Que Huong Revisited...many times Part 3 - Maybe it is all about the Jackfruit Salad?

**** Que Huong has closed

After our previous visits to Que Huong, you'd have thought that we'd had our fill. But the Missus thought the menu had some potential, and so in future visits we tried a few different items. So here they are:

Banh Xeo($5.95):

This is something I remembered from our first visits to Que Huong way back in 2005. It was still delivered with a pile of fresh herbs and lettuce. It was still crisp, and not oily in the least. I do think that they've cut down on the amount of shrimp and other "fillings", but it's still my favorite in version in San Diego.

The Catfish Clay Pot($8.95):

It looks large in the photo, but it was more of a "personal sized" version. The strong fish sauce- maggi-lemongrass flavor was great, but the fish was a bit too "muddy" for my tastes. The Missus enjoyed it, and there was one added "bonus" that I liked. The bottom of the pot was lines with pork belly..soaked in the sauce and caramelized...delici-yoso!!! I ordered this during another visit with Ed from Yuma, and the most wonderful Tina (thanks for putting up with us!). I knew this was right up Ed's alley, so maybe we'll find out how he enjoyed it. You'll need some rice for this one.

The Jackfruit Salad ($12.95):

Most of the versions I've had of this dish(Goi Mit) tends to be on the milder side. And this dish would be as well, except that it has a nice amount of Rau Ram, peanuts, and a Nuoc Mam Cham that runs on the sweeter side. If you've never had Jackfruit before, and have some preconceived notions about taste and texture....the jackfruit is very mild, and has an almost "meaty" texture. There a nice amount of pork and chopped shrimp in the dish, and the portion size is pretty large. It comes with sesame-rice crackers. The only real problem, and I've noticed this with some of the dishes here....there always seems to be that "one thing". There are many hard peppercorns in the dish...real hard...chip your teeth hard, so tread carefully.

On one visit, we decided to try the Goat Hot Pot (small - $22.98). I had thought it was a bit on the expensive side, but it was enough for 3 people. The broth is laden with dried Jujubes, and has a very strong lemongrass flavor.

The best item is the taro, which has been fried before being added to the hot pot, giving it a nice texture and flavor.

I really wouldn't order this if you're a meat lover, the chopped goat was an after-thought, tough and flavorless.

A plate of Mi (egg noodles) is provided, along with some vegetables, in this case a plate of Bok Choy. The soup is "never-ending", in that you can request refills of the soup (but not the noodles or veggies...that'll cost you). After a refill, we needed to add some water to the broth, it was getting pretty salty. For the final refill, they provided a bowl from which we could just refill as desired. You can see how much "stuff" is in the broth, just by looking at the bottom of the bowl:

The jury's still out on this one.

It's an interesting crowd at Que Huong, during the earlier hours, it's Vietnamese families(for the hot pot, and other family style dishes), and an occasional Hispanic visitor (they seem to enjoy the fried rice and pan fried noodles). As the evening gets later, the group gets younger, and people start ordering the wings, and other smaller dishes.

One of the Young Men, by the name of Jay is fabulous. He'll come by and answer any questions you may have, and tell you about some of the other menu offerings.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Comments

[ed (from Yuma)]

Glad you posted more about this place. I was very pleased and intrigued by the restaurant. Every dish we tried was tasty and some were new to me.

The first taste of the clay pot catfish, I detected a bit of muddiness - but after that, I just loved it. Great flavors and the pork too! The tumeric fish (from previous post) was a real highlight for me too. The jackfruit salad and the banh xeo were good also. I need to go back again. Hope you keep finding other treasures on the menu.

[Omar]

Kirk,

Is it apple? Is it pear? Nope, it's jackfruit, the only food I know whose flavor doesn't linger in your mouth, so much as it shows up, tantalizes you, then disappears, leaving you wondering what the hell that pleasant experience was.

Mmmmm....jackfruit.

Cordially,

[Captain Jack]

This post really made me hungry. I gotta try me some of that jackfruit salad. It looks great.

[Carol]

Yum, everything looks so good. Mmmmm, hot pot....:-)

[nhbilly]

That clay fish pot with pork sounds like a Vietnam dish - very salty fish with pork belly underneath it too. Looks like this but steamed in a clay pot. It's so so so good and salty. http://kongkay1.blogspot.com/2008/01/fried-pork-belly-with-salted-fish.html

[kat]

great variety of foods!

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - I'm glad you enjoyed the meal.....

Hi Omar - You gotta watch...some brands of the canned Jackfruit is spongy with no flavor.

Hi CJ - Watch out for those whole peppercorns!

Hi Carol - The hot pot was pretty good.

Hi Billy - Yes, it is a Vietnamese dish...I've seen it on the menu at several places.

Hi Kat - The menu is quite interesting.