Thursday, July 31, 2008

vietnamese fast food

After ten weeks of interning in Oakland, I finally discovered "Chinatown" and this wonderful Vietnamese fast food restaurant. Another law clerk led me to this restaurant when he told me he knew where to get Vietnamese sandwiches. Not only is the food good, it's pretty cheap too. I went back to the restaurant for lunch today to see what other yummy foods to get my maw on.

There was a line out the door today!

After staring at the selection for what seems like hours (I was only standing in line for about ten minutes), I decided on spring rolls and fried rice. I initially just wanted the spring rolls, but the steaming pan of fried rice was practically seducing me with its scent to buy some.
The fried rice was really good, and surprisingly, not one bit greasy. I especially liked the pieces of Chinese sausages in it.
These pre-made springrolls were very fresh also, especially the veggies in it. The lettuce, cucumber, mint and chives were exceptionally crunchy, and each bite I took had a strong minty taste. There was also an equal balance of vermicelli noodles and veggies, unlike the ones that normally have more noodles than anything else. I like a lot of spice, but since I didn't have my bottle of rooster sauce, the peanut hoison dipping sauce was pretty good too.
All that for under $5! What a deal! Of course, I immediately suffered a food coma after stuffing my gut, but I couldn't take a nap at work so I had to go get myself a Red Bull.

(side note to T - You have got to go to Hau Giang in Dorchester because they have THE BEST banh mi thit. I am still searching for a place in SF that serves a comparable sandwich.)

2 comments:

Tia said...

Those shrimps look delish! I so love that Cali has such good and cheap eats!! Will put banh mi thit from Hau Giang on my list of "things to eat"! Thanks for the tip--I've yet to make it to Dorchester (the ethnic culinary hub--or so I've heard). :) <3

q-pig said...

If there is a Little Saigon in the Boston area, I'd say it would be Dorchester. Gotta warn you though, Hau Giang increased the prices on sandwiches from $2 to $2.75 -- still worth it. =) Depending on what time my flight arrives, my parents always make sure I get a banh mi thit upon my arrival. =)