"Banh Mi Quartet" - a tasting of 4 different restaurants

In early 2007, I organized my quarterly "Quartet" dining series for my group and this time around, we focused on checking out 4 Banh Mi restaurants in February and March. The four places we visited were Mr. Baguette, Banh Mi & Che Cali, Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery & Lee's Sandwiches.

Before starting this series, I have never had banh mi before so this was definitely going to be a new culinary experience for me. I started the "Banh Mi Quartet" with Mr. Baguette in Rosemead primarily because I remembered seeing it featured on Huell Howser.

Walking into Mr. Baguette at 10:30 am, I was surprised at how busy it was. After finally getting a table with my dining buddies, we finally walked up to the counter to place our orders. When placing your banh mi orders, you have a choice of either having the pickled veggies on the side or in the sandwich. I opted for the side so that I could customize my sandwiches to my taste.

I went for the Avocado Shake and ordered two sandwiches, the Special Banh Mi with the ham and pate as well as the Smoked Bacon on the Sesame Roll. Being an avocado lover, the shake was an instant hit. It was rich, creamy and filled me with avocado love. As for the sandwiches, let's start with the Special Banh Mi.

While I liked the bread, I didn't think it was anything to write home about. It had a nice crust to it, but the inside of the bread wasn't soft enough, which disappointed me. As for the cold cuts, I wasn't that impressed. On their own, the meats were kind of bland and it was only the pickled veggies that gave the sandwich any flavor at all.

I actually preferred the Smoked Bacon on the Sesame Roll. Yes, it's more like a Subway sandwich in that it's a bigger roll and it comes with lettuce and tomato, but the bread was really good. In fact, in this scenario, I just liked this bread better than the more traditional Vietnamese banh mi bread of the other sandwich. Of course, it didn't hurt that the main ingredient was bacon in all its fatty, smoky goodness. I think it just may be true that everything tastes good with bacon.

Based on my meal there, I'd probably go back to Mr. Baguette again. I would definitely like to try a different banh mi from the cold cuts as a point of comparison. If nothing else, there's still that avocado milkshake to look forward to. Mmmm.mmm...good!

Second on the rotation was Banh Mi & Che Cali at the Rosemead location. Before I even start talking about their banh mi, I have to give kudos for what I consider are the best spring rolls I’ve ever had. The vegetables were extremely fresh but what stood out for me was the crunch aspect of these rolls, which I think was pieces of a deep-fried spring roll wrapper, but I’m not completely sure. Whatever it was, it added a different dimension in flavor which was comprised of a little salty and a little sweet.

Ok, let’s get back to the banh mi. Compared to Mr. Baguette, the bread at Banh Mi & Che Cali was definitely superior. For my visit there, I only had one sandwich, a BBQ Pork Banh Mi. The bread was outstanding - crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way I envisioned what a French baguette roll should be like. As for the BBQ pork, it was absolutely delicious. Both sweet and a little smoky, the flavor of the pork was dancing up and down my taste buds. The pickled vegetables made the sandwich that much better and by the way, these veggies can also be ordered on the side or not. Based on that one sandwich alone, I’d go back to Banh Mi & Che Cali in a heartbeat, but the desserts that were also offered by this restaurant sealed the deal.

The Che part of the Banh Mi & Che Cali restaurant name is a general term is for a Vietnamese sweet dish or dessert. Che is usually soupy and is generally served with sweetened coconut milk and ingredients will include any combo of starches, fruits and/or jellies. We went to town and sampled 7 different kinds of Che. One of my favorites was the Che Thai, a chilled coconut milk drink flavored with pandan and featuring jackfruit, longan and agar-agar. This was an extremely refreshing dessert drink. I also really liked the sticky rice balls in the ginger syrup. Overall, Banh Mi & Che Cali is a banh mi keeper, but these wonderful desserts really stepped up its appeal even more.

