Vietnamese - Da Vang and Central King Egg Roll

Last Tuesday, we met some friends for dinner at Da Vang. We probably frequent Da Vang more than any other Vietnamese restaurant in the Valley. It's definitely not the nicest looking place, but the food is excellent and the prices are extremely reasonable.

Here's what we had:

Grilled pork w/ egg roll over rice noodles

Beef pho

The next day, Patty was craving for pho again. Little Saigon (another favorite) and Da Vang are both a bit of a hike for us, so I did some research online and found a place near us that had Vietnamese food - Central King Eggroll. For me (and I'm guessing others), the name is a bit misleading, as it sounds more like a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant does serve some Chinese food, although the menu is primary Vietnamese dishes.

Here are two pictures of the restaurant:

Here's what we ate:

Grilled lemongrass chicken - I thought this came over rice (per the menu description), but as you can see, it came served over rice noodles. It was good though.

Beef pho - I thought this was a great bowl of pho! The sliced beef was fresh and tender, the noodles weren't mushy (from overcooking) and the broth was clear and complex (with noticeable hints of star anise and cinnamon). If you compare the picture above, to the one from Da Vang, you'll also notice that there is no oil on the surface of the broth (there shouldn't be any!).

The ethnic dining options in the far West Valley are pretty limited, so I'm glad we discovered Central King Egg Roll! It's definitely going into our dining "rotation". FYI - other restaurants in the rotation include India Garden (Indian), Sala Thai, Tomo (Japanese), and AJK Chinese.


Places mentioned:

Da Vang
4538 N 19th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85015

Central King Egg Roll
13530 West Van Buren Street
Goodyear, AZ 85338

Juice House Boba

For dinner yesterday, we tried Juice House Boba. We've been for drinks before, but never for food. The shop is located at the southwest corner of 35th Ave. and Peoria (in the same plaza as Fry's, but facing 35th Ave.).

Here's a shot of the exterior:

We ordered the following:

• durian smoothie w/ boba ($3.00)
  
• spring rolls (three for $3.49)
• pho tai nam bo vien ($5.95)
• grilled pork banh mi ($2.99)
  

First up was the durian smoothie:
The smoothie was good, but I ordered the boba by mistake...

The spring rolls were excellent - among the best we've had in the area. The hoisin peanut dipping sauce served w/ the rolls was fantastic.

We had somewhat mixed opinions on the pho. Patty thought the noodles were a bit too hard and that the broth lacked "depth". I thought it was a decent bowl of pho - the broth was a bit salty for me.

The banh mi was "ok". The sandwich fillings were quite good, but the bread was mediocre (it reminded of the white bread at Subway). The banh mi (served on a crusty baguette) @ Pho Avina are superior.

Overall, Juice House Boba wasn't bad (it's definitely not bad for a very filling, ~$17 meal). It's a nice stop for drinks and an occasional bite to eat.


Places mentioned:

Juice House Boba
10410 N. 35th Ave, Suite #12
Phoenix, AZ 85051

Patty is back!

Patty came back home last Monday night.

Here was her first meal back in the States:

While we were waiting for Patty's luggage at the airport, I asked her what she wanted to eat and she suggested In-N-Out. That's exactly what I wanted as well!

I took Thursday and Friday off this week. We've been pretty much glued to the TV watching the Olympics every day.

For lunch on Friday, we went to Sakana Sushi (Glendale location). We've been going to Sakana for years. They have consistent food and are very generous with their slices of fish (the slices of fish for nigiri and sashimi are maybe 50% larger than most places).

We ordered an Agedashi Tofu ($4.99) and Sakana Special (served w/ miso soup and salad; $9.99). We added fried rice to the lunch for an additional $1.99. The soup and salad came out first, followed by the fried rice. The fried rice wasn't so good - kind of tasteless and mushy.

Next up was the Agedashi Tofu. This item was good although I prefer Kampai's version.

After a few minutes wait, the sushi came out. Here's a pic:

See the monster-sized slices of fish?!? This is nice because we can actually share one piece of nigiri (w/ each of us having one bite).

We were sooooo stuffed after this lunch!

