Return to Vien Dong III - Part 2 Following Up

*** Vien Dong Market is now Thuan Phat Supermarket. And updated post can be found here.

I know that those of you who commented on the first part of this post have been wondering when I'd get around to doing the follow-up. Following the initial email from Daniel, I made several visits to Vien Dong, research I guess you could say.

Daniel provided a "list" of several key improvements, and I thought I'd verify them.

"The pungency factor is no longer a factor"

This one was strange. Each time I entered the market, there was the standard issue smell, not quite as strong as before, but it was there. But strangely enough, as I walked toward the meat department the smell would dissipate, growing more and more faint. Each visit was during a different time of the day...mornings are always the best, but there it was, the slight meaty-fishy smell. But several steps later, it was gone.

I don't know if my sense of smell made an adjustment, or if there was an environmental or other reason for this. One thing I did notice was that the cashier area is much brighter, and there's a feeling of "space".

Raised our ceiling added skylights and brighter energy efficient lighting

I'm wondering if the raised ceiling has in some way contributed to the pungency issue. Perhaps all of the smells collect in one spot. Still, on my 4 visits it was not nearly as bad as before.

Renovated the seafood department with newer more accessible tanks and freezers.

This one is quite obvious.

But there was one thing I wanted to check, what was in those vats. I was pretty impressed, the water is well circulated, and very clean. Usually most live seafood lives in poorly circulated, murky, sometimes filthy water. As you can see this wasn't the case.

Expanded produce department to include wider variety and volume of produce

I always thought of the produce department at Vien Dong to be quite good, though somewhat cramped and claustrophobic. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've been rapped in the ankles or almost run over by durian laden shopping carts pushed by little old ladies.....

Now the produce department has been spread out a bit, and the aisles are a bit wider, and it seems that the department has been brightened up a bit as well.

And then there's my favorite part....

Resurrected the food to go + deli and bakery area

I know it's really just steam table stuff, but you can't beat the prices (2 items and a starch - $3.50, 3 items and a starch - $4.50). And sometimes there some pretty good stuff to be had.

I'm partial to the fried chicken...it's not bad.

It's nice to get a hearty meal for the price of a burrito....

Thanks for restoring my faith in customer service, Daniel!

One last thing

Daniel sent me the URL for a website Originalpho.com that is being developed by Daniel's Company. Usually, I don't do stuff like this, but because Daniel was generous enough to let me reprint his email in my earlier post, this was the least I could do. So check it out, you can request free samples. And here's something interesting. Our very own Cathy actually requested some samples.....

And in her own words:

You sent me the *very nice* letter from Dan, dated April 28, on Sunday April 29, where he mentioned www.originalpho.com to request product samples, and I immediately checked it out.  I know companies send out samples because they want you to try and buy.  Good business.

I got to choose a flavor (savory chicken, traditional beef, garden vegetable and succulent seafood).  I was torn, thinking I would get a chance to try one small "Cup O' Pho" (as in the photograph) and wasn't sure if I shoudl play it safe with vegetable or go for what I know- beef.  I expected one of those Styrofoam "Cup O's"  to show up someday in the mail.  I know whenever I request a product sample, I end up forgetting about it and eventually, months later, it shows up and I am pleasantly surprised.

You can see from the photo that it was sent on April 30 (I requested it Sunday night) and I got the whole pack, like they sell in the store- 6 cups, 70 gram cups.  WOW!  I certainly did not expect that much at once. It was a *very* pleasant surprise.

The Mister and I got to try the Cup O' Pho in the plain, unadorned sense- eating it as it came from the packaging (after adding the boiling water to cook the noodles, of course)...and then following the recommended add ins- add 1.5 ounces beef, 0.5 ounce bean sprouts, and red onion with the 'optional' (like it is optional) add ins of lime wedges, fresh chilies, cilantro and basil.

I combined two of the cups/ingredients and the add ins from home and made a very nice meal for  the two of us one night.  (There is a beef bullion-ish seasoning packet; a dried vegetable  packet with garlic/onion/chervil/carrot and a spicy oil packet -shallot oil, soy bean oil, garlic and onion).

