Nhu Y Revisited - A "Com-tam-plation"........

The Missus was really disappointed in the Com Tan Dac Biet from Pho Duyen Mai. She immediately made it my mission to find a decent Com Tam. One of the first places I had in mind was Nhu Y. It had been a while since I last dined there....man it was in 2019! Of course, most of my visits to Nhu Y was for the Bun Mam, though I recalled the place had a decent Com Tam Dac Biet....but that was years ago and "FOY" Elle had mentioned that portion sizes at Nhu Y had gotten smaller recently, so when deciding to visit, I didn't set my expectations too high. 

The parking lot where Nhu Y is located can be hit or miss, but we managed to find parking in the lot on this morning.

The outdoor area of the restaurant was filled with those "guys doing coffee", but the dining room was empty except for two other parties.

Of course the Missus got the Com Tam Dac Biet ($13.25).

This was very "old school", which the Missus appreciated. The Bi was sliced thin and dusted with roasted rice powder and was nice and porky. The "cha" the egg-pork "loaf" was on the dry and chewy side. The pork chop was nicely flavored, salty-mildly sweet but was also quite chewy. The Tan Hu Ky, crisp bean curd with shrimp paste, was nice and crisp. The broken rice was quite rustic, but decently textured. The nuoc mam wasn't overly sweet as many versions are these days. Not bad overall and decently priced for these days.

When we walked in, there was a petit woman just destroying the Bun Cha Hanoi. It was quite impressive. So, I decided to get that ($14.25).

 I know that Elle said that the portion sizes here have decreased, but I thought this was pretty generous. Lot's of bun and a good amount of lettuce and herbs,

In terms of the proteins; the sliced pork was the better of the two this time around, nicely marinated, good savory-sweet balance. The meatballs were on the tough side of the scale. But when wrapped in the bun lined lettuce, garnished with mint, cilantro, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and pickled radish, dunked into the nuoc mam, this made for a very nice bite. I do wish there was more pickled veggies though.

I finished things off topping the bun with meat, veggies, and pouring on the nuoc mam cham. I did not leave hungry!

This was a decently priced meal and the Missus thought the com tam was pretty good, but She still wanted to try a few other places. Well, it was time for some additional "com-tam-plation"!

Nhu Y Restaurant
4712 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Stay Tuned!

Comments

[kat]

hope you can find some tasty ones

[Som Tommy]

Looks good. Have not been here in a long time

[Kirk]

Yeah, for my "sake" I hope so Kat! ;o)

Hadn't been to Nhu Y in over five years ST!

[Elle]

Looks delicious! I think when I get a meal regularly, I notice details if something is slightly different, which might not be a big deal haha. Other restaurants have more drastic shrinkflation for sure 😅

[Kirk]

Makes total sense Elle! Hadn't been back to Nhu Y in like 5 years. If you go fairly often you're sure to notice changes!