Sometimes, even while on vacay, you just might want to go basic with something less expensive and also less heavy.  This was the case here when Viv and I decided to just grab some Vietnamese nearby our hotel.  We made our way to the highly-rated Saigon Dish in Lawndale.  I guess we weren't the only ones thinking that as there was an extensive wait list going on.  Instead of giving up, we merely put our name down on the iPad and waited in the car.  Almost 45 minutes later, we were seated.

A bit out-of-character, we decided to order the Shrimp Tempura.  Nope, no spring rolls, no salad rolls and no salad.  Nothing really unusual about this dish as it was what we expected.  It consisted of meaty shrimp that had some rebound texture while coated in a light tempura batter.  The outside was crispy while the batter was slightly greasy.  It came with a sweet chili dip and the whole thing just ate pleasantly.  Not sure if this would be the most interesting thing to order as a starter though.

Viv went for the Phở with lean steak and brisket.  This was a solid bowl of noodles as the broth was clean but had depth.  It wasn't too salty while the natural sweetness of the components did come through.  There was sufficient tender meats, but they could've put a bit more to balance out the amount of al dente noodles.  But really, it was a good value and was more than enough food for Viv.

For myself, I had the Bún Bò Huế.  Unlike many versions out there, this one was legit as there was a large pork knuckle sitting in the fragrant broth.  Unfortunately, there was no pig's blood, but I can understand it may not be a big seller.  Now back to the broth, we could taste the lemongrass for sure, but there could've been more shrimpiness.  The spice was medium where it did add impact.  The noodles were slippery and chewy while the meats were tender (including the pork hock).

Lastly, we added the Bo Luc Lac with rice.  Despite the considerable amount of onions, it really didn't define the dish.  The cubes of beef were super moist and tender.  It had been stir-fried enough to slightly caramelize the onions and hence provide some sweetness.  This complimented the black pepper and soy.  I would've liked to see some peppers added to the mix rather than just onions.  Overall, the food at Saigon Dish was quite good and very reasonably-priced.  That is probably why they are so busy all the time.

For Scout, he went for the Pho Tron with Beef.  This came with the same turmeric ribbons and accompaniments.  There is no soup in this picture because the thought it would be a better shot...  Anyways, the main difference in the protein really changed the dish.  The well-marinated and tender beef provided more punch and depth with salty brininess to already compliment the existing sauce. Overall, we enjoyed the food at Phở Bắc Sup Shop where things were just tweaked enough to create some excitement to the dishes without being completely unfocused.  Loved the industrial vibe of the place and we had some great cocktails too.

Continuing on with the standard stuff, we had the Pork Spring Rolls and the Chicken Wings.  I found the spring rolls to be quite good being tightly-wound but not dense inside.  The filling was not loose, but it had some fluffiness to go along with the meat texture.  Outside was crunchy and not overly greasy.  As for the wings, they were somewhat aggressively battered and hence they were crunchy.  The skin was fairly well-rendered while the nicely marinated meat was juicy.  There was a side of spiced salt to dip the wings into.

From the appies, we went onto the staples including the Phở Đặc Biệt and the Bún Bò Huế.  As expected, the phở was fully loaded with all the meats including tendon and tripe.  Textures were on point while the noodles remained al dente.  The broth was clean and sweet with some background meatiness and daikon.  As for the BBH, the broth was spicy with some fermented shrimpiness.  Loved that they put in the pork knuckle (2 pieces too!).  Only thing missing was the pork blood, but that is probably not a big seller, hence not available.

We ended up having two versions of the Bún Riêu including the original with rice noodles and an alternate version with red rice noodles.  Other than that, they were identical with a seafoody and sweet broth.  I enjoyed this and despite what people will tell you, the one at Bun Cha Ca Hoang Yen is not the best.  I find that one too "porky" and the crab gets lost.  This one, the pork, crab and egg was fluffy and briny sweet.  Lots of shrimp, fish cake and chả lụa to compliment.  By virtue of being thicker, chewier and more robust, the red rice noodle makes the whole bowl much more filling and heavy.  Definitely a good option for those who want more texture.

Our last soup noodle was the Seafood Rice Noodle featuring shrimp, fish cake, crab cake and veggies.  Predictably, the broth was very clean, clear and sweet.  There was the ever-so-slight brininess to it.  Since this was all seafood, this ate more lightly and felt healthy.  We also had the Bo Kho with baguette on the side.  This was loaded with large pieces of brisket that were rather lean (the flat portion of the brisket).  Therefore, it was a touch dry, but still sufficiently tender.  It was bathed in a meaty and slightly fatty braising liquid.  There a little bit of spice to it and the star anise came through.  Definitely some sweetness too.  Great for dipping the bread into.

Complimenting our meal and also being our de facto dessert, we had the Combination Bean Pudding and the Durian Smoothie.  The Bean Pudding consisted of mung beans, red beans, and pandan jelly, topped with coconut cream and crushed ice.  Both were pretty sweet, with the bean pudding having plenty of textures.  I've had Che on many occasions and this one was fully loaded.  The durian smoothie was not too pungent, so it was rather mild.  As you can see, the food at Pho Super Bowl comes in large quantities.  But the quality is there too, so you get the best of both worlds.  In addition, the pricing is reasonable.  Great place to grab a bite to eat but keeping within a budget.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

Here we go again with non-French eats while in Paris.  For lunch, we wanted to grab a quick bite before some touristing.  We hadn't done any Vietnamese so far and since we were in France (they colonized Vietnam at one point), we had to get some Phở right?  Our first option (Song Heng) was not open for the Summer, so we went somewhere nearby in
Asia Bò Bún.  Hey, they are highly-rated on Google, which sometimes means nothing at all.  So I guess we were about to find out if this was going to be good or not...

For my daughter, she had the Bò Lúc Lắc and it was not filled with any filler.  Normally, you would find onions and peppers in many versions, but this was how we like it - with just beef!  This was subjected to a good marinade and wok fry where the meat was caramelized while still being juicy and tender.  Plenty of flavour from the meat (in a salty and aromatic way) but the tomato rice was pretty tasty too.  Good texture being chewy but not dry.

Viv also went for her favourite dish in the Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl .  Well, I'm not really sure what to say about this one as we had already eaten both the spring rolls and chicken in other dishes!  The chicken in this one was in strips, so it wasn't as juicy, but it wasn't dry.  You see, we had to get this dish anyways because the restaurant is called Asia Bo Bun (the beef version of this).  Like the rest of the food, the vermicelli was well-prepared.  Solid Vietnamese in the heart of Paris.