This morning, I had my monthly Washington Street Foundation event. This month's event was our annual community service activity at St. Mary's Food Bank (St. Mary's is the world's first food bank - opening in 1967). We boxed up "Emergency Food Boxes", which are distributed free of charge to those in need. Here are some pics:

For dinner tonight, we went to Davang - one of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants. We ordered the following:

• spring rolls (two for ~$2.75)
• lemongrass chicken (~$6.95)
• salt and pepper shrimp (~$6.95)
  

Here are the pics:

The spring rolls were good. The rice paper wrappers on them were still warm, meaning they were freshly made.

The lemongrass chicken was good, although I prefer Little's Saigon's version of this dish.

The salt and pepper shrimp was fantastic! I counted 15 large head-on shrimp. A serious bargain for only $6.95.

Including tax, our meal came out to only $16.75! (and we had leftovers)


Places mentioned:

In-N-Out
various locations

Sakana
20250 N. 59th Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85308

Davang Coffee Shop
4538 N 19th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85015

Lunch @ Pho Avina

Had lunch at Pho Avina yesterday w/ a few of my co-workers.

I had a grilled pork banh mi ($3.50) and a "Three Color Sweet Beans" dessert (red beans, mung beans, and agar jelly with coconut milk; $2.99). Here are the pics:

Both were excellent! I love the banh mi at Pho Avina. The bread is great (~9 inch baguette), the veggies are fresh (daikon, carrots, cilantro, and jalapenos), and the meat is full of flavor.


Previous posts about Pho Avina: 1, 2

Places mentioned:

Pho Avina
4920 W. Thunderbird Rd, Suite 110
Glendale, AZ 85306

Pholicious

On our way home tonight, we drove by the new Lee-Lee to see if it was open yet (it wasn't). I think I read somewhere that it will be open tomorrow (April 24). I remembered reading that there was a new Vietnamese restaurant just across the street so we decided to have that for dinner.

Pholicious is in a new strip mall on the northwest corner of 75th Avenue and Cactus Rd. The dining room is simple, nice, and clean. We ordered Spring Rolls ($3.95), Pho Tai ($6.75), and Shrimp, Grilled Pork, and Egg Roll on rice vermicelli ($6.95)

Sorry - no camera, so no pictures.

The spring rolls were very good. Both of us thought they were quite large compared to the springs rolls at other Vietnamese restaurants.

The pho tai was great. It was one of the better bowls of pho I've had.

The broth was hot, clear, full of flavor, and not oily. The beef was tender and the noodles weren't too soft. It was served with a plateful of fresh basil, bean sprouts, and a few lime wedges and jalapenos slices.

The shrimp and grilled pork w/ rice vermicelli was also good.

It's a great addition to the West Valley. We'll be back!

Places mentioned:

Pholicious
7582 W. Cactus Rd
Peoria, AZ 85381

Westgate a failure?

We were lazy tonight and decided to go to Little Saigon for dinner. Not much to say...it was great, as always.

After dinner, I suggested going to Westgate City Center for an after-dinner walk. Patty commented/complained that there is "nothing there", but I decided to go there anyways.

In my opinion, this place seems like a complete retail failure. I understand it's only partially complete but what's currently there isn't at all interesting. If there isn't a sporting event or concert (at Jobing.com Arena or University of Phoenix Stadium), this place is a ghost town. Except for Yard House, I have no idea how the current restaurants and retail stores are surviving.

- minimal people walking around
- retail stores - pretty much empty
- Coffee Plantation - completely empty
- AMC Theaters - looked dead inside and nobody outside

"Entertainment Destination"? We'll see...

Places mentioned:

Little Saigon
7016 N. 57th Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85301

Cajun Seafood Corner and The Street

The Thursday after Christmas we met up w/ a bunch of friends for dinner at the Cajun Seafood Corner. This was the first time there for all of all us. It's quite an interesting place. As the name implies, the restaurant specializes in Cajun food (jambalaya, crawfish, etc.), but also offers a full Vietnamese menu (as the owners are Vietnamese). We had a few things from both menus.

