I've mentioned our good friend Beach, a few times. He's a force of nature, with the energy and personality to match. It's really hard to describe him, OC Food Blogger extraordinaire Chubbypanda called him "brash, generous, bold, gregarious, earthy, charismatic, and charming." And he's well known as The Don of Little Saigon to those OC Food Bloggers. Beach has always been amazingly generous to the Missus and I, in fact, we owe much of our Vietnam trip to Beach, who helped us plan it every step of the way. Needless to say, I don't think we'd have had such a great trip without his help. So recently, I met up with Beach, I've covered one short leg of it earlier, in the post on Be Thui. That was but one short part of a whirlwind 2 hour tour of some of Little Saigon's little shops and eateries. And being Beach, he focused on some of the items we had in Vietnam.
So hang on....here goes!
1 - Thach Che Hien Khanh:
This busy little dessert shop with a line going out the door, specializes in Che, a coconut milk - tapioca ball dessert...I'm simplifying the definition of Che...there are so many variations!
But we weren't here for the Che...Beach had his mind on a few snacks that I could take home to the Missus. The selection is immense, and the colors vibrant:
From Black sticky rice to the Green rice:
So what did I Beach suggest for the Missus?
The Green Rice had a very mild sweetness and coconut flavor.
But the Missus really enjoyed the Durian Rice!
Though when Sammy caught a whiff of this, he left the Country! I think She'll gladly have this again.
Thach Che Hien Khanh
9639 Bolsa Ave., #A
Westminster, CA 92683
For much more info on Thach Che Hien Khanh, please read Elmo's post and Wandering Chopstick's post, you'll be glad you did.
2 - Huong Huong Food to Go:
Beach also recalled how much the Missus loved the Banh Gio in Hanoi, so our next stop was Huong Huong Food to Go.
For us it was 2 Banh Gio to go. The restaurant has a ton of steam table type dishes...the smells are really tempting. You can read about Huong Huong's offerings, albiet the Westminster location in Elmo's post.
But I was saving myself. When I arrived home the Missus eagerly went for the Banh Gio, heating it up in the microwave.
So how was it? These were much more substantial than what we had in Hanoi. It was much heavier, and the rice flour "wrapper" had a more solid texture. The filling, was well.....very filling, and featured a Quail Egg as the "cherry on the top".
But it was close enough to bring back memories of having breakfast, sitting on kiddie stools, on a street corner of Hanoi.
Huong Huong
9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844
3 - Cho Ben Thanh Market:
Stop number 3 was Be Thui, you can read that post here.
4 - Thai Binh:
Beach recalled the Pork and Green Rice Patties we had in Bac Ha, and our next stop was Thai Binh. One of those little shops on Brookhurst. From the name, you could tell they specialized in various sausages.
So what did I get here?
According to Beach, it's called Cha Com. This was the defatted lean pork sausage, studded with green rice, which gave it a mild, sweet, nuttiness. It wasn't quite what we had in Bac Ha, which was more crunchy, not as lean, and had a stronger pork flavor. This was a sausage, what we had previously were more like fried fritters. That's not to say this wasn't good....it was quite tasty, if a bit on the oily side, and made some pretty good sandwiches. In other words, if you're selling this...sign me up.
Thai Binh
14186 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92843
And would you believe we still had 2 more stops! Let me tell you, Beach has more energy than a mallrat with a brand new credit card! I know Beach will call me a tease, but I'll be stopping here for the night, and let you tell me about some of your favorite places in Little Saigon......
Part 2 to come!
Wow, did you do a food tour all in one day? It always take me about 3 hours to go to just three different places in Little Saigon. (Too must traffic congestion.) By the way, my mom makes banh gio just like the one in the post too. I'm not a big fan of it but it's good for a snack. My favorite is banh nam. Anyways, I will definitely check out those yummy shops in OC sometimes soon.
Posted by: Tammy | Monday, 15 September 2008 at 09:49 PM
Hey Tammy - So will your Mom make some for me? ;o) I've still got 2 more places to go....with all of this, would you believe we finished up with lunch?
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 15 September 2008 at 10:10 PM
yummy foodie adventure!
Posted by: kat | Monday, 15 September 2008 at 11:54 PM
My parents emigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in '78 and I was born and raised in El Monte, CA (San Gabriel Valley). Anytime they were hankering for some Hue food, we'd drive all the way to this restaurant in Little Saigon called Hue Rendezvous. I remember going there when I was really young (around early 1990s). Now that I'm in San Diego, I don't get to go as often. Their specialties are Bun Bo Hue, Banh Nam, Banh Bot Loc, and Banh Beo. I remember my parents ordering that every time. We've tried other dishes there and everything is pretty damn tasty. It is my dad's favorite Hue restaurant.
I'm pretty sure this is the address: 15562 Brookhurst St., Westminster, CA 92683. Happy eating!
Posted by: Kim | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 01:45 AM
Wow! what a whirlwind tour. What is green rice and is it naturaly green?
With such places like those, I might travel to San diego instead of vietnam! Everything looks yum. I think durian rice might be a bit rich myself.
btw... is beach a nickname or a real name?
Posted by: Rachel | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 07:38 AM
Hi Kat - This was fun...with Beach, it's always an adventure!
Hi Kim - Thanks for the recommendation. Billy, who often comments here also recommended Hue Rendezvous, so I'm sure it's good.
Hi Rachel - This neighborhood is in Orange County, closer to LA than San Diego.....it is pretty close to Disneyland, in case you're thinking of a vacation! And yes, Beach is an alias.....
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 08:27 AM
wow, my tastebuds are spinning - looks like a great time!
Posted by: foodhoe | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 08:57 AM
So cool! This is an epic quest worthy of Homer and you have Ulysses himself as a guide! LUCKY! Can't wait to see Part 2!
Posted by: elmomonster | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 09:01 AM
Hey those are my typical stops in Bolsa, especially the che place but the one on Bolsa though.
Posted by: nhbilly | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 11:04 AM
There are soooo many places in Little Saigon that it's good to have some recommendations. I've used Wandering Chopsticks' suggestions a couple of times; we'll have to add these to the queue.
I'm looking forward to part 2 of the whirlwind tour!
Posted by: Sandy | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 04:19 PM
All I know, is that I want to go on your next food tour, with YOU!
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 07:23 PM
Haha, that Beach is a machine!
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 07:24 PM
Hi FH - Man was it......
Hi Elmo - Beach is master of his domain.
Hi Billy - Hey, maybe we ran into you....and didn't even know it!
Hi Sandy - Hopefully, it won't take me as long to get to that post, as it is finishing up Cambodia!
Hi PE - I keep telling Beach he should do Little Saigon eating tours when he retires!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 09:47 PM
Aaaargh! You beat me to it! I still need to get around to doing my Beach's Little Saigon series with reviews of all his recommendations.
I was gonna turn green and smash things, then have Ang Lee direct a movie about my rampage, but your flattery has soothed the savage panda. =D
Posted by: Chubbypanda | Saturday, 20 September 2008 at 09:54 AM
Hi CP - LOL! Nothing worse than a savage "green" Panda(rabies!!!) on the rampage.....so I'm glad you accept my flattery....
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 20 September 2008 at 10:25 AM
Nice! I like your tour of Little Saigon and get a little of everything. Now I want to try a tour of that town too and get a little of everything!
Posted by: Pepsi Monster | Wednesday, 11 March 2009 at 12:22 PM
Hi PM - It's really great to have someone like Beach to guide you around.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 11 March 2009 at 01:38 PM