Pho - Oh, how I love thee....

[nvanprooyen]

I can't believe I went my whole life without eating Pho until tonight. For the uninitiated, it is basically a Vietnamese noodle soup. More details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho

I've eaten a lot of international food and traveled abroad quite a bit. How Vietnamese slipped under my radar, I'm really not sure. I took my stepson and some friends to a concert and had to kill some time, so I figured I would work out and grab some dinner while I waited to pick them up.

The area of town I was in has a lot of Asian restaurants, so I opted out of Thai (my usual favorite), decided to try something new and hit up a Vietnamese place. So glad I did. I actually can't wait to go back to the same place and try some more stuff on their menu.

So the real point of this thread...what are some other international cuisines / dishes / etc you guys have had that many people haven't tried?

Love to eat and always looking for something new and awesome.

 

[Crystallas]

I love Pho. And if you're Pho spot has pho, but it tastes like soup, it's not real pho. If you have a good Vietnamese dive, then the combo fried rice is really unique too, because they use peanut oil and Vietnamese sausage. Great stuff!

I love real Gyoza, but all of the Gyoza here looks and tastes like pot-stickers. Pot stickers still taste good, but real Gyoza is like 20 levels better.

Man, I love all kinds of food. I love Korean food, Indian food, nearly every European food. I even miss some of the food I had when I was in the middle east, it's like a fusion of italian food and indian food. Actually, I miss all of the food that I got accustomed to when I lived in Hawaii. It's not pineapple and coconut, like most people think. In Chicago, there is one plate lunch restaurant, and they are pretty much mid-westernized and not authentic(despite the signs that say "authentic" ect).

I also love Sushi. Not so much the basics, like California rolls. But spicy crab, eel, stuff like that is just AWESOME.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Nice man. I've spent some time in the middle east myself. Mostly Israel, but I've been in a few other surrounding countries too...which makes it particularly fun at Ben Gurion airport when they flip through the passport stamps. Anyone who has flown into Israel can probably appreciate.

Pretty sure I got the real deal:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-may-revitalizing-neighborhoods-orlandos-vimi-district

I guess after a little research Orlando has a pretty large Vietnamese population...which I never realized in all the years I've lived here. Rarely go into that part of town, but I think it warrants a little more exploring. I am certainly going to take your suggestions to heart and try that stuff out! I am a huge fan of Indian as well. I make it at home sometimes, but I usually get complaints about the house smelling like curry for days after I do it.

And sushi...holy shit I love sushi, sashimi all of it. I like the off the wall stuff as well (by American standards anyways).

 

[Crystallas]

I know you got the real deal, because you made the distinction between it being Pho, and just calling it 'Vietnamese Soup' on it's own.

I'm actually pretty jelly. You have a bigger Vietnam district than we do. :buttrock:

 

[nvanprooyen]

The place I went to had a gigantic menu. I did something I rarely do and told the server, just bring me whatever you like.....

http://www.pho88orlando.com/Take_Out_Menu_Jan2011.pdf

I figured I had a lot better chance of getting something good doing that vs. trying to figure it out on my own.

 

[nvanprooyen]

I'm trying to figure out if they have Gyoza on their menu and if it is called something weird (or I am just not seeing it). Can you tell? I'm guessing the fried rice stuff you are talking about is in that section. If so, I might have to test out the #61 next time I am down there.

 

[Crystallas]

I'm trying to figure out if they have Gyoza on their menu and if it is called something weird (or I am just not seeing it). Can you tell? I'm guessing the fried rice stuff you are talking about is in that section. If so, I might have to test out the #61 next time I am down there.

No, they wont have Gyoza. At least, they wouldn't have what I'm talking about. Although it's possible they are gyoza fans, and you see a mix of this kind of stuff in certain asian-fusion places. That is something you'll find at an authentic Japanese cuisine place. Also, Japanese style curry is awesome too.

If you see this, then there is a good chance that it's just a pot sticker with a hint of ginger or something to make it more "Japanese". But you'll know the difference by taste.

But if you see this, then the chef is serious about their gyoza.

Kind of like good dim sum. You can find it like pot stickers, but real dim sum is really different. That's traditional Chinese BTW, I don't want to you hunt it down on the Vietnamese menus LOL. BTW Vietnamese places are 90% going to wrap their rolls and dumplings in rice paper, so it comes out transparent. If you think egg rolls are good but too greasy, then you'll love spring rolls from a Vietnamese joint.

I'm trying to figure out if they have Gyoza on their menu and if it is called something weird (or I am just not seeing it). Can you tell? I'm guessing the fried rice stuff you are talking about is in that section. If so, I might have to test out the #61 next time I am down there.

#61 is exactly that, combination fried rice. I don't know if theirs is great, but it should still be really good.

 

[nvanprooyen]

I've eaten my fair share of dumplings / pot stickers. Just going off the photos, you are saying a more elongated shape with an even sear is a good indicator? Or am I missing something? Also the part without the sear looks like it has been cooked a bit more.

 

[Crystallas]

The top picture is straight fried to cook. It's going to be a solid mush inside. The bottom one is both fried and steamed. So it's going to be crispy and juicy, with the meat filling melting in your mouth. The method is such a small detail, but it makes ALL of the difference in the world. ie: if a place premakes a ton of gyoza, but freezes them to toss into a pan, it's going to taste like a store bought/buffet pot-sticker.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Gotcha - Makes sense, small details count. A lot. Off to bed....have a good night.

 

[WCL]

I agree. It's pho king great.

If you're in Chicago and want great pho, check out Tank Noodle at Broadway and Argyle. I used to live just around the corner from there. That whole area is great for food. Sun Wah has really good duck and BBQ, and Demera is good Ethiopian. And there must be 30 Thai, Vietnamese or sushi restaurants in the neighborhood.

 

[HearshotKDS]

I currently live in China, and one thing I've seen here that I don't often see in other places is 米线. Pronounced Me-Shan (like in the name Shanon), it's soup, meat and vegetables with a rice noodle instead of wheat or other grain. It's delicious, I like to add a bit of dark vinegar to it as well. Another thing I didn't know until I got here, Chinese don't use Soy Sauce they use Vinegar. On everything.

 

[nvanprooyen]

That looks good. Also interesting tidbit about the vinegar...never knew that.

 

[Sunbiz1]

The list of international and authentic restaurants is endless here. From Middle-Eastern on Chicago's NW side to Greek on the near west to Puerto Rican in Humboldt park, I wouldn't know where to begin. I always look for the family owned spots, where mother and grandmother are doing the cooking. Or Latin American street food, such as you'll find here:

[video=youtube;uvtXMA30xXw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvtXMA30xXw&feature=plcp[/video]

 

[AuCN]

supposed to get half a foot of snow here starting tonight. Perfect night to take some pho home!

 

[Rice Cube]

I too want pho now.

 

[Crystallas]

Me3

Or some REAL Ramen(not the stuff that comes in packages), which isn't far off PHO.

 

[Jester]

You guys made me hungry, damn.

 

[WCL]

I too want pho now.

 

[1COBearsfan]

supposed to get half a foot of snow here starting tonight. Perfect night to take some pho home!

Yea, I can't wait for the first big storm of the year. Have you ever eaten at Pho'natic in Denver? It's right accross from the capitol building downtown and it's incredible. My boss takes us there every Monday.