After my great dining experience at Banh Mi & Che Cali, I didn’t think it could get any better, but it did and that came in the form of Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery in Westminster. The only downside is that it’s a take-out place, but on a pretty day, the park across the street is a wonderful substitute for a sit down restaurant. Walking into Banh Mi Cho Cu, it's quite apparent that it's a hopping place. Throughout our stay, there was a constant hustle and bustle of people coming in and out ordering their food. Other than banh mi, you’ll also see the variety of Vietnamese foods for sale other than the banh mi, which explains this small shop's popularity. From cold wrapped dishes to various filled hot pastries, you certainly had your pick. But do you know what really made me smile? The price of the banh mi sandwiches.

Up to this point, the sandwiches at Lee’s and Banh Mi & Che Cali were between $2.25 to a little over $3.00 in some cases. At Cho Cu Bakery, the prices were a steal at $1.25 and $1.50. Wow, my jaw almost dropped. I’ve heard that banh mi sandwiches were supposed to be around that range, but the first two restaurants I visited didn’t live up to that at all.

Other than the banh mi sandwiches, we all actually ordered some of the other wrapped items to share. There were definite hits and misses. Of all the ones we tried, I did like the more straightforward rice topped with dried fish, especially with soy sauce poured on top the best. The rice was a little sweet, but it really balanced well with the saltiness of both the fish and the soy sauce. Some of the other food items were just too glutinous for my taste.

So enough of the lolly-gaggling, let’s talk banh mi. I have to say that while I loved the banh mi at Banh Mi & Che Cali, I love the banh mi even more at Cho Cu Bakery. An intriguing thing to note about their exceptional bread is that it seemed hollowed inside, which meant that the baguette actually "cups" the filling as opposed to the filling just lying flat against the bread and falling out. With each bite, you get the delicious light-crispy-crusty bread, the delicious filling and the pickled vegetables all at one time. Now that's tasty efficiency.

A friend and I shared two sandwiches, the BBQ Pork Banh Mi and the Pork Meatball Banh Mi. As mentioned already, I thought the bread was absolutely wonderful and thankfully, the fillings were just as amazing. The bbq pork was charred to the point that it looked like beef jerky, but wow, the meat was tender, moist and had an intense caramelized flavor that just did it for me. As for the meatballs, my only complaint was that I didn't get enough of them, but what I did get was juicy and yummy.

I also really enjoyed the addition of sliced cucumbers to the veggie mix because they added refreshing notes to the overall flavor of both my banh mi sandwiches. One thing to note is that unlike Mr. Baguette or Banh Mi & Che Cali, there was no option to have the veggies on the side at Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery. My only regret about this tiny bakery all the way in Westminster is that it's so darn far from where I live, but then, what are gas prices and the 40+ miles I'd have to drive for even just a bite of one of their spectacular sandwiches. I wish I had one in front of me right now. (big sigh)

To end this "Banh Mi Quartet" series, Lee's Sandwiches was our last stop. Lee's has been around for a long time and I think it's fair to say that by virtue of having stores that have multiplied like bunnies all over the US; they've done a great job introducing banh mi to the mainstream public.

Given their place in banh mi "history", I was curious to see how what the banh mi sandwiches would taste like from what many consider as the "McDonald's" of banh mi sandwich shops (and not necessarily in a positive way).So in anticipation, I ordered a Grilled Pork Banh Mi and a Sardine Banh Mi. Like Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery, the veggies were not offered on the side, but came with the sandwiches. When my sandwiches arrived, I gravitated towards the Grilled Pork Banh Mi first. In taking the first bite, one thing I noticed right away was the bread and that wasn't a good thing. I was very disappointed in Lee's baguette.

It was sweet in a weird un-bread-like sort of way and the texture was chewy. Sweet and chewy is okay with a caramel candy, but not bread. I wouldn't say it was horrible but with recent memories of Cho Cu Bakery still floating in my mind, it's hard not to compare the two and find Lee's bread lacking.