Here's what I can remember eating:

• Fried prawns (Vietnamese style)
• Snails in coconut broth (Vietnamese)
• Shaken Beef (Vietnamese)
  
• Fried rice
• Fish (catfish) and chips
  
• Catfish po'boy
  
• Chicken wings
• Boiled shrimp
• Jambalaya
  

I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was very good. My favorite was the fried prawns. Sorry - no pictures of the food.

After dinner, a few of us went to The Street (which is just up the street from Cajun Seafood Corner) for boba drinks. I had a red bean smoothie and Patty had a green milk tea w/ boba. Both drinks were quite good.

Too bad we live on the opposite side of town from these places...


Places mentioned:
Cajun Seafood Corner
2051 S. Dobson Rd. Suite #18
Mesa, AZ 85202
(SE corner of Dobson/Baseline)

The Street
1116 S. Dobson Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85249
NW corner of Dobson/Southern)

Mexican (Mariscos Playa Hermosa), Vietnamese (Pho Avina), and Italian (Andrea Bocelli)

Back to some food!

Two Friday ago, I had a bit of a cultural world tour.

For lunch, I met up w/ Jay at Mariscos Playa Hermosa. I ordered a breaded fish platter and Jay got camarones culichi (shrimp in a green tomatillo sauce).

Before our dishes arrived, our server brought us each a complimentary appetizer (in addition to a basket of tortilla chips). The appetizer was a salmon ceviche on top of a large tortilla chip. It was very tasty - here's a pic:

My fish platter was awesome. (I think I've ordered this on my two previous visits to MPH.) It consisted of a large breaded fillet of fish, rice, beans, and warm tortillas. Here's a somewhat dark picture:

I also tried a bit of Jay dish. It was also very good...

For dinner, Patty and I went to one of our favorites, Pho Avina. We had bun rieu (crabmeat stew) and rice vermicelli w/ salad (w/ grilled pork and eggroll). As usual, everything was excellent. Here are the pics:



After dinner, we went to the Andrea Bocelli concert at the Jobing.com arena. Even though I had ordered tickets the first day they went sale, our seats were in the second row...from the top! (in the cheapest price level available - $75) BTW, I hate Ticketmaster! Here's a breakdown of the ticket fees:

Face value of tickets: $75 x 2 = $150.00
Facility charge: 10.30
Convenience charge: 22.00
Order processing: 4.05
-----------------------------------------
Total: $186.35

24% of the ticket prices in additional fees!!!

The seating in the arena is terrible. Both Patty and I are pretty small (I'm 5'7" and she's 5'5"), but we both had no forward legroom. Without stretching our legs at all, our toes touched the seats in the forward row. I'm guessing when they designed the place, they tried to maximize profits by squeezing in as many seats as possible. Looking around the arena, I noticed that the spacing is consistent throughout the arena. It was very uncomfortable!!!

On to the concert...roughly a third of the selections were operatic (the remaining quarter consisted of Bocelli's more "poppy/crossover" stuff that I prefer). It was still a great concert though. It would have been even better if our program hadn't "mysteriously" disappeared. During the intermission, I left our program in between our seats. When we returned, it was gone! I noticed that our neighbors now had two programs...hm...what a coincidence?!? I waited and waited to see if they would return our program...but no luck. I was very tempted to ask them if I could "borrow" one of their programs. Whoever you were sitting in Section 218, Row G, Seats 6 and 7...


Places mentioned:
Mariscos Playa Hermosa
1605 E. Garfield St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006

Pho Avina
4920 W. Thunderbird Rd, Suite 110
Glendale, AZ 85306

Santa, holiday lights, and Little Saigon

Forgot to post this picture earlier...

We were driving behind Santa and his sleigh (or carriage) last weekend!

Yesterday night we went to Little Saigon for dinner. On our way there, we made a few stops to check out some holiday light displays.

Here are a few pics from an impressive display (@ 5309 W. Barbara Ave., Glendale, AZ):

It's quite a setup. There are lights galore (some even timed to the music) and a bunch of animated objects.

BTW, AZCentral.com has a great guide (w/ handy printable maps) to holiday lights around the Valley. Find it here.

On to Little Saigon...
This was our third visit there. We ordered a Banh Xeo and Pho Tai.

