Ngu Binh Restaurant

20150726:
My dad and I have tried coming here on several occasions, but it's either been overly busy with groups of people waiting outside or closed (on Mondays).

Bún Bò Huế (20150726)

Today, my family and I drove by and there didn't seem to be a line, so we decided to finally give it a try. To our surprise, there were many customers inside waiting to be served. Even though the restaurant had just opened, a line was already forming.

In fact, we were lucky to have been seated, because customers started putting their name on the wait list soon after we arrived.

As we sat and waited, we noted that order after order of takeout was also being claimed by various customers.

The plate of herbs and vegetables! (20150726)

When our bún bò Huế arrived, I found the broth had a nice floral smell.

I liked the taste of the broth, the meats tasted good, and overall the bún bò Huế tasted good. In terms of portions, the small bowl was good for me.

My parents said that cabbage is more traditional than beansprouts, but that the inclusion of the banana was good. My dad also noted that there was probably a bit of MSG.

Bún Bò Huế (takeout) (20160802)

[20150904]

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20160802:
Today we ordered bún bò Huế from Ngu Binh to-go. It was good. I especially liked the cha.

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20161216:
Today Ada and I went with my dad to get lunch here at Ngu Binh; it's only the second time I've eaten here at the restaurant!

Bún Bò Huế (20161216)

While here, my dad talked about the dish and cited the colder climate of the city Hue in central Vietnam as the primary reason for developing such a flavorful and hearty soup.

For the most part, I enjoyed the dish and thought the broth had a fresh taste.

With that being said, I enjoy eating pho much more than I enjoy eating bun bo hue.

[20170106 Quick Edit]

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Ngu Binh Restaurant

Bún Bò Huế (20150926)

Relevant Links:
Ngu Binh Restaurant - Westminster, CA (Yelp.com)

Afters Ice Cream

20150725:
Today was my first visit to Afters and after standing in a long line, I tried two samples.

The first flavor I tried was Vietnamese coffee and to me it tasted just like any coffee-flavored ice cream would taste.

The second flavor I tried was the Jasmine milk tea. In this case, it tasted exactly like Jasmine milk tea would taste!

Then, after trying the two samples, I took a risk and blindly ordered a scoop of the Cookie Monster in a cup.

With a good amount of cookie chunks, Cookie Monster is kind of like blue cookies and cream (except with chocolate chip cookies, not Oreos). 8:18PM PT

It should be noted that eating Cookie Monster will temporarily turn your tongue blue as well.

[20150901]

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Afters Ice Cream

Relevant Links:
Afters Ice Cream Website
Afters Ice Cream - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)

Cafe Lu

My friend and I have been wanting to go to a Vietnamese cafe for a while now and today we decided to go to one. We brought another friend along as well. It was my first time going to a Vietnamese cafe.*

We had a plum drink. The plum was pickled and at first it reminded me of pickle juice, but overall tastier.

I had two coffees which was more than I should drink (too much coffee gives me headaches), but at the moment my head raced and I became more talkative.

The experience initially felt awkward, but got more casual the longer my two friends and I stayed.

The the first person to sit and talk with us seemed quite relax as she was smoking her vape.

Another worker had passed by and did not seem to be totally paying attention to the conversation. This was awkward and eventually she walked over to another table.

Moments pass and she returned and sat down to talk with us. This time the conversation was more interesting. With that being said, sometimes she would continued to show lack of interest, but it was less noticeable and not as awkward as before. 4:46PM PT

*As of 20170512, it's also the only time I've been to a Vietnamese cafe.

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Cafe Lu

Relevant Links:
Cafe Lu - Santa Ana, CA (Yelp.com)
Cafe Lu (Facebook Page)
cafelu (Instagram)

Orange County Fair 20150724

20150724:
This year I happened to be in town during the fair and figured it'd be fun to go.

One of the first things my friend and I did after entering was look for food. After looking around at the various choices, we decided to get some Australian Battered Potatoes and among the possible choices, we decided to try their new "Hot as the Outback" Sriracha sauce.

Australian Battered Potatoes: Hot as the Outback with Sriracha

As usual, the battered potatoes were delicious. As for the sauce, I definitely enjoyed it and I found it wasn't so spicy, so they're worth trying even if you don't normally eat spicy foods.