The grilled pork filling was okay, although it reminded me of Chinese pork in that it erred on the sweeter side. "Sweet" bread and now a "sweet" filling? This combination wasn't quite working for me. Now the Sardine Banh Mi was fairly successful. I think the saltiness of the sardines cancelled out some of the sweetness of the bread and that's why I enjoyed it more.

In general, it was really the bread that brought everything down for me. The meat fillings, though not spectacular, were fine, but a sandwich without good bread is pretty much worthless. You might as well just take the filling, put it in a bowl, add lettuce and dressing and just make a salad out of it. I wouldn't say that I'd never go into a Lee's Sandwich shop ever again, but if I were in a part of the country where Lee's was the only place I could get a banh mi, I'd make the walk inside. Sometimes a burger just doesn't cut it.

Overall, this was a wonderful "Quartet." It was a great way to compare similar foods and to see how much the same or different they are from each other and the same goes for the 4 restaurants where we did our "Banh Mi" tastings in early 2007. In the end, what I really learned is that the baguette makes the "banh mi" and based on that, you'll definitely see me returning to Banh Mi & Che Cali and maybe, even making the drive to Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery whenever I need a Vietnamese hoagie fix.

Mr. Baguette
8702 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 288-9166
http://www.mrbaguettesandwiches.com/

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594566591159/

Banh Mi & Che Cali
8450 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 288-5600

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600037602651/

Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery
14520 Magnolia Street Suite B
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 891-3718

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600048279878/

Lee's Sandwiches
8779 East Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 291-2688
http://www.leessandwiches.com/

To see pics, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600048206471/

"Ramen Quartet" - A Tasting of 4 Different Restaurants

Latter part of last year, I organized my quarterly "Quartet" dining series for my group and this time around, we focused on checking out 4 Ramen restaurants from October to December. The four places we visited were Koraku, Hakata Ramen, Santouka Ramen and Daikokuya.

First up was Koraku in Little Tokyo. While strictly not a ramen house, what was interesting about Koraku was the sheer number and variety of ramen soups being offered. There was quite a list in the menu as well as special ramens being offered just for that day. For my order, I chose one of the specials called Sutamina Ramen, which had a shoyu (I think) broth and included garlic sprouts, ground pork, green onions and mushrooms.

If you were looking for something warm to ward off a cold day or night, I'd say this particular ramen would accomplish that just fine. It was a good solid dish, if not spectacular. There were certainly misses to it. I would have preferred firmer noodles. The broth was also a little too thin and there was a layer of oiliness towards the top of the broth that could have been lessened.

Also, I don't think ground meat really is a good choice for ramen or even soup in general. The ground pork in my ramen basically weighted itself to the bottom of the bowl. I almost forgot that it was there until I was half way done with my soup and finally started picking the meat up with my spoon. Even with all those cons, this ramen still had some good flavor coming from the garlic sprouts and green onions and that at least was satisfying. Would I come to Koraku again? Yes, if only to try out some of the other options on the menu. I just wouldn't order the Sutamina Ramen again.

From Koraku, we traversed all the way to Gardena to check out Hakata Ramen and it was certainly night and day. I'm a definite carnivore because I just loved the meatiness, porkiness of the Tonkotsu broth that came with my ramen. What I also really liked was being able to customize my ramen eating experience. Firm noodles? Check. Normal soup oil? Yes. Strong soup base? Definitely. At Koraku, I ate my ramen. At Hakata, I experienced my ramen. It was just that good. The broth was rich and hearty. I really felt like I was having meal vs. just soup. I also loved the spice factor of the spicy miso ball that I added to the broth and honestly, probably could have added another one for even more action.

Along with the soup, our group also sampled each other's various side dishes, which included the rice ball (more triangle actually), spam musubi, the mini gyoza and the grounded chicken bowl. I didn't really find anything that special about the gyoza or the chicken bowl. I found the rice ball moist and I liked how they weren't skimpy with mushrooms and carrots that were mixed with the rice. Being Filipino, I was raised on spam, so I definitely felt at home with the spam musubi. I definitely had a great meal there and am looking forward to a return visit.

