't tried in Saigon East. It's a place called Nha Trang, and it's listed as a cafe under Eden's website. The menu sure doesn't look like a cafe, but they do cater to drinkers. I was greeted by a teenager and given a menu. She is Vietnamese but speaks perfect English (unfortunately she wasn't very helpful, as explained below). I was intrigued by the last page of the menu (attached) notwithstanding the seemingly hefty pricing. I wanted to try the fried crabs so I asked if they were available. The waitress informs me that she has to check with her grandma. She comes back and says no crabs. So I asked if there are clams available. She checks with grandma and they confirm there are clams. So I order a bun bo hue and some clams. My waitress tells me that clams are usually ordered by people who come to drink at night, not wondering lawyers on their lunch break. So a little later, her father comes by to ask how would I like the clams. I'm a little confused, because I didn't notice they have two clam dishes - a hot pot (#72), and fresh clams (#75) which doesn't specify how they're cooked. I was thinking clams with black bean sauce or grilled clams like the ones I had at Seaside Crab House. He suggested that I try the steamed clams. I said whatever, just bring it on. There was also some confusion as to whether I wanted bun bo hue or clams. I said both. First my waitress brings me a bowl of noodles which has a clear broth and fish in it. I point it out to her that's not bun bo hue, and she looks at me and says it is in fact bun bo hue. Then she changes her mind, and takes the bowl to another table. She then brings me the bun bo hue but not the herbs. I was kind of disappointed but then she did bring out the herbs. Ultimately she got things right and it was a good bowl of noodle soup. Then they set up the clams. Apparently it's cooked table side. The clams and broth came out cold, but it was set on a burner and fired up while I ate my noodles. The clams are huge - not little necks like I thought they would be. I think there were 16 to 20 clams in that hot pot. There were two sauces, a fish sauce/hot sauce concoction and a bowl of salt/pepper with some liquid. The weirdest thing is that after I ate the clams, I poured some stock into a bowl with hot sauce and it was sweet! I did enjoy the clams, which was steamed with lots of herbs, which I think included lemongrass and ginger. The place was pretty crowded for weekday lunch. They accept credit cards.
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I stopped going to Eden Center on a daily basis for lunch because the trips were putting too many miles on my leased car (13 miles round trip). Because it's been at least a month since I last went, I walked around to see what's new. I think there are 2 new joints just in Saigon East (the section in btwn the 2 grocery stores). Bay Lo is no more. And in place of H2O is Hoa Vien Quan. Hoa Vien Quan is brightly lit, shiny, and clean. The menu is one laminated page but with a ton of stuff that's not very well organized - several items don't belong under the headings. I tried their cha gio (spring rolls) and banh xeo. Both are excellent, especially because they give you the proper accompaniments. The spring rolls came with 2 pieces of lettuce, basil and pickled carrots. The banh xeo came with 4 pieces of lettuce, lots of herbs, and pickled carrots. I wrapped everything in lettuce and dipped in their fish sauce. I would have to go back to Eden to try more of their food (as I said, big menu).
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Tucked away in the corner is this small restaurant (which accepts credits cards) that serves some unique stuff (various offal, hot pots, seafood, etc.), although it is not clear what the prices are. Interested people must inquire, although they don't seem to speak much English. I ordered some spring rolls and bun cha hanoi (it's #8 on their menu, called bun cha bay lo). Bun cha hanoi are grilled pork, pork patties, and fish served in a bowl of hot fish sauce, accompanied by sides of herbs and rice noodles. One can dip the noodles and herbs in the bowl of fish sauce and eat it with some of the meat, or you can dump some noodles and herbs in another bowl, spoon some fish sauce and meat on top of the noodles/herbs and eat it. I did the latter. You are eating the herbs more or less raw since the fish sauce isn't hot enough like a bowl of pho to cook the herbs. This is certainly a different experience. With the spring rolls, it was $12 (after tax but no tip).
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A visit to Nhu Lan, which is hidden among the innards of the shopping center revealed a just okay banh mi, in my opinion. It was warm, and the pate was solid. But I don't get why all these places use the same crappy sub rolls from the school cafeteria. They're way too wide and you end up having to move the filling around or take multiple bites across to get at at all the flavors. Narrower, more caramelized bread is the way to go. Given how large a proportion of the sandwich is bread, it should be taken more into consideration. -
I visited Vy Bistro for the second time today (apparently i didn't post about my first visit). This is one of the newer, more fashionable restaurants in Eden Center. As of today, they offer 20% off all lunches served Mon-Fri between 10-3. I had #16, Thai shrimp and squid salad, and #31, bun rieu. Pictures of both items are on their website menu but I didn't get any shrimp chips. The salad is sweet and spicy, with lots of poached shrimp and squid. Just in case it wasn't spicy enough, I was directed to the hot sauces on the table. They were plenty spicy for me. The bun rieu was just okay.
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From 1000yregg posts. I tried their banh cuon #1, which is a combo of shrimp filled, pork filled, fried onion filled, and plain rice noodle, served with some sort of fried bread (which I guess is fried shrimp cake), sprouts, and bologna-like cold cut. The fish sauce is in a big jar which you pour into a small bowl. I mixed my hot sauce in there for a sweet and spicy dip. These aren't bad but I'm still not a fan. I preferred the shrimp cakes here over the ones at Banh Cuon Saigon. Other than banh cuon, they don't have much else. There is noodle soup with conch, noodle soup with shrimp, and a few rice dishes. I opted for the noodle soup with shrimp. The broth is a tomato based broth. Many Vietnamnese noodle soups incorporate tomatos but this is the first that has a very heavy tomato paste flavor. I wasn't a fan but that's just my personal aversion.
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This cash only joint specializes in banh cuon, which is a rice noodle roll similar to the noodle crepe you'd get at dim sum. Where the Chinese serves it with normal sized shrimp, ground beef, or you tiao, these came filled with tiny tiny shrimp, or ground pork. I'm not sure what the fried stuff is in the picture, and there's some sort of fish/shrimp/fake meat/who knows what cake there as well. I dipped everything in a mixture of fish sauce and hot sauce, and still wasn't all that enthused. My other attempt at banh cuon was at Saigon Cafe in the shopping center across Wilson from Eden Center and I wasn't any happier there. I also ordered a bowl of bun rieu - a crab paste with tomato noodle soup. I'm getting used to all the herbs they give you - I dump cilantro, mint, bean sprouts, basil, and whatever they give me all in the soup. I taste the soup but I don't slurp down the whole salt-laden bowl, in an attempt to keep my blood pressure from killing me. My opinion is that the bun rieu at Present is better. While the menu isn't huge, it's got a little more stuff than other holes in the wall and the young ladies working there speak English.
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