The foldable fork is helpful and I always save them from wherever I get them.  You never know.  I have chopsticks and foldable forks in my car side doors at all times.  (really)

I sent Daniel a follow-up email asking him if Originalpho.com really did always send out a 6 pack of samples, and here's his reply:

We plan to slowly introduce more products on the internet and this is sort of our first run at it. We are able to ship very quickly because we've setup a good shipping operation out of our warehouse and are able to ship very inexpensively to commercial addresses. We think it makes sense to send out 6 pack samples because they are already well packaged for shipping and are light weight. We also hope that people will share them, especially come lunch/snack time in the work place, and that people will really understand first hand how convenient and tasty they can be.

So all you instant noodle fans - Free Pho!!!

Comments

[Andy 美國土子]

shopping carts with durians... the modern day chariot

[The Guilty Carnivore]

Thx for the free instant noodle hookup. The packaging and proliferative garnish/seasoning packets look quite interesting.

[Ed]

Free pho? I'm on it! I just sent in a request, so I'll see how it goes!

[The Office Goat]

At first I thought the originalpho site was blank, then I realized I had to scroll down to get to the good stuff! ;-)

Request sent! Anyone who already got a pack, what does it say the shelf life is?

[Steamy Kitchen]

Thanks for the pho link!

Maybe a small rodent died near the front door.

xoxo
j

[Cathy]

Hi, TOG- As I recall, the free pho that was mailed had a relatively short shelf life/expiratio date...but I know you can eat stuff past that date anyhow and the only thing that could possibly go bad would be the oil, which is in a very well sealed packet...and don't we all have a bottle of chili oil and/or sriracha at work and at home anyhow?

Kirk- the only thng I can think of that is causing that odor is the aisle with the dried shrimp/dried cuttle fish in those clear plastic/cellophane (not vacuum sealed) packages. It isn't a dead fish odor or anything like that...

[howie]

I always wondered about that odor. I think Cathy might be right that it's coming from the dried meat/mushrooms/herbs. The smell reminds me of a Chinese medicine store.

I'm happy the food counter is back. I'll have to try it out soon...

[Captain Jack]

That steam table looks tasty, I will have to give it a try.

[Alex]

I love Vien-Dong. It's not my favorite asian supermarket but there are things there that are hard to get some other places. For instance they have the great baguettes. I'm not sure if that's what you call them but it is in the bakery & people wait for them to come out of the oven. So good. Also they had these tiny apples that I love. Great post.

I've had instant pho before and i was horribly dissapointed at how it tasted. I'm giving this one a try to see what's up. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm putting you on my blogroll.
http://finestcity.blogspot.com/

Alex

[Kirk]

Hi Andy - LOL! You really don't want to tip the durian cart over! And those little ladies can be quite aggressive!!!

Hi GC - No problemo.....hope it's ok.

Hi Ed - Let me know how it turns out! By the sound of it, Daniel will want to know as well.

Hi TOG - I'm glad Cathy can provide some info for you.

Hi SK - he-he-he, no not a dead rodent...perhaps some really good shiokara!!!

Hi Cathy - Hmmmm, maybe, but I don't think that's the smell.

Hi Howie - It's good cheap eats there.

Hi CJ - Like I said...it's good cheap eats. You'll get an interesting cross section of people eating there.

Hi Alex - Welcome and thanks for taking the time out to comment! Nice blog! As for the free Pho, at least it's free.....

[SK]

I went to Vien Dong earlier this week and was pleasantly surprised at the quality. The fish section looked well kept and I agree with you that their live tanks look a lot nicer than one usually finds. There definitely was a slightly "pungent" odor but it wasn't at all offensive.

They got extra points from me for having fresh baby octopus, which grilled up nice and tender (and cute!) with a miso/rice vinegar/soy sauce marinade.

[Kirk]

Hi SK - It does look like they've made some improvements. Grilled Tako.....mmmmm

[Kyon]

I just r4ecieved my pho(never actually tried pho before though). The exp. date on mine says July 4,2007. I don't think it goes bad, it is just the last date a store could sell the product. Sorta like the bags of chips in stores, they are still good, the store just can't sell them. The company probably determined that they taste the best within a certain amount of days.

[Kirk]

Hi Kyon - Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

[Trangdai]

Hi Kirk,

What are their open hours? I've tried to look everywhere. Thanks for your dedication to this blog.

Trangdai

[Kirk]

Hi Trangdai - Sorry to take so long to answer your comment. Vien Dong Market has been sold as is now Thuan Phat Market. As of this writing I don't think they are open yet. You can read about it at the bottom of this post

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/10/how-not-to-plan.html