Meowie's Foodies Foodgasms And Addictions

Pho Viet Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

Location:     73 Mulberry St., New York, NY, 10013
nr. Bayard St.
212-233-8988

Meowie’s Reviews:   **** and a half out of 5

0-1 Failed my taste buds     2-4 Satisfactory    5-7 Okay/Good    8- Almost there 9- Fantastic   10 – Perfection!

Cheap or not eats: Inexpensive to Average

Overall rating:  Food: 8    Service:   7     Ambiance: 8

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Before you order – FOODIE TERMS: What is it?

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Ban Cuon : a variation on the Chinese Dim Sum (steamed filled dumplings), where only the dough is steamed then filled. The dough is made into a ball from rice flour and water then rubbed over a cheesecloth tautly stretched over a pot of boiling water. As the steam cooks the ‘wrapper’, it is pulled off, rolled up with a minced filling of pork, shrimp, mushrooms and onions then dipped in hot sauce before being eaten. Commonly made and served by street vendors or at market stalls.

Banh Hoi Nem Chua : cooked rice noodles served with raw pork.

Banh Hoi Tom : cooked rice noodles served with lobster.

Banh Trang : rice-paper wrappers made from rice flour, water and salt. These are moistened in warm water then quickly filled to be fried, or used uncooked as wrappers for slivers of meat or fish and fresh herbs. Usually dipping sauces are provided for the diners.

Ca-Kho : raw fish.

Ca Ran Chua Ngot : a special main dish of quickly fried whole fish served with a delicate sweet and sour sauce touched lightly with chilies and onions, nuoc mam, vinegar, and sugar. The stir-fried slivered tiger lily buds, mushrooms and scallions form the garnish.

Cha Gio : the general name for wrapped tidbits of fish, seafood, vegetables, which are eaten as is after being dipped in various sauces or which may be deep-fried in their wrappers (as when using rice-paper wrappers). The finger-sized rolls may be served as appetizers or as art of a meal.

Hu-Tien : a borth with noodles often served as a hot satisfying breakfast dish.

Mang Tay Nau Cua : soup based on chicken stock with crab meat and asparagus and mushroom pieces. The soup is thickened with cornstarch and served garnished with slivers of scallions and crumbled hard egg yolk.

Micha Trong Kroeuny : strips of plaice fillets dusted with rice flour and briefly browned in fat then lightly cooked in a spicy sauce of garlic, scallions, chilies, and Nuoc Mam.

Mien Ga : light, flavorful chicken broth (fat-free), served with cellophane noodles and thinly slivered scallions to garnish.

Mut : a sticky sweet candy that can be prepared from fruits, vegetables, or seeds cooked in syrup until translucent.

Nonhchon : the short grain rice preferred by the South Vietnamese.

Nems : deep-fried pastry-wrapped delicacies very similar to Chinese egg rolls and eaten after being dipped into Nuoc Man or Nuoc Cham.

Nuoc Cham : to the basic Nuoc Mam the cook adds chilies, black pepper, cayenne, scallions, onions, garlic to taste in order to produce a fiery hot sauce, Nuoc Cham to the diner’s liking.

Nuoc Leo : a peanut dipping sauce made by mixing Nuoc Mam with chicken broth and Hoisin Sauce then garnishing with slivers of chilies, garlic and crushed roasted peanuts.

Nuoc Mam : the single most important sauce of Vietnamese cuisine. It is prepared (mostly commercially) by layering fish and salt in barrels and allowing them to ferment. The first liquid that oozes off naturally is considered to be of high quality. The liquid that results after pressing the fermented mixture is stronger in color, flavor and odor and is considered to be of lower quality. This sauce is as common as salt and pepper is to the western table. No dish is complete without at least a little Nuoc Mam, but each dier adds more, according to taste.

Pho : the only Vietnamese dish that is served in individual portions. All other dishes are served in dishes to be shared at the table. Lengthy cooking and careful seasoning produces the beef or chicken broth that is poured over cooked noodles. The shredded meat of your choice is arranged on top. Each diner adds fresh green herbs, garlic and chilies. Sauces are served in tiny side dishes for dipping meat slivers with chopsticks. A porcelain soup spoon may be used to aid the delivery of slippery noodles to the mouth.

