Had a bún riêu for the first time at Da Nang Quan in Oakland. Thought it tasted interesting but I had no point of reference. Where does one find an exemplary example of bún riêu in the Bay Area?
Bún riêu is rice vermicelli tomato soup. In this version, it had Crab Meat Ball, Tofu Pork Blood. The basics are fairly similar to the Bun Cha Ca on their menu (no tomato soup) but I thought that one was a bit dominated by the bamboo taste.
Bún riêu at Da Nang Quan:
There was a thread on Chowhound about the use of fresh crab in bun rieu, and it seems like two places have(had) it: Rang Dong and (now closed) Bun Mam Soc Trang. I haven’t tried either but I have tried a lot of versions, including a good one in Hanoi.
In my opinion it is one of the most failed dishes in American Vietnamese restaurants, ie there are a lot of crap versions that veer far from the original dish. Even though I would love to try one of the fresh crab versions, my favorite thus far is at Tay Ho in Oakland. It is my favorite noodle soup there, and often trumps their fantastic crispy crepe if I only get to choose one dish for my meal.
Thanks for the tip. Why do you think the restaurants here fail so often? A lack of desire to stay true to the recipe? Doesn’t seem like an overly complicated dish to stay true to…
Any idea if Tay Ho in Oakland is affiliated with Tay Ho in San Jose?
My hypothesis is volume, it is a lesser known and less often often ordered soup so kitchens don’t pay attention to it. Bad pho broth on the other hand would be bad for business.
I am almost certain that Tay Ho Oakland is not related to the one in San Jose, the proprietress’s mother does the cooking in Oakland.
Got it. I found a post on this page from a Vietnamese food fan who ranks the bun rieus in San Jose:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.859413724144771.1073741860.822484524504358&type=3
— Bun Mam Ha Tien
— Com Tam Thanh Inc
— Pho Kim Long
— Pho Ga Hung Restaurant
— Chao Vit Thien Thuong
Any opinion on these?
Wonderful photo, sck!
I haven’t been to those, I don’t have a very flexible schedule when I go down to the peninsula. Maybe others have tried it…
