Vietnamese New Year!

In honor of the Vietnamese New Year I wanted to post quite a few photos of incredible Vietnamese cuisine from all over the city!

Above is a beautiful bowl of pho from Singleton's (a spectacular corner store in the Black Pearl). Their Pho is a bit on the peppery side, but still phenomenal (or shall I say pho-nomenal! sorry...had to!).

 

This fabulous beverage is from Pho Orcid in Metairie. This Egg-Cream-esque drink is an exquisite combo of condensed milk and soda water. Stir it all together and viola! delicious drink!

Aside from their large list of fantastic drinks, Pho Orchid serves up a lot more than just pho!

Their egg rolls and Banh Mi were good, but not as fabulous as what you'll find in the East or on the West Bank, but great Vietnamese fare for Metairie. The pork itself in both was delicious, but the Banh Mi was very under-dressed, leaving pat'e and aioli to be desired. 

Last, but certainly not least is one of my absolute favorite places to get pho (Aside from Pho Danh 4 and Pho Nola of course!). Below is a photo of probably the best pho broth I have ever had. Granted, I was a bit inebriated at the time, but I remember it being out of this world! You can get this alluring bowl of soup late into the evening down the Street from Mimi's in the Marigny at the Lost Love Lounge Vietnamese Kitchen. I originally was obsessed with going here because they used to be called "Pho King" (say that one 3 times fast)! 

Though I am quite disappointed with the name change, their pho more than made up for it (plus the karaoke... oh ya, karaoke! Its awesome). 

Like Pho Orchid, their pho was not nearly as mind blowing (or cheap) as what you'll find in the East or in the Wank, but still pretty good (and definitely awesome in the middle of the night).

So in summation, Tet (the Vietnamese New Year) was yesterday, Vietnamese food is incredible (and my favorite), and its Tuesday- So go get yourself some pho/banh mi/ and spring rolls and celebrate the Year of the Dragon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pho Danh 4

I've written about Pho Danh 4 numerous times, raving about their soothing delicious pho but what you may not know is that they have excellent thai food. Housed in the same building as Hong Kong market, it's no shocker that they have super fresh ingredients and authentic spices and sauces for all their dishes.

My favorite thai dish is their Pad Ki Mao (aka Drunken noodles) with seafood. I've had it with chicken too, but the seafood is way more fun and adventurous. It has shrimp, squid, scallops, and fish cakes. They give a heaping amount of thai basil and juicy red peppers. Add some spicy flat noodles to the mix and you have perfection.

The Feast Continues...

As I watch Anthony Bordain eat his way through Dubai, procrastinating from doing my homework, I find it incredibly appropriate to update this blog yet again; giving myself a slightly more acceptable excuse for procrastination... or at least that's what I tell myself.

This long weekend turned into a wonderfully decadent food-filled extravaganza, and today was no exception. To give myself some culinary credit, I actually made a delightful breakfast this morning for me and my roommate (and it had nothing to do with soba noodles or string cheese)! I redeemed myself from that atrocity this morning with a healthy meal of poached eggs (my favorite) served with turkey bacon asparagus.

Poached eggs have been my food foe for many years now but I finally achieved the soft but firm outside, and nice runny yolk. Usually I end up making egg drop soup when I attempt to poach eggs, but I recently learned that vinegar is the secret ingredient; thank you google.

We made sure to keep this breakfast light an healthy because just a few hours later we went to the West Bank to Hong Kong Market's Pho Danh #4 in Gretna, which has the best pho in town.

For the readers who don't know what Pho is, have no fear, you will soon. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese beef soup eaten at all times of day. The broth is brewed over the course of at least 24 hours and it is served with vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, lime, jalapeno, thai basil and brisket, as well as many other meat varieties. Then if that already isn't delicious enough it is topped off with Sriracha and Hoisin sauce (and fish sauce if you are a little more daring). Incredible! Plus, it is also a great hangover/flu cure.

If you are willing to take any of my food advice please listen to me now, TRY PHO! Look it up, wherever you are there is bound to be a pho joint nearby and if you are human you will like it.

Along with the traditional brisket that comes in beef pho, I decided to order mine with tripe (stomach) and soft tendon. I have had both before but I forgot how good tendon was! The tripe not so much though. It just has no real taste and is the same consistency as a ziplock bag.

Along with the pho we also could not pass up Pad Kee Mao, thai "Drunken Noodles." This is one of my favorite thai dishes for two very good reasons. 1. Flat noodles are the best type of noodle there is. No question. Between the soft and chewy texture and its' wonderfully porous ability to absorb sauces and spices, it is number one in my book. 2. Thai Basil is the herb of gods. It smells good, it tastes good, and it goes well with everything (especially ice cream). The only annoying thing about it is that it seems to be hard for me to grow. I've managed to kill my thai basil plant twice in one year, not a good track record.