Changi Airport, Singapore: Wang Cafe
Dang! Indonesia’s really freakin’ far. This was my first time flying with a lay over so I chose Singapore – I’ve heard from different people that the food in Singapore is the best! I was anxious to find out for myself. If the airport food is good then can you imagine what it tastes like outside? Mmm MMM!
Super tired from an 18 hour flight, we wandered the airport looking for just the right spot to get a little taste of Singapore before our connecting flight to Indonesia. We finally ended up in Terminal 2, F gates where we decided to try Wang’s cafe (hee hee…wang).
Of course I had a hankerin’ for some noodles so I ordered the Mi Siam a thin rice noodle soup. The warm soup in my belly was nice – especially after that looong flight. At this point I was also over airplane food so these noodles were extra extra tasty. I’ve never had Mi Siam before this…it tastes savory, sweet, spicy, nutty – toasty, a little sour…like tamarind or tomato sour. Topped off with fried tofu, bean sprouts, chive and a boiled egg. Thin rice noodles in soup is not my favorite but these were alright. I liked the soup a lot…can’t wait to find the instant version of this somewhere!
Oakland, CA: Pho Ao Sen
Bo Kho – Vietnamese Beef Stew served with rice noodles
Bo Kho – Vietnamese beef stew served with rice noodles
Banh Tam Bi – Vietnamese rice noodles dressed with coconut milk and fish sauce
Banh Tam Bi – Vietnamese rice noodles dressed with coconut milk and fish sauce
Che Thai and Cafe Sua Da
Wah. It’s been a whole year since my last post. But no worries – just because I haven’t posted doesn’t mean I haven’t been documenting my noodle adventures! So I have quite a bit of catching up to do. Today I want to share with the world a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant that my friend introduced me to nestled in the colorful city of Oakland called Pho Ao Sen. When I want really good Vietnamese food I head South to San Jose but it’s a 45 min to 1 hour drive from the city. So unless you’ve got a desperate craving (which I sometimes have) for Vietnamese food, the drive isn’t so appealing. Now that I’ve been introduced to Pho Ao Sen, it’s only a hop and a skip away from where I live so I can quickly satiate my Vietnamese kick whenever I get it.
The two dishes that I’ve tried so far are Bo Kho and Banh Tam Bi. Bo Kho is a beef stew made with tender beef chuck roast, tendon and carrots. After hours of cooking, the beef and tendons become very tender and creates this naturally thick and yummy soup. There is a menagerie of spices that go into this dish like lemongrass, garlic, star of anise and cloves to name a few, so you can imagine the complexity of flavors you get with every bite. On top of that, it’s garnished with green onions, cilantro and thin slices of onion. And then served with a side of bean sprouts, sliced jalapeno peppers, a wedge of lemon or lime, basil and other veggies (depending on the restaurant). Pho Ao Sen serves their Bo Kho with dandelion greens which is a rare treat! Depending on your mood you normally have the option of noodles or French bread. I’m always in the mood for noodles of course. : )
The next dish that is superb and not found on too many menus is the Banh Tam Bi. This is a thick rice noodle appetizer that’s topped with Bi (shredded pork skin tossed in garlic and toasted rice powder), bean sprouts, basil, green onions sauteed in oil and fried shallots and a side of coconut milk and fish sauce that you pour over the noodles. The trick is to combine everything like a salad and make sure your noodles are well coated with the two sauces. To be honest, when this dish was described to me I couldn’t wrap it around my head…i thought to myself…coconut milk and fish sauce together over noodles? The two didn’t mix in my mind but when I tasted my first bite…I was hooked. You gotta try it IF you like coconut, as many people don’t dig it too much.
And then there’s dessert! I’ve only tried one of their yummy dessert drinks and it’s been tough for me to try their other drinks because this one is just that yummy that I’ve ordered it again and again! Che Thai is the Vietnamese version of a Thai dessert drink that has slivers of toddy palm, jackfruit and a couple of different kinds of jelly all floating in sweetened coconut milk and crushed ice. To die for. And don’t forget to grab a classic cafe sua da. They make it nice and strong here so don’t plan on falling asleep that night. A nice detail is that they serve your drinks in to go cups so you don’t even have to ask! Love.
I love Vietnamese food because most dishes are accompanied with raw green vegetables and many of their dishes don’t require a ridiculous amount of oil (in my opinion, that’s why most Vietnamese women are so svelte and slender). I also consider Vietnamese cuisine to be one of the first “fusion” foods. You’ll find that many dishes have a strong Chinese and/or French influence like Gha Chua Ngot (Sweet & Sour Pork), Banh Seo which is a crispy crepe like concoction filled with bean sprouts, pork and shrimp…and even Pho..have you ever heard of a French stock called Pot au Feu? With a few exceptions, the ingredients are very similar to the ingredients in Pho. I think I can chow down Vietnamese food every day for a whole month (maybe longer) because it’s do dang yummy. The End…until the next adventure.
Pho Ao Sen
200 International Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606
Neighborhood: East Oakland
(510) 839-6821
#057 VIFON Bun Lau Thai – Thai Style Instant Vermicelli
Although the cooking suggestions say to cook the noodles in the bowl I normally boil instant rice noodles in the pot (especially rice vermicelli). I usually use a hot water dispenser for cup and bowl noodles but the temperature of the water isn’t thaaat hot to begin with so it doesn’t cook rice noodles very thoroughly. So instead of waiting for the water to boil and then waiting for the noodles to cook in the bowl, I get it done faster in the pot. However, I thought I’d follow the directions this time to see what happens. Surprisingly, the texture of the noodles turned out pretty good and ended up cooking all the way through. I wanted to make lunch a little more substantial so I added some shrimp. I sliced the shrimp in half length-wise (I figured it would cook faster and all the way through this way) and dropped them in the bowl to cook with the noodles. And tada! it worked! A little cilantro and lunch was ready. The soup is light, a little sour with hints of lemongrass…mmm…and fried onions. Overall the Thai flavor was light but still tasty.
#039 SHIRAKIKU Sanukiya Somen
Today was a sad day. I don’t often meet a noodle that I don’t like….but unfortunately, I met one today. Excited to try somen for the first time and intrigued by the word “fresh” on the label, I had high hopes for this noodle. When I opened the lid, I was delightfully surprised to find a vacuumed sealed package of what looked like rice noodles (so this is what they meant by “fresh”!) and a seasoning packet. As soon as the hot water hit the seasoning, the savory scent of bonito wafted up my nostrils. The noodles turned out tasting like mushy rubberbands which was a bummer because the soup was pretty tasty. The flavor of the broth was on the milder side as with most bonito soups and had hints of seaweed and green onion. The huge bowl is misleading because the actual serving size of the noodles are teeny! Even for me! Bit of a disappointment…perhaps it was user error?