The South Bay was certainly putting a lot of miles on my car because our next ramen outing was at Santouka in Torrance. I have to say that of all the ramens I tried in this dining series, the shio ramen that I had at Santouka surprised me the most. When researching the differences between all the different kinds of ramen broths, shio was described as being a clear, almost transparent chicken broth. The shio broth at Santouka was rich, milky looking and reminded me more of Tonkotsu (pork-bone) broth. Of course, when I got home and read through Chowhound postings again, there was a reference from "rameniac" stating that Santouka's shio broth was actually a shio-tonkotsu hybrid, so the Ah-ha came into play at that point.

But not having that reference handy, I worked through my surprise and proceeded to enjoy my shio ramen. While the noodles could have been firmer, the broth was fantastic. What I found interesting is that the hybrid version definitely had a cleaner and smoother taste to it, similar to a more traditional shio broth, but I also appreciated the tonkotsu's contribution of a richer, stockier soup. It was practically the best of both worlds. Along with the soup, I enjoyed both the leek rice and the egg that came with my set. The leeks added a nice hit of "green" flavor to the rice while I actually enjoyed the egg on its own without even adding it to my soup.

Finally, the "Quartet" ends at Daikokuya back in Little Tokyo. Daikokuya's claim to fame is that they only have one kind of broth for their ramen and that's the Tonkotsu broth. With having visited Hakata Ramen earlier in this dining series, I couldn't help but compare their version of Tonkotsu broth to that of Daikokuya. Both broths were rich in porky flavor, hearty and definitely mind-boggingly delicious, but there was a subtle difference between the two.

To my palate, the Hakata ramen was more refined. It's the part of James Bond that is sophisticated, cool under pressure, elegant. You can taste the porkiness of the broth but it wasn't completely in your face. Daikokuya, on the other hand, was that part of James Bond that was rough and tumble, aggressive and took no prisoners. The broth of Daikokuya's ramen was more intense, more meaty and definitely made its presence known, and just like Hakata Ramen, I did more than eat this soup, I lovingly savored it. Do I prefer one over the other? No. I really enjoy both. As mentioned earlier, I'm just a carnivore kind of girl. When choosing one over the other, it would depend on whether I wanted to dine with James in a tux or with him while he was interrogating someone.

Since I ordered a combo, I also had a salad and pork over rice with my ramen. I really liked the dressing that comes with the salad. It's a creamy citrus dressing that is a good balance between a little sweet and a little tart. The pork over rice was a miss. It was mostly just fat when I would have liked more meat.

Overall, this was a wonderful "Quartet." It was really fun exploring the world of ramen and its many differences, whether it's difference in broth or in how different restaurants cook and/or present them to their customers. Growing up on packaged ramen, it was only last year that I experienced real ramen when I first visited Daikokuya, so I'm definitely stoked that I was able to check out other wonderful options. My definite favorites were Daikokuya and Hakata with Santouka close behind and while I may not necessarily go out of my way to visit Koraku for ramen, at least, I know if I did, I won't be too disappointed.

Koraku Restaurant
314 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 687-4972

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594367236845/

Hakata Ramen
2015 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., #C
Gardena, CA, 90247
(310) 329-1335
http://www.shinsengumiusa.com/

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594395156529/

Santouka Ramen
21515 Western Avenue
Torrance, CA, 90501
(310) 212-1101

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594468325330/

Daikokuya
327 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA, 90012
(213) 626-1680
http://www.daikoku-ten.com/dk_home.html

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594468402395/

"Korean BBQ Quartet" - a month long tasting of 4 different restaurants

Last July, I organized my quarterly "Quartet" dining series for my group and this time around, we focused on checking out 4 Korean BBQ restaurants, one a week for a whole month. The chosen four were: ChoSun Galbee, Shik Do Rak, Soot Bull Jeep and Sa Rit Gol. Considering that there are over 600 hundred restaurants in Koreatown, with quite a few of them being Korean BBQ places, it was hard to narrow them down. Eventually, after a lot of research (Chowhound, opinions, articles, food critics), I chose the four restaurants that I felt each had something unique to offer.

