San Jose, CA: Bun Bo Hue An Nam
This is the best bun bo hue ever. And good bun bo hue is so hard to find because, first, there aren’t a lot of restaurants that serve this and second, there aren’t a lot of restaurants that make this well. We were first introduced to this place by a good friend. He sold us on the fact that this restaurant only served 1 item on the menu. We figured the food must be good to open a restaurant for just one item. So there are 2 food items on the menu and sometimes 3. You can order regular bun bo hue or bun bo hue with ngau pin (cow penis). They sometimes serve pho and it’s on a while supplies last basis. I love everything about the bun bo hue here….the broth is full of complex flavors, spicy and has a clean, fresh taste. The noodles are soft and chewy.
Bun Bo Hue An Nam
740 Story Road
San Jose, CA 95122
(408) 993-1211
San Francisco, CA: Arang
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Yuke Jang
Chol Myon
It was late night and we were hungry. Haven’t been to Arang in a while and I was craving something soupy. I ordered one of my favorite korean soups yuke jang. It’s a hot & spicy soup with shredded beef, vegetables and glass noodles. Colleen ordered chol myon which are chewy yam noodles served cold mixed with a spicy sweet sauce.
Arang
1506 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.775.9095
San Francisco, CA: Halu
Halu is located on 8th and clement and is formally known as mama san japanese cuisine (look closely at the awning). We originally came here for the ramen but was happy to find that the specialty of the restaurant was yakitori and kushi katsu. This was my first time seeing kushi katsu on a menu. Turns out Kushi katsu is deep fried stuff on a stick! Who can resist that?
The feel of the restaurant was very homey. It’s the size of a closet, but they have an open kitchen and counter which added to the casual atmosphere. I wish I was taller or the counter was lower so I could watch the chef in action.
The beatles posters and paraphernalia and the rock and roll makes this place a hip hole in the wall.
I ordered the chashu ramen which was pretty good. However, if it weren’t for the chashu, i would say it would have only been okay. The chashu was sweet, juicy and very tender. I could hardly pick it up with my chopsticks. The texture of the noodles were al dente and well cooked, but definitely not as good as the noodles from suzu noodle house in japan town. I wasn’t crazy about the broth, it wasn’t bad at all, it’s just that it tasted like miso and i tend to like shoyu broths better. Overall, the ramen was good and we did finish the entire bowl of noodles and I would order again just for the chashu. : )
Even though we went to halu for ramen, the kushi katsu ended up being the main attraction. It was a toss up between the yakitori dinner and the kushi katsu dinner, but we decided on the kushi katsu since we’ve never had it before. Best decision ever. We ordered the kushi katsu dinner which came with an assortment of 6 deep fried panko skewars. We were served a combination of proteins and vegetables from left to right: chicken, beef, shrimp, trumpet mushroom, okra and pork. There is just something about eating food on a stick, it’s so fun! The trumpet mushroom was amazing. The texture was like meat…hard to explain you just have to try it for yourself. The chopped onions, parsley and extra mayo on top sent my taste buds to flavor heaven.
Halu
312 8th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
415.221.9165
San Francisco, CA: Suzu Noodle House
Wow. Can you believe it’s already July??? It’s hard to believe the biggest holiday of the summer is upon us. My first post of the month is about Suzu noodles in San Francisco’s Japan town. Finally…can this be a decent ramen restaurant in the city? So far, all the good and popular restaurants have been in San Mateo or Burlingame which is quite a drive for ramen. It’s located on the lower level of the Japan town center and when we walked in, there was a line…which to me…was a good sign. The restaurant is pretty small with about six or eight 2-4 person tables. Most of the patrons seemed to get their ramen business done quick….in and out in about 15 to 20 minutes which made the wait not that bad. I ordered the mabo tofu ramen and anthony got the spicy negi (green onions). My broth was not bad…not the best I’ve had but not bad. When I ordered the mabo tofu I was a little concerned that the broth was going to be too thick but when they served it, I was happy to see that the consistency was more soupy than gooey. The really good thing about Suzu is their ramen noodles. It was on hit and perfectly al dente. I think anthony felt the same way about his ramen, thought the noodles were pretty stellar but the soup was only okay. Overall, I would visit this place again and try their shoyu and maybe the gyoza.
Mabo Tofu Ramen
Spicy Negi Ramen
Suzu Noodle House
1825 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.346.5083