O' Yea! Vietnamese Cuisine

Over a year after reading Mizducky's post on the quaintly named O Yea! we finally made it for a visit. You can read all about it in her post here.  If I recall, this used to be a Thai Restaurant in a former life. The interior is rather pink.....

   

The one odd thing is not the color, or any of the decor. In many kitchens you'll here the "ding" of the bell when a dish is ready for pick-up. At OY, you'll hear Big Ben Chime...."ding-dong-ding-dong.....ding-dong-ding-dong"!

The menu is just a tad South of huge, with 96+ dishes ranging from Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) to full on Hot Pot Dinners (Lau), and this doesn't include the 30 or so drinks. It's enough to trigger off "Vietnamese Menu Overload".

I decided to order the combination Com Tam pictured on the tabletop ($6.50):

 

The first thing I always try to note is the fragrance of the broken rice; for some reason it always stimulates my appetite. Unfortunately, the aroma of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline was lacking. It was appropriate as this dish was basically a "non-starter". The grilled pork was hard, greasy, and tough, though the "Cha" (steamed egg) was moist but bland. The "Bi" was dry, and lacked flavor.

 

The Missus had Her mind set on one thing from the beginning, those savory orbs of rice flour called Banh Khot ($6):

 

The Missus, an avowed Kanom Krok fan, had expected something similar with regards to texture; crisp exterior, light at first bite, with a still molten, custard like interior. This was already cold by the time it hit the table, and it was soggy all the way through.

Not a great meal by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I decided that I'd give the place another shot. Though the Missus decided to stay home and have leftovers.

Again, faced with the sizable menu, I was at a loss as to what to order. Not that the very nice young lady waiting for my order was pushy, when she was in fact quite nice......I think she's used to the initial state of confusion. I finally went with the Bun Bo Hue, one of my favorite noodle soups.

When the bowl arrived I was very surprised at the portion size.....it is priced at only five bucks($5):

 

In spite of the promising appearance, I could barely detect the scent of fish sauce. Nor could I pick up the aroma of lemongrass nor shrimp paste. Tasting the broth confirmed what my nose had not detected. The broth was very bland, annatto colored, salt water bland. The broth was also South of hot. BBH demands a scalding broth to take care of the herbs and vegetables provided. Notice I said vegetables, not garnish. For me the chopped greens are an integral part of the dish.

Too bad because the noodles were prepared well, and in spite of the lack of Cha Lua (steamed defatted pork sausage), there was meat galore in this bowl. The meat was very tender, the brisket full of flavor. The addition of Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander) added a nice peppery component to the bowl.

This bowl reminded me of the version at Pho Hoa Cali Express. It's Bun Bo Hue designed for Pho lovers, if you're looking for that, it's waiting for you here. I found this lacking the earthy, spicy, bright flavors of a good Bun Bo Hue.

I had really to like this restaurant; the prices are good, and I had really nice and friendly service. So maybe one of my FOYs (Friends of Yoso) out there can tell what of the 90 plus items on the menu is worth trying????

O'Yea! Vietnamese Cuisine
4660 El Cajon Blvd #102
San Diego CA 92115

Comments

[yummyyummie]

I've tried the Banh Khot a while back. It was still uncooked from the inside. I don't remember much from their Bun Rieu either. Banh Khot suppose to be their signature dish, but I don't know what happen there.

[nhbilly]

What a bummer - maybe the place should cut its menu in half and truly focus in on there finer points. The banh khot - I was like what the F - it looked like little fried doughnut gone wrong. Even I can make it better, I think ;-)

[Dennis]

Neat, I want to go there just to hear the big ben chime.. Kirk, I forgot what you recommended me getting at Nhu Y.. This place seems close by. Cheers

[kat]

too bad the items you tried were disappointing.

[Kirk]

Hi YY - I know you mentioned the Banh Khot to me, but this was not very good. So I'm not sure if it was the wrong day, the wrong cook, or something.....

Hi Billy - LOL! Fried donut gone wrong..... ;o)

Hi Dennis - Nhu Y - Bun Mam.

Hi Kat - Yes, we were disappointed.....we had high hopes.

[yummyyummie]

Banh Khot used to be good, then it slowly decreasing value. Not sure why cause I haven't been back for so long.

[Carol]

Aw, another bummer. With so many things on the menu, there's got to be one good item, maybe...

[Kirk]

Hi YY - That's kind of sad.....

Hi Carol - Hopefully, someone will let me know what to order here.

[foodhoe]

I had a very fine Banh Khot last weekend at Marnee Thai. It was a daily special they don't always make... anyways you are so dedicated to still be willing to give OYea! another chance.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - Was it Kanom Krok or Banh Khot....there's a difference between the two. KK is sweeter, while BK more savory.

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

That is kind of sad that the food didn't come out as good as you wished it to be. In the photos all the items look fairly delicious! But I agree the pork is dry. It doesn't have any juicy look to it on the outside :).

[Kirk]

Hi ETE - Yes, it was disappointing, especially the Banh Khot which is what they are supposed to be known for.

[Maria]

Hi, I'm sad to say that I went to try O'Yea the other day and they changed management so they have nothing on the menu anymore. Half of the items were crossed out on the menu. =[

Since they gave us the menu I assumed that they had everything on the menu but once we ordered, they did not have anything. We ordered some banh khot to start off with but the waiter told us they will not be serving it anymore due to the new management. I then ordered a bun bo hue and was told they will not be serving that anymore also.

I was pretty disappointed because those were the only reasons why I went there. I cannot find a single place in SD that serves Banh Khot, so when I heard that O'Yea had them, I rushed there to get some. But sadly, they wont have banh khot anymore.

So I finally settled with the seafood hu tieu. I was then told that they only had shrimp left so it will not come with any other seafood. My friend ordered the grilled pork chop rice dish and when it came out, it did not look anything like the picture. The amount of meat that was given was very disappointing! There was barely any meat on top of the rice, and instead of the grilled porkchop, it was just sliced pieces of pork.

As you can tell, I was not going to enjoy my meal anymore.

Not to mention, I found a fly in there sate/hot chili oil sauce on the table. =[

O'Yea won't be seeing me again.

[Kirk]

Hi Maria - You know....I could kinda tell that this place was on a decline the last time I visited.... lost potential is a sad thing.