First up was ChoSun Galbee. I chose ChoSun Galbee because of the fact that it has the reputation of being a great Korean BBQ starter restaurant. You won't find unusual or exotic kinds of meats on the menu, so for someone new to Korean BBQ, they won't be immediately put off. Instead, they'll have the choice of grilled beef, chicken or seafood. Also, depending on how busy the restaurant is, the wait staff will even grill your meats for you, which is less added pressure.

The restaurant space itself is beautiful. The outside waiting area has bamboo, lots of greenery and koi fish. The outdoor patio is cocooned also with lots of plants both inside and outside the area and the restaurant interior is comprised of brown leathers, warm wood paneling and cream walls. It's definitely on the higher-end of the Korean BBQ restaurant spectrum.

As for the food, what you will get are good quality meats to grill with and panchan that is flavorful, if not unique. I can say this now, especially after having already experienced the other three Korean BBQ restaurants that came after ChoSun Galbee. For our particular visit to Chosun Galbee, we had the short rib cubes, the bulgogi as well as the cold noodles with hot and spicy sauce. All the dishes were tasty and I really had no complaints, but were any of them really memorable? Not really. However, after everything is said and done, I would go back. While I may not have been wowed, at least, I know that any return visit would garner me a good meal and with a pretty space like ChoSun Galbee, you can't ask for more than that.

A week later, our second foray into Korean BBQ happened at Shik Do Rak. Before finding out about Shik Do Rak, my idea of how to eat Korean BBQ generally involved wrapping the meat and any other goodies inside a large lettuce wrap. Than I heard about dduk bo rak. For those of you who don't know, dduk bo rak are oiled rice noodles. Sometimes they are cut round like coasters and other times, they are square shapes like won ton wrappers. Shik Do Rak is known for their dduk bo rak, which is something different, and that's why it made it in my top four.

ChoSun Galbee and Shik Do Rak are definitely from two very different worlds. ChoSun Galbee, with its elegance, is a restaurant you'd bring business associates to, or a date or have special celebrations at. Shik Do Rak is definitely more casual a place you'd take friends or family to who don't really want or expect anything fancy.

After enjoying a good, if not spectacular meal at ChoSun Galbee, I had very high hopes for Shik Do Rak. Sad to say, those hopes were dashed. First off, let's talk about the panchan. Appearance-wise, everything looked uninspired as if it was just slopped into the little serving bowls. Unfortunately, the flavors were all uninspired as well. There was just no punch to any of the panchan items. Even the kimchee seemed one-note to me, more vinegary than anything else. I was also disappointed in the meat. The meat was a little more fatty than I would have liked and this could be just a preference thing, but none of the meat we ordered was marinated. If I wanted to just shave off pieces of meat to grill, I could have done that at home. For me, it's the marinade that makes Korean BBQ special and there was definitely nothing special about the meat we were grilling.

The one dish I did really like was this green onion or scallion pancake we ordered. That was awesome. The pancake was chock full of veggies and even topped with a couple of chile pepper slices to give it a little vavoom. As for the dduk bo rak, I'm going to pass on it. I didn't care for it that much. It was too small to wrap anything of substance inside plus it would tear. I also didn't like the fact that this oiled noodle seemed too oily and too slippery. Give me good old-fashioned lettuce anytime. In short, there were more cons than pros for me in regards to Shik Do Rak, so I wouldn't make a return visit anytime soon.

So far, one hit and one miss and the third week brings us to Soot Bull Jeep. I've been hearing about Soot Bull Jeep for years, but just hadn't made it out there. I'm so glad that I finally visited this popular, and rightly so, Korean BBQ eatery. One thing I was glad about was that I had taken the advice of others who had visited this place before and wore clothes that definitely were not my best. While both ChoSun Galbee and Shik Do Rak had gas grills, Soot Bull Jeep utilized natural charcoal, which will definitely leave you and your clothes very fragrant once you leave the restaurant. It's because of the fact that Soot Bull Jeep uses charcoal that it became part of this quartet.