Tamthom : the long grain white rice preferred by the North Vietnamese.

Thit-Kho : pork. The preferred meat, eaten frequently by the upper class, often by the middle class, and almost never by the poorer class.

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For those who had some vietnamese cravings every now and then and happened to be in Chinatown in New York City, here’s my review of one of the restaurants there. Actually this is my first review so good luck to me!

The location is somewhat in the heart of china town, almost at the corner of Mulberry and Bayard. You can just google map it or if you are taking the subway which is easier, try hopstop.com.

After wandering around lower manhattan and very hungry, I was actually strucked by the welcoming entrance of the restaurant when my belly was starting to complain and I had no clue where to go.  And so I found this Vietnamese place ( I was craving for vietnamese spring rolls!) and took the risk of checking it out even if I don’t know the place yet.  For sure this restaurant has been reviewed over the net, I actually checked and there is just a few, so am adding in my two cents then.

Once you get in, a waiter will assist you and ask you where you prefer to sit, and I asked him if its okay if I want to sit closer by the entrance door so I can feel the breeze from outside (it was quite nice that day) and so he kindly prepared the table for me. I checked the table and the utensils are so far nice and clean, no leftover stuff sticking in it. Eeeww, gross if there is. lol. I would’ve complained if I saw something. But thankfully there isn’t so it’s okay. Now let’s proceed.

It actually took me more than 10 minutes because I don’t know what am going to eat! First of all, I mentioned that I was craving vietnamese rolls right? So yeah, that came in first into my mind obviously and then I said to myself– that is not enough for me to sustain for the whole day, so I opted to take another extra meal that comes with something a little bit heavy on the side. Took about ten minutes of waiting time for my appetizer to arrive.

So I ordered this:

Cac Mon An Choi (appetizers) – Vietnamese Spring Rolls for $4.50

– it comes with 4 rolls,  fresh cilantro,fresh cucumbers and some green leafy vegetable that looks like a romaine lettuce or maybe it was a lettuce, which am sorry I don’t know the name but I will ask them again when I visit there, and some dipping sauce.  And oh my goodness!  It was soooo goooodd! I actually placed this little suckers inside the leafy vegies, wrapping them nice and tight, and then dipping them into the sauce and squirted some hoisen sauce that is located in one of the condiments placed on each table. The meat inside the rolls are very tasty and the rice paper itself are very crunchy in every bite you take.

And yes, it can actually make your belly full by just ordering this appetizer.  Which in my case..I had the big eyes for the other meal that I ordered that I just devoured every piece of these rolls.  This is really good especially when you’re waiting for the other one to arrive. But it actually does not matter because they make it too fast right after they bring the appetizers (unless you tell them to do so).

This is what I ordered for the main dish: You can also check out their MENU

No. 12 on the Menu – Bun Nem Nuong (Grilled Pork Hash on Vermicelli and some shredded vegies on the side) for $6.00

The porkchops are evenly cooked and not dry and very tender,  but in order for you to enjoy this meal is to soak the vermicelli in the extra sauce that they provided (also the same sauce that they give you with the spring rolls) or put some hoisin sauce on top and mix it with the rest of the vegies. Well, that’s according to my opinion, some people might just eat it as it is.  When I ate this I put the porkchops on the side while the vermicelli and the rest of the vegies are mixed together, some people don’t do this either they prefer to eat the meal accordingly. Either way it both works the same time, there are no specific rules anyway. The portions are huge by the way so if you have a case of big eyes this is definitely not for you because you can even share it with a friend. For a total price of  $10.50 plus taxes and tips, after you leave the place, you have a very happy belly and you can take a stroll around china town for more walking and even reach all the way to Little Italy and Union Square!

The service is okay, the waiter forgets to check you once in awhile, actually they never check until you are done and you have to call them to your table.  The ambiance is okay too, comfy and inviting. So far the people around me who eats there looks somewhat satisfied. Overall, I can say I can bring some friends and loved ones there if they want some vietnamese food.  I know there are a lot of restaurants there too..which I’m am going to try out pretty soon, so watch out for more restaurant reviews! wooot am excited!

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