Like the last time we had it, the Banh Xeo was very good. It consisted of two large crepes filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts, served with fish sauce and a plate of fresh herbs and veggies.

This was the first time that we've had pho tai at Little Saigon. The broth was a bit too oily and tasted kind of flat - I couldn't taste any of the typical spices. It tasted pretty much like beef broth. Overall, it still wasn't bad. The beef was tender, the noodles had the right consistency, and the herbs were fresh.

Brain dump

Wow - it's been over a week since my last blog entry! I'll "blame" it on the following:

• being sick (that's a pretty good excuse right?!?)
• The History Channel - for sucking me into a re-broadcast of the miniseries "Band of Brothers" (it originally aired on HBO in 2001 but this was my first time watching it)
• and most of all...good old PROCRASTINATION! =)

Here's a brain dump...

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About a week ago, Patty and I went to Little Saigon for dinner. It was our second time there. We ordered Spring Rolls, Banh Xeo, and Lemongrass Chicken.

The spring rolls were fantastic. They were freshly made and served with a delicious peanut/hoisin sauce (I also tasted a hint of coconut in the sauce which made it even better).

Next up was the Banh Xeo. When the server (the owner) first dropped off this dish, I immediately wondered if she had mistakenly heard that I wanted two orders. Most places serve one banh xeo but Little Saigon serves two per order. It was really good - much better than the one I had at Noodles Ranch a few weeks ago (see my Noodles Ranch posting here). Here's a pic (FYI - this is what Banh Xeo should look like):

The Lemongrass Chicken was also great. We first tried this dish on our last visit and were blown away by the fantastic flavors.

The rice (Jasmine rice) was also good.

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I made halibut for the first time last week. I found this recipe for grilled halibut w/ a butter/lime/cilantro/garlic sauce. Although I overcooked the fish a tiny bit (oops!), it turned out pretty good - the sauce was really tasty.

This past weekend, I made french toast for the first time (using this recipe). I'd say it was a success for my first time. Here's a pic:

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I'd been reading many good things about Hana Japanese Eatery, a place that opened a few months ago in mid-town Phoenix. Patty and I went there for dinner last Friday.

We ordered:
- seaweed salad
- salmon nigiri
- Caterpillar roll
- Hana Pecha roll (shrimp tempura, crab, asparagus)

Sorry, no pictures - we sat at the sushi bar and I felt strange about taking pictures in front of the sushi chef/owner.

We were given a complimentary "poke chip" appetizer. Basically, some poke on top of a chip. It was good, although I think it would be better if they made the chips smaller.

The seaweed salad was good, though I thought it was a bit expensive for what you got.

The nigiri and rolls were all good. The fish tasted (and looked) very fresh.

Patty and I had the same opinion - everything was good but we weren't particularly "wowed" by anything.

For dessert, we went to Mary Coyle's, a classic ice cream shop right across the street from Hana.

We ordered a cup of chicken noodle soup (for my cold) and a brownie sundae. I forgot to take pictures this time. Both items were good.

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Yesterday I met up w/ Matt and Hyung-Joo for lunch. Matt was in town (he lives and works in Taiwan) and I hadn't seen him since May of last year.

We went to delux, a place I've been to many times before. In my opinion, they have the best hamburger in Phoenix.

Matt and I both ordered the delux Burger. Hyung-Joo had a fish sandwich. We got a basket of mixed fries (regular and sweet potato) to share. For drinks, we all had root beer (on tap).

The regular fries were pretty good but I thought the sweet potato fries were a bit soggy (they are usually very crispy). Here's a pic:

The burger was great, as usual. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the burger. I didn't try it but Hyung-Joo and Matt said that the fish sandwich was really good.

We met up again for dinner (w/ Patty this time) at Bravi, a fast-casual Italian restaurant. Patty and I have been to Bravi many times before - it's one of our "go-to" places for good, reliable, and reasonably priced Italian food.

We ordered the following to share:

• Sweet Gorgonzola and Pear Salad w/ Candied Pecans
• Spaghetti w/ Marinara Sauce
• Lasagna al Forno
• Italian Sausage and Carmelized Onion Pizza
  

Everything was great, as usual. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the food (must be getting old...).