After my last Korean BBQ outing, Soot Bull Jeep was heaven sent. After the disappointing panchan at Shik Do Rak, I was much happier with what Soot Bull Jeep had to offer. Soot Bull Jeep had some panchan similar to Shik Do Rak, but definitely a lot better in quality and flavor. There were also a couple of items that weren't at our two previous restaurants like the scallion salad, which I think had specks of dried chili and was dressed in some kind of vinegar-sugar concoction. At least, that's what memory brings to mind. Than there was also a cold kimchee soup, which was actually kind of refreshing to sip in between eating the hot meats.

As for the meats, all I have to say is "Wow!" The marinades that were used really gave flavor to the meat and then cooking them over the charcoal also gave the meats a smokiness that was ultra appealing. I also think that the meat just browned better, if that makes sense. There's just a different texture that meat gets when cooked over charcoal versus a gas grill. Whether it was chicken, beef or pork, you just didn't go wrong. I enjoyed my meal from start to finish and I would definitely return to Soot Bull Jeep.

Finally, our Korean BBQ foursome ends with Sa Rit Gol. When I had read about Sa Rit Gol, the one thing that stood out from all the writings is that they are known for their excellent panchan and I can definitely see why now. The cool thing about Sa Rit Gol is that there were things that we ate and drank that you didn't see at either of the three previous restaurants.

For example, upon our arrival, instead of water, we all got iced barley tea, which by the way, was very refreshing. While the panchan included the potato salad, mung beans and cabbage kimchee that seems to be the standard, we also were treated to marinated watercress, a "greens" kimchee (maybe, spinach?) and a squash salad. All the panchan were absolutely delicious with lots of flavor and a kickiness to them. Of the four restaurants, I enjoyed Sa Rit Gol's kimchee the best. Just looking at the deep red of the sauce, you already know that their kimchee was going to give you a great mouth zing.

As for our meats, one of the things we ordered was a short rib, which while not marinated, was very good. Unlike the other meats at the other three restaurants, this short rib was cooked while still on the bone with garlic and with a sprinkle of sea salt. I'm not sure if leaving the bone intact makes a difference or not, but even without marinade, the meat was really tasty. Before eating, our waitress actually cut the meat off the bone and in pieces, so that we wouldn't have any trouble eating it.

Other grilled meats that we ordered included thinly sliced beef that was cooked with onions and garlic, bulgogi and spicy pork. All the meats were excellent and you can really tell that the meat quality was above par. While the meats at Shik Do Rak could have improved ten-fold with some kind of marinade, the ones that didn't have marinade at Sa Rit Gold still would have made the meal.

Along with the barbecue, we also ordered a mung bean pancake, which I enjoyed, but believe it or not, I liked the one at Shik Do Rak better, but considering that everything else met and exceeded my expectations, I'm not going to cry over one mung bean pancake. Finally, our meal ended with an iced honey tea, which was a nice way to cleanse our palate

Overall, this was a wonderful "Quartet." It was a great way to compare similar foods and to see how much the same or different they are from each other and the same goes for the 4 restaurants where we did our "Korean BBQ" tastings for the whole month of July. Even all the grills differ between ChoSun Galbee, Shik Do Rak, Soot Bull Jeep and Sa Rit Gol, from shape to gas vs. charcoal. After my Korean BBQ restaurant journey, I definitely can rank them in order of preference. You probably can already tell from all musings above, but just so you know for sure, take a look below:

Soot Bull Jeep – Yes, I'd definitely go back.
3136 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 387-3865
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594229903171/

Sa Rit Gol – Yes, I'd definitely go back.
3189 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 387-0909
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594229952521/

Chosun Galbee – Yes, I'd go back.
3330 W. Olympic Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90019
(323)734-3330
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594222202629/

Shik Do Rak – No, I'd pass.
2501 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 384-4148
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594228501657/