It's taken awhile, but the Missus is slowly getting back to Her routine as well. This morning, in the midst of the downpour, while shopping at Whole Paycheck, the Missus said, "let's go to Mien Trung...it's been a while and I'm craving some Bun Rieu." Now this was interesting. As I noted before, the Missus hasn't gotten the Bun Rieu at Mien Trung in a while; rather sticking with the Hen Xuc Com (spicy baby clams over rice), since they changed up the noodles and weakened the broth for the Bun Rieu.
So this was going to be interesting.....
The verdict? Well, this was a mere shadow of the Bun Rieu the we recalled. It was not bad, just not as good. The real problem for us, besides the use of the "wrong noodle" (per the Missus) was the lack of crab and tomato flavor in the broth. The Missus ave me a taste and I had to concur, it was quite bland, something that bun rieu should definitely not be.
As for my Bun Bo Hue; it was better than I'd had here in a while. The broth was very hot, the noodles firm and slippery, with a strong lemongrass flavor, and the effect of MSG a bit muted.
And while I wouldn't count it among the best bowls I've had here over the years, it did the trick.
As for the Missus, I think She'll stick with the Hen Xuc Com......
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
too bad it didn't nix her craving.
Posted by: kat | Sunday, 06 March 2016 at 11:21 PM
Hi Kat - Yeah.....even though I was satisfied she wasn't....not good!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 07 March 2016 at 09:24 PM
Went here a few days ago and the Bun Bo Hue was satisfying. Never had the Bun Rieu. I guess I never will.
Posted by: Junichi | Tuesday, 08 March 2016 at 03:35 PM
Hey Junichi - Yeah, that Bun Rieu just isn't the same....at least the BBH is still good.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 08 March 2016 at 07:10 PM
I haven't been here in awhile. We haven't tried any of the clam dishes here yet but I do like their Mi Quang.
Posted by: caninecologne | Saturday, 12 March 2016 at 03:06 PM
Hi CC - The Missus favorite dish at MT these days are those clams. It looks like "Mom" is not around much these days.
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 12 March 2016 at 06:18 PM