Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Since I knew I would be in the San Jose area, I wanted to find a good pho place to go to. I am a big fan of Northern Style pho, so in doing some research, I found Pho Hà Nôi. The pictures I saw on their Yelp page looked very similar to Turtle Tower. This made me pretty excited to give it a try. Feel free to compare the pictures by checking out my original Turtle Tower post . Please note that the bowls at Pho Hà Nôi were bigger (no size options for the chicken only large). One of the biggest draws for me would be the house made noodles. In case you are really into the thinner noodles, they have that as an option also. They name their specialty chicken pho "chicken with intestine," but there are no intestines in there. Or maybe it was meant to be a secret and I wasn't supposed to share? At Turtle Tower, they tell you that it's chicken and giblets. If asked, I would have trouble saying which I like better. Both are very good. It would be nice though, if at Pho Hà Nôi ...

On the way back from San Diego, I stayed a night in Anaheim. My friends already knew that they wanted they wanted for dinner, so I went along for the ride. This was the best meal we had all weekend! I've eaten my fair share of Vietnamese food, but this was a first.  I'm not normally a snail loving person; I prefer bivalves. These escargot though, were delicious . That's right, these stupid snails were so good I told everyone we should get another order because I was feeling greedy and wanted more! My friend suggested I calm myself and wait since they ordered so many other things. It was a struggle, but I made it through. And then ordered another of the snails, and another of the squid salad. It was a big party of flavors and textures and I loved every moment of it. We ordered two types of clams and both were fantastic. One had a meatier flavor (the cherry stone), while the other had a bit more of a tang (the one with the fried pork belly). Both were delectable.  It...

When I went to the Bay area recently to meet up with a friend, he said that there was a Vietnamese place that was known for their pizzle. Funnily enough, for someone who considers themself down to try just about anything, I hadn't had it before. When looking for this location, be aware that there are two bun bo hue restaurants in the same plaza. If you are facing the front of both of them, it's the one on the left. As soon as you walk in, you can smell the fragrant soup. My stomach growled, immediately. The menu is simple, the way I like it. There is no hesitation as we all order the bun bo hue with pizzle. I also ordered a soda chanh (lemon soda with seltzer), which was a little bit of a disappointment as there was just a huge amount of sugar sitting at the bottom of the cup. They gave me the can of seltzer to go with it, but that just made the drink initially too sweet, good for a moment, and at the end, just mostly seltzer.  The bun bo hue itself was fine. I would h...

Usually when I go to San Francisco and look for something to eat, I don't go for pho. I've had it before at random places in the South Bay and Oakland haven't had anything that stood out as anything special. Why would I get pho in the Bay if it tastes the same as in Sac? And then, I saw a bowl of pho on a friend's Instagram that looked different. The only other time I had seen a bowl that looked like that was in Sydney. And that pho is my favorite around the world (haven't been to Vietnam yet, so then there's that). Because the pho at Turtle Tower looked like the pho from An, I had to give it a try.  I ordered the phở gà (chicken pho) and cà phê đá (iced coffee). I just have to say, I haven't had iced coffee like this in a long time. I think the more mainstream Vietnamese coffee has become, the more watered down it's been. The only other times I've had it where it tasted like this was at someone's home, or in San Jose. It made my day. It's...