Bolsaa Vietnamese Restaurant

*** Update, Bolsaa has since closed. And is now the Crab Hut.

Yep, you read that right; it's Bolsaa with 2  "aa's" at the end. Not to be confused with Bolsa on Mira Mesa Boulevard, though I've been told that there is a connection. This Bolsaa is located in a strip mall along with several other restaurants on Convoy St.

About a year and a half ago, I had a decent bowl of Pho' Ga (Chicken Rice Noodle Soup) at Bolsaa, and then had forgotten all about the place. Recently, on a trip to Balboa Tofu House I saw the Bolsaa sign and made a mental note to revisit Bolsaa. And so here I was......

The interior of Bolsaa is alot larger then the tiny storefront would indicate, and is quite clean. There's also the requisite bar area, that almost all Vietnamese Restaurants seem to have for the express purpose of hiding the cash register.

The restaurant also never seems to be full, no matter what time of day I've visited.

On this trip I ordered the typical Pho' Bo(Beef Noodles Soup) Combination(Rare Steak, Brisket, Flank, Tendon, and Tripe) Extra Large($5.75), compared to the Combination Large($5.25), or just the Combination ($4.75), for some reason I see some humor in this, though I can't quite understand why. As is the norm, the garnishes arrived first:

I thought the amount of Basil was perfect for my tastes, though the bean sprouts were lacking. What to do about the lemon wedge??????

The large bowl of Pho' arrived steaming hot to the table.

The rare steak was perfect, thinly sliced, and soft. The rest of the meat items didn't fare so well, most were dry and tough, and the amount of tripe was negligible. The noodles weren't in a solid clump on the bottom and were about as good as they could possibly be, not mushy, and not too chewy. The broth was on the light side, and very generic. The oil level was low, and the only very distinctive trait I could really get a handle on was how "salty" it was. It got to the point where I finished the noodles, but couldn't bring myself to finish up the broth. Who knows, could be a glitch, but man was it salty.

On a recent morning I did manage to make another visit to Bolsaa, and this time decided on a change of pace and ordered the Chicken with Lemon Grass and Hot Pepper($6.95). The dish was delivered on two plates, first, a really "healthy"(or depending how you view carbs, unhealthy) portion of rice:

Then the good size portion of chicken:

The dark meat chicken had been cut into cubes then stir fried with onions. The sauce had a slight sweet-soy/fish sauce taste. There was almost no spiciness or heat, and the dish was on the oily side (even for me....). I honestly felt that I could do better at home. Pass on this one.....

I'll probably visit Bolsaa again in the (maybe not so near) future. Though I'll probably have the Pho' Ga, or check out the Pho' Bo, just to see if the bowl I had was a glitch.

Some Notes: I've been to Bolsaa four times over the years, and it's always been a pretty quiet, not too crowded restaurant. With current construction in the mall, the parking spaces are always being reconfigured, and during certain hours parking is at a premium. The menu at Bolsaa in not as large as other Vietnamese restaurants; of course it's all relative if you consider 120+ items to be a smaller selection. So at least Vietnamese Menu Paralysis won't take over!

Bolsaa Vietnamese Cuisine
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 9am - 10pm

If I can get my "act" together, I'll probably do my Pho' Retrospective post some time next week.

Comments

[mizducky]

Hi, Kirk--I'm up in that area for lunch every Tuesday, usually at either Convoy Noodle House or Pho "T" Cali, so I'll give Bolsaa a try too, just for comparison's sake.

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

The pho looks pretty good. Too bad the flank was dry and the tendon nonexistent.

[Jean]

Ugh! Now I'm in the mood for some pho! I just made a huge batch last week with beef shank and tendons, and it turned out pretty good (I finally got my clear broth). Today, I'll probably end up at our local Korean and Vietnamese grocery store to buy more ingredients to make more pho.

Kirk, your pictures always makes me salivate.

[SK]

I usually give places that seem promising at least two chances, but I was really annoyed with Bolsaa the one time I went-- I ordered a noodle soup with shrimp and crab, and received a bowl of soup filled with big hot-pink chunks of immitation Krab. Not tasty, and I wouldn't have ordered it if the menu had been forthright about the not-crab. That said the soup broth was not bad.

[Lynnea]

I have to say, the photo of the garnishes is just lovely. I just wanted to reach out and start chomping on some of those basil leaves.

And I usually use lime or lemon wedges to change the flavor of Pho broth half way through eating it. The citrus brightens the flavor so much. Probably not traditional, but I like it = )

[Kirk]

Hi mizducky - Let me know what you think.

Hi Reid - The rare steak was very good, though the rest of the meat wasn't.

Hi Jean - Congrads on your breakthrough! Maybe someday, I'll try to make Pho' at home myself.

Hi SK - After being burned by "Krab" myself, I usually assume the worst, especially if the price is kind of low! Sometimes, even when you ask, they'll tell you it's crab, when it's Krab!

Hi Lynnea - I'm kind of used to lime with my Pho', so lemon always throws me off. Call me a stick in the mud if you will.....

[Cathy]

Hi Kirk...we got home from Bolsaa on Wednesday night, I went online and saw this review -creepy- . It was not crowded when we went in (about 6:30)but had 8 tables filled, two with 6 people each at them, by the time we left...the kids that hang around at those coffee shops seem to eat later at night and do frequent the place....and we got lime wedges with our soups (they gave us three wedges; perhaps there has been a lime shortage or lemons had been costing less in prior months...). The food isn't bad, but we tend to always buy basics- only Pho Tai or Pho Ga- then its always good...

[Kirk]

Hi Cathy - Sorry to creep you out like that. I assure you I wasn;t there on Wed. I thought the Pho Ga' was pretty good when I ate it way back when.

[jeni]

I think Bolsaa is short for Bolsa Anonymous! I'm craving pho now. Thanks Kirk!

[Kirk]

Hi Jeni - LOL! I'm guessing someone now has internet access?

[Habereno]

Hey there, just found your site and think it's great! I've been to Bolsa A a couple of times -- I find that the basics are pretty good but anything beyond that is lacking. If you're ever sick and craving a chicken soup, try the chicken rice porridge. Oh, and the lemon or lime is to squeeze into your pho, along with a nice dollop of Sriracha Chili Sauce for extra flavor. I think it's a southern Vietnamese garnish, even though pho is a northern Vietnamese dish.

[Kirk]

Hi Habereno - Thanks for stoppng by and taking the time out to comment. I'm just not used to lemon with my Pho'. I think there are better choices for Vietnamese in the area.