Home | Directory | Contact | FAQ | Recipes | Restaurants | Vietnamese Recipes | 100 Vietnamese Foods | Subscribe

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead (Closed)

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 1

Sometimes I get a little frustrated trying to explain the regional nuances of Vietnamese cuisine. Most people know, or at least have heard of, the differences between North and South, or if they know of Central cuisine, they usually think of Hue. So it seems like I'm always asserting the South-Central Coastal differences.

Hey, we're a different breed you know! Honestly, we all have our biases of how we think food should be, mostly based upon how it was prepared in our homes. And while I don't think anything will ever taste as good as my momma's home cooking, it's nice to stumble upon a restaurant where a lot of my regional foods can be found. Where I don't have to explain that Central-style banh xeo (Vietnamese sizzling crepe) is different -- smaller, no coconut milk, no turmeric. Where they make the pulverized shrimp on top of banh beo (Vietnamese steamed rice discs with shrimp) exactly like how my family makes it -- not quite fresh, but not super dry.

About six months ago, while grabbing a chocolate croissant at Mr. Baguette, I noticed that the Banh Cuon So 1 & BBQ across the street was going out of business. In its place was a Central Vietnamese restaurant, the literal translation of Quan Mien Trung. Yippee!

So when my childhood friend had a craving for Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Hue-Style Beef Noodle Soup), we decided to check it out. Turns out, the owners are from Qui Nhon, just an hour north of our hometown. That's pretty much the same thing, said our waiter, and indeed we had a lively discussion of our regional foods.

The $6 bowl was listed as bun bo dac biet mien Trung (Vietnamese Central-style special beef noodle). Hmm. So it's not bun bo Hue?

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 2

Well, it wasn't as red and lacked the lemongrass flavor, but it had the right noodles, blood cubes, pig's feet, and beef shank. The broth was beefy and flavorful. My friend said she remembered ordering bun bo in our hometown and it was exactly like this after all.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 3

Our plate of herbs even included thinly sliced banana blossoms, which is always a nice touch, along with tia to (Vietnamese perilla), mint, bean sprouts, and cabbage.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 4

The $6 banh beo were heartier than any version I've had anywhere else, but they were freshly steamed and soft.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 5

The dried shrimp was like how my family makes it, not fresh like Quan Hy Vietnamese Restaurant - Westminster (Little Saigon), but not burnt like Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant - Rosemead and Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant - Alhambra.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 6

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 7

The $6 banh canh tom cua (Vietnamese udon noodles with shrimp and crab) were just OK.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 8

I admit I'm spoiled. My mom makes her own noodles and uses lots of lump crab meat. These noodles were the short Chinese needle noodles and tasted more of the shrimp than the crab.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 9

Overall though, we liked the bun bo and banh beo enough that we'd go back. My friend kept eyeing the desserts in the cold case, but was much too stuffed to order it. One of the owners noticed her constant glances and decided to heat up a che chuoi (Vietnamese banana pudding with tapioca pearls) and gave it to us for free. Now that's service! So even if we hadn't liked Mien Trung before, we definitely liked it more now.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 10

Later that day, I headed up to Portland for a visit with my folks. When I got back a week later, my brother picked me up and asked me where I wanted to go for dinner. Where else? :P We rounded up cousin Q's older brother and his wife so we could attack more of the menu.

The $6 banh xeo comes two to a plate with an herb platter. In Vietnam, a Central-style banh xeo is only about 6 inches in diameter. Since it's impractical to make such small ones here, these are slightly larger, but definitely not the wok-sized Southern-style ones. No coconut milk, no turmeric. The golden color is the natural color when it gets crispy. They're not overly stuffed either, just the right amount of pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 11

The best part of Central-style banh xeo though is the crispy crepe. And it's not just crispy edges, the whole crepe stays crispy. Southerners, because the banh xeo is soggy in the middle, have to wrap it up in lettuce to be able to eat it. We just break it in sections with our chopsticks and shovel herbs into our mouths at the same time. The best banh xeo I've had in a restaurant so far. Well, mainly because Quan Mien Trung makes it like my momma makes it. :)

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 12

The $6 bun rieu (Vietnamese crab and shrimp vermicelli soup) was intensely red and tomato-y, but a bit bland actually. Needed more shrimp paste.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 13

The $5 xoi chien (Vietnamese fried sticky rice) was stuffed with ground pork and tree ear fungus. The sticky rice was crispy on the outside and sticky on the inside. :) The sauce though was really quite bland. I think it was supposed to be peanut sauce? It didn't really taste like anything though, and I just spooned Nuoc Mam Cham (Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce) over it instead.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 14

