You can request the BBH at Tuyet Mai to be spicier, and if you are a gueilao you may have to request to blood cubes too as I did.
It’s all relative. I said the Bun Bo Hue at Tuyet Mai might be the best in SF, not the Bay Area. Just yesterday Andrew Zimmern dubbed (via Instagram and Twitter) the BBH at Bun Bo Hue An Nam in San Jose “Best in USA. Not even close.”
i’ve had nice bowls of pho at pho 2000 but last night’s meal was disappointing. the menu lists thin or wide noodle options, and in the past the wide meant fresh rice noodles, like the ones offered at turtle tower. last night our server said they don’t have wide noodles. i was too hungry to think to ask if this was a permanent change or if they had simply run out. i prefer the texture, but hey thin works just fine. but the other problem was that i think i got profiled. my #1 pho dac biet had all the right parts, just not in the right proportions. there was plenty of rare steak and well done meats, but it was very stingy with the tendon and tripe. i suspect the place has become more popular of late and many people ordering pho dac biet should just admit to themselves that they don’t really want the tendon or tripe. but i actually do, so if when i return here i’ll make that clear. broth still good, if maybe a touch sweeter than i remember, and they’re open until 8:30, much later than many other joints in the tenderloin.
Oh man. The wait gets even longer.
Off topic- but the one thing I don’t understand about BBH An Nam is that the same people have a shop two doors down called An Nam selling Pho Ga, and the place is never crowded. I don’t understand why they don’t just sell BBH at both the places, unless its some sort of family feud spinoff.
Tycoon Thai seems to have happy hour weekdays 5-8pm, “any beer $3”, $5 bites. They also have a lunch combo menu now in addition to the regular menu. I hope they are not getting desperate for business…
Thanks for the Kyu3 sukhothai recommendation! Satisfying and more plentiful solids than soup, which is my preference. Delicious by itself, but I added some of the “soy sauce” (it’s actually Golden Mountain Sauce).
The server also recommended:
Curry noodle (Khao soi)
Beef noodles (dry)
Boat noodles (w/ blood cubes)
For dry noodles, she recommended :the Garlic noodles basil, w/ bell pepper, green beans, and basil
I’ve had the khao soi and the boat noodles at Kyu3, both are good.
Not about noodles, but I dropped in on Tycoon Thai’s happy hour. Got a pint of Sculpin for $3 (!), and sai ua and som tum Thai for $5 each. These are smaller portions than the dishes on the menu (two sausages instead of three, for example) but still a bargain, and I got to have two dishes instead of one.
The Kao Piak noodles typically have Tapioca, which adds to the chewiness. This is similar to the Vietnamese Banh Canh
Thanks for the info. They definitely had a bit of boba-like chewiness.
Not in the Tenderloin, or even SF, but there is a new hu tieu place called Kali Noodles and Tea Bar near downtown San Jose, and they do hu tieu nam vang. I’ll have to go to compare against Ha Nam Ninh’s.
Thanks for the tip! That’s a delicious bowl of noodles and a fun game of “what do I want my next bite to be?”
What’s the preferred way of eating this? I dumped on the black sauce and enough soup to wetten the dish, sloshed everything around and added cilantro, and some of the house chili sauce to taste. The noodles never completely disentangled, but I managed.
What’s in the black sauce? Tasted like dark soy with some other seasonings and the article @atomica mentioned suspects it’s Maggi sauce.
There’s no wrong way to consume #25 dry, but I once tried putting the entire bowl of broth into the noodles and I don’t recommend that at all.
Usually I moisturize the noodles with just a few spoons of the broth, and maybe add a spoonful of the dark sauce. Then I put the cilantro and warmed bean sprouts along with a little of the hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon or lime in the noodle bowl and mix it all together, adding a little more broth if the noodles stick. I use the dark sauce like a dip for the meat toppings or a chopstick full of noodles.
I think there’s definitely some maggi in the dark sauce, along with a little oil and probably black pepper, and some tiny bits of translucent things on the bottom that kind of taste like onion or shallot, or maybe garlic.
Do they still take their time in the kitchen?
On recent visits, I’ve found that service was better than it was, say 1.5 years ago. When they first moved into the new space, it was always super slow, but I think now they are more like any normal restaurant.
Went to Hai Ky Mi Gia and had the #7 Mi Hai Ky - House Special Egg Noodle Soup, dry, with thick noodles ($8.06). Kind of like a hu tieu nam vang but with egg noodles instead of rice noodles. Came with kidney, ground pork, chicken I think, sliced pork, fish balls, fish cake, shrimp, cilantro, and a little crunchy fried garlic on top. Very good, I think they may splash some sauce or seasoning atop the noodles, they tasted very savory, like there was some msg in there. Noodles were good and chewy. Maybe not quite as addictive as the #25 dry from Ha Nam Ninh across the street.
Another noodle place is opening where Mangosteen used to be, called Lapats Thai Noodles Bar.
Not to be confused with Laphet, the Burmese restaurant in the works by William Lue down the street at 448 Larkin.
Didn’t know about that one, maybe we will get the Mohinga from his (now closed) Tender Loving Food in the Tenderloin again.
It has apparently already operated on a pop-up basis earlier this year.
Lapats Thai Noodle, mentioned as an aside recently by @Mr_Happy, is now open.
Pretty impressive menu beyond noodles, especially for dinner. One noodle item on the menu, Kuay Tiew Nuer Num Tok, is, I believe, a. k. a. Boat Noodles.
It is indeed impressive, with the number of varieties available. Have to go soon.
Please note that they open at 2pm on weekends. My plan to eat there was foiled since I didn’t expect them to be closed for lunch…
