When you hear Asian cuisines, you think about Sushi-Japanese, Dim Sum-Chinese or KimChi-Korean. What happens to the others? Well, just keep on reading! Asian cuisine is all about that balance between savory and sweet, hot and cold, or salty and bitter, you know that Yin and Yang. Let me introduce you to B Bistro ta-da! (Yes, I know what you are thinking). It’s an authentic Vietnamese cuisine, where you can get a taste of Vietnam without ever visiting the country. A restaurant on wheels (wink).
What makes Vietnamese food so special? Let’s start with Phở (pronounced fuuh, lower your voice then raise it). What’s with the phonetic lesson? I learned the hard way. First time ordering, I pronounced it “F-O-E”. Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup famous for its aromatic flavor. I had the Phở Bò Viên consist of beef meatballs and rice. The broth was Phở-bulitious! You can taste the freshness of the herbs and spices. The broth was light, flavorful, savory, rich, that balance of heat and sweetness. Although it’s all about the broth; we can’t forget the meatballs and slices of beef (De-liciousness!). After that bowl of soup, my body felt whole! You know, Phở-nominal (hummmmm)
To really understand the flavors of Vietnam, we have to look at the culture.
It’s about the size of Italy, marked by Hanoi in the north, Do Nang in the middle, Hoi Chi Minh City in the south. Vietnam was occupied by China and colonized by the French, which has an influence on their food. Taste and dish varies by North and South. An example is the phở— a popular street food eaten for breakfast—the north uses a clear, simple broth, wider noodles, and the south has a bold broth, thin noodles. Fun Fact: Today phở is considered the national dish of Vietnam.
Now let’s talk about the other great dishes I ate. I literally ate the entire truck, yes you can call me little miss piggy. I’ll start with the Deep Fried Chicken Wings (a.k.a Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm), nope we’re not going back to phonetic school. The name said it all, it’s not your familiar southern fried chicken. The breading was light, with a kick of salty and sweet. It had an amazing crunch and yummy umami flavors. Next was the Crispy Spring Rolls (Chả Giò), no not egg rolls; they are filled with salad mixture, pork, shrimp, and glass noodles. They are tasty, Roll-ing with texture and flavor (haha). Shuhhhh, we are not going to talk about the Bánh Mì, I’m feeling judged already. Please don’t Banh Mi from eating (crying).