Some interesting items such as Fried Slim Fast, Fried Pickles
with Peanut Butter (inside), and Fried Twinkies with Caviar (on top)

After eating, we got some beer and walked around looking for more food. I had the Ninkasi Total Domination and Josh had the Valiant Criterion.

Porkabello Kabob - gouda stuffed bacon wrapped mushrooms

Eventually we went to check out the art exhibit and stayed there a while. I also checked out the crafts exhibit, while Josh and Michael went to buy some scratchers and a giant inflatable Sriracha bottle. Afterwards, we met up and got some more food.

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Leg

As a group of three, we split a Porkabello Kabob and a Bacon Wrapped Turkey Leg. The Porkabello Kabob was delicious, because it was juicy and because of the oils from the cheese and bacon. No really, the Porkabello Kabob was sooo juicy!

More Australian Battered Potatoes.

The Bacon Wrapped Turkey Leg was also good, but quite unwieldy. In particular, the bacon had a tendency to come off and seemed to make the turkey too oily and salty. Of course, this didn't stop us from finishing it off, because the meat was still juicy. 10:53PM PT

Before leaving the fair, we stopped by the Australian Battered Potatoes stand where Josh got an order to take home. We did, however, all eat a couple of them so that it'd be easier to bring back to the car.

With all the heavy fair food in our digestive tract, we finished the night by going to Sonic Drive-In.

[20150901]

The Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe

20150719:
After we put our names in, we decided to kill the half hour wait by going to Great American Yogurt.

Hawaiian Omelet

Getting dessert out of the way, it was time for the main course.

Menu Description:
Omelettes
Served with Hash Browns and Choice of Toast

Menu Description Continued:
7. Hawaiian Omelet
Ham, Pineapple, Brown Sugar, Cheese and Sour Cream

My choice of toast.

While the sour cream tastes good, I scrape the bulk of it off.

Without the sour cream, the omelet tastes sweet - like pineapples.

Hawaiian French Toast (Josh)

As a personal preference, I would have preferred it with less cheese. 12:59PM PT

Oh, I should also note that I tried some of Josh's order, the Hawaiian French toast, but I didn't like it as much as regular French toast.

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The Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe

Relevant Links:
The Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe - Huntington Beach, CA (Yelp.com)
HB Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe Facebook Page

Super Duper Burgers

20150710:
After watching Jurassic World at Metreon 16, my friend and I decided to eat at Super Duper Burger.

Coming here for the first time, I decided to get a burger and a Super Shake ("fresh strawberries"). We also split an order of French fries together with the three dips (Super Sauce, Housemade Mayo, Chipotle).

While waiting for the burgers to finish, my friend and I tried our shakes. I thought my strawberry shake was good. In particular, I noted that there's a consistent taste of strawberry syrup throughout the entire shake. Furthermore, the shake is nice and sweet.

Michael, a fan of shakes, rates his shake at being around the seventy-fifth percentile. He adds that his favorite shakes are from In-N-Out, because of their thickness.

As for the burger, it was, as indicated on the menu, quite juicy. While I enjoyed the burger, I failed to notice that the wrapper was tilted and a bunch of the burger's juices spilled all over my phone. An even larger amount just created a pool nearby. Luckily for me the phone is designed to keep water out.

Finally, while the fries were decent, the three dips were not worth their cost ($1.50). I was down for trying it this one time, but I would not get them for myself. Well, I probably wouldn't get the fries for myself in the future either. 10:03PM PT 10:37PM PT

[20150815]

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Super Duper Burgers

Relevant Links:
Super Duper Burgers Website
Super Duper Burgers - Financial District - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)

Sichuan Fusion

20150709:
Today I came here with a friend and we ordered two entrees: the crispy prawn noodle and the spicy fish filet with tea tree mushrooms.

Between the two, my friend liked the crispy prawn noodle, but was disappointed by the spicy fish filet.

Crispy Prawn Noodle

From what I could tell, I had a more neutral opinion towards the two dishes. In particular, I found the crispy prawn noodle was good, while the spicy fish filet had a floury and salty taste, which was satisfactory, but not great.

Spicy Fish Fillet

Note that the spicy fish filet also has a lemony, peppery taste and aside from the fish filet itself, the tea tree mushrooms were delicious.

[20150813]

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Sichuan Fusion

Relevant Links:
Sichuan Fusion Website
Sichuan Fusion - Richmond, CA (Yelp.com)