Pho Kim Long - Best Bun Rieu Oc in the Bay Area

Chuckle at the name, but their pho is nothing to laugh about. If someone hadn’t clued us in to PKL, we may well have never thought to check it out, because admittedly it doesn’t look like all that much. A little sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-it storefront. But they sure serve a mean bowl of delicious pho.

As I've observed before, Vietnamese cuisine may be some of the friendliest food out there for people looking to eat light. Especially when it comes to soups. A big bowl of pho, for instance, with all the veggie mix-ins and the right-size portions of meat and noodles, can keep me satisfied for hours. And when you get tired of all the variations on pho, there's a whole galaxy of other soups to try.

Instead of having pho today, I decided to try a different item on the menu called Bun Rieu Oc (that’s bun noodle soup with crab and snails; pictured above), which according to a Vietnamese-American friend, is "da bomb" in the bay area. It was packed with bun noodles, chunks of fried bean curd and ground crab patty, wedges of tomato, and huge de-shelled snails in a tomato broth. At other places I’ve had this soup, the snails had not only been puny but also rubber-eraser-like. Here, they’re terrifically tender, with just the slightest pleasant little crunch. The accompanying side-plate of veggie mix-ins, plus a little saucer of deliciously savory dipping sauce that goes especially well with the snails, made the meal both satisfying and filling.

Cambodian Noodles and Indian Dosa in one Saturday

It was a cool, overcast morning on Saturday. I had this craving for a hot bowl of cambodian chew jou noodles at VH Noodle House in Richmond, which is located on the East Bay - a 50mins drive from my place. We were regulars to this place when we lived in San Francisco. Now that it's a longer drive there, this is our "first" visit since our move to the south bay. The chew jou noodle is the closest to Singapore's meepok tah I can get in the US. The VH's version comes with flat wide egg noodles, bits and slices of pork, kidney (i try to avoid, but hubb loves it), shrimp and fishballs. I prefer the dry version, that is, soup on the side. Add hoison and their special satay sauce to the noodle mix and we're ready to dig in.

Weirdly, I didn't enjoy it this time. It was too salty and they were way too generous with MSG. Hubb and I were fighting over the last bottled water in the car on our way back home.

The only saving grace for VH in this visit was their fried fish cake. I particularly enjoyed the pickled cabbage with it.

Okay, I've got a soft spot for VH, because they were the first to satisfy my meepok cravings since I left Singapore. I will probably make another visit to try their other popular dishes later...much later.

In the evening, I met up with a good friend, Swee, for dinner. She lives in SF and was hiking in the stevens creek county park which was close to my neighborhood. It was great to see her again. After my lunch at VH, I couldn't take another heavy dinner. I suggested going to Udupi Palace for Dosa. Both of us enjoyed the Spinach Masala Dosa - thin rice crepe smeared with spinach and stuffed with spiced potatoes. This place was packed even at 9pm. I guess they must be serving authentic south indian food, coz the place was filled with indian natives. In Swee's words, "I've never seen so many indians in one restaurant!" (in the US).