It was great to see you guys! It's always nice "re-connecting" with friends that you haven't seen in a while.

Hyung Joo - I'm still cracking up from "What's the biggest Japanese holiday?"
Matt - see you again in a few weeks! (Patty and I will be going to Taiwan next month)

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I know, probably a mess to read and follow but at least I'm caught up! WOO HOO!

Noodles Ranch

Uh oh - four days behind! Time to catch up!!!

On Monday, my Cousin Poly was in town. I had originally planned to take him to Zinc Bistro for dinner, but he had a craving for some Vietnamese food, so I took him to Noodles Ranch instead. It has been a few years since I've been there and I remembered that it was pretty decent. I would have taken him to Pho Avina or Da Vang, but Noodles Ranch was much closer.

We ordered a Green Papaya Salad and Banh Xeo to share and a Pho Tai for each of us.

The Green Papaya Salad came first. The taste of the salad was somewhat off, or flat. I think it was because the papaya was too ripe, making it not as crispy as it should have been.

Next up was the Banh Xeo. It looked very different from what I'm used to. The taste was ok but the lettuce leaves that came with the dish were way too small to wrap the pancake.

The Pho Tai was pretty good. I would have like the broth itself to have been much hotter, but the flavor was good. Sorry for the dark picture...

I would say that overall, the food was mediocre. If I were in the neighborhood, then I might come again, but for now, I'll stick with Pho Avina, Little Saigon, and Davang.

For dessert, I took my cousin to Arlecchino Gelateria to try Phoenix's "best" gelato. I had a scoop of nocchiola (hazelnut) and peach and Poly had scoops of coconut, Cortina (almond w/ lingonberry), and chocolate. Everything was fantastic, as usual. For our "second" round, we both tried a scoop of Valentino (pomegranate w/ rose and lavender), a flavor that I've never seen before at the shop. This one tasted quite strange to me. Poly mentioned that it tasted like "marinara sauce". Oh well, it definitely wasn't my favorite flavor of gelato. Maybe it's an acquired taste! =)

Trying to escape the heat

Yesterday (Saturday), we decided to take a day trip up to Prescott.

Purposes of the trip:

1. Try to escape the heat in Phoenix (forecast of 110 degrees for the day)
   
2. Go somewhere we've never been to before
3. Check out the area - Prescott's real estate market has been booming the past few years (wanted to see why)
4. Do something other than seeing a movie or going to the mall
   

We arrived in Prescott at around noon.

The temperature was around 95 degrees. It was still pretty warm but tolerable enough to be walking around outside. For lunch we went to the Prescott Brewing Company, the "Most Awarded Brewery in Arizona". Patty ordered the "Bordello Bowtie" and I had a half order of the Fish & Chips. We also ordered two beers - a "Prescott Pale Ale" and a "Bumbleberry Ale". The pale ale was pretty good. The Bumbleberry Ale tasted a bit strange. I regretted not trying the "Lodgepole Light" - the brewery's winningest beer (including a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival). Both dishes were pretty good. Sorry no pictures - they turned out a bit too dark. The pasta was pretty tasty, although it was a bit too salty. The fish was good - crispy beer-battered fish...yum. The chips (fried potato wedges) were a bit over salted. I think the over salting might be a strategy to get people to drink more!

After lunch we walked around the downtown/"Whiskey Row" area. There was an art festival - "Fair on the Square", which surrounded the Yavapai County Court House.




It was nice being able to walk outside in the sunshine (something you can't do for an extended amount of time in Phoenix...unless you enjoy being tortured). While we were enjoying a caramel apple, Patty spotted this large butterfly:


I thought this plaque was funny:


Around 3pm, it started raining so we ducked into the Hassayampa Inn to wait for the rain to subside. After twenty minutes or so, the rain died down a bit and we decided to head back to Phoenix.

For dinner (back in Phoenix), we went to Pho Avina. Patty and I have been there many times before. It's one of the better Vietnamese places in town. We had a Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef soup) and grilled beef w/ rice vermicelli, salad, and egg roll. Both were good (as usual).