The $6 com ga Hai Nam (Hainanese chicken rice) only comes with Goi Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Salad). Sort of defeats the whole purpose of making the chicken if you tear it apart into a salad. Well, my family serves both the chicken and makes the chicken salad with leftovers. But it's nice to see that they do it the way my family does with just chicken, Hanh Dam (Vietnamese Vinegared Onions), and rau ram (Vietnamese coriander). The rice was flavorful and the salad was good, just don't order this expecting chopped chicken pieces.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 15

We finished off dinner with a $6 bowl of bun bo nuong (Vietnamese grilled beef noodles) which came with a choice of Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring/Egg Rolls) or Cha Ram (Vietnamese Shrimp Egg Rolls). They're not the same thing you know! And it's nice to dine at a restaurant that knows the difference. The beef was marinated with lemongrass, and came on a bed of noodles, shredded herbs, lettuce, and cucumbers, bean sprouts, and peanuts.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 16

Later, Christine of Folie a Choisauce asked me for banh xeo recommendations and when I mentioned Quan Mien Trung, she immediately had to have some right then and there. So we ordered the banh xeo to share and since it was a Wednesday, the special was bun ca (Vietnamese fish noodles) for $6. Tuna fish filets! This is how my mom makes fish noodle soup and I hadn't ever seen this anywhere else. The soup also comes with fish paste balls and slices.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 17

Somewhere along the way, I had a discussion with Tony C of SinoSoul about Quan Mien Trung and how I was trying to finish off their whole menu. There's only a few dozen items after all. So with Tony's better half and Danny of Kung Food Panda, we attempted to do just that.

On a lovely Sunday afternoon, we ordered the special bun sua (Vietnamese jellyfish noodles).

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 18

The jellyfish came with toasted rice paper, shredded herbs, green mango, peanuts, banana blossoms, and cabbage. The cold noodle salad was such a refreshing dish during the middle of summer.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 19

The $6 mi quang (Vietnamese turmeric noodles with pork and shrimp) were just OK. A bit too much broth for me, about half of the bowl. I prefer a slightly drier version with grilled pork instead. Tony liked this a lot though.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 20

This time, the bun bo dac biet actually was bun bo Hue, red and with lemongrass notes.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 21

The $3 banh mi thit Qui Nhon turned out to be stuffed with Thit Heo Kho Trung (Vietnamese Braised Pork with Eggs). Ingenious. I'm totally stealing that idea. The French bread is from Mr. Baguette across the street and I'm not such a fan of baguette bread. I would have preferred lighter Vietnamese-French bread instead.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 22

We wanted to order the $7 hen xuc banh trang (Vietnamese clams scooped with rice paper) but the clams weren't ready that day. :(

So then I talked WeezerMonkey into going with me on another day. The clams are tiny, tiny and came with chopped pork, peanuts, and mint leaves.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 23

See how tiny they are? Scoop them up with the rice paper. Mmm. I love clams, although not everyone is a fan of bi-valves like I am.

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 24

And then, on another visit with Yeah Manh (Site not always suitable for work.), I asked them why they didn't offer Nem Nuong (Vietnamese Grilled Pork Patties) since it is our regional specialty. They do! Off-menu. :)

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine - Rosemead 25

Anyway, so if you couldn't tell by the way I've been dragging all my blogger friends here, I really, really like Quan Mien Trung. Simple, comforting Vietnamese food almost as close to how my family makes it as I've found anywhere, including Banh Cuon Hai Nam Saigon - Alhambra (The owners are actually from my hometown, but the restaurant has a more limited menu).

My favorite dishes are the banh beo, banh xeo, xoi chien, bun sua, bun ca, bun thit nuong, and bun nem nuong.

But darn it, just when I thought I'd ordered enough of the menu, they keep adding dishes. They've been toying with the menu, adding and deleting items. It's a family affair with brothers and sisters and nephews all helping out. I'll have to come back on Mondays when the daily special is bun mang vit (Vietnamese duck and bamboo shoot noodle soup). And there's banh pho long bo (Vietnamese rice noodles with beef offal) on Fridays too.

November 19, 2012 Update: Sadly, this restaurant is now closed. :(

Other Central-style Vietnamese restaurants:
Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant - Alhambra
Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant - Rosemead
Ngu Binh Restaurant - Westminster (Little Saigon)
Quan Hy Vietnamese Restaurant - Westminster (Little Saigon)
Quan Vy Da Restaurant - Westminster (Little Saigon)

Quan Mien Trung Vietnamese Cuisine
8632 Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
626-573-9903
Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today, Chinese food from Xinjiang - beef, horse, and chocolate and yogurt raisins.
2 years ago today, I'm no Persephone because I can't resist eating just six of these lusciously sweet pomegranate seeds.

15 comments:

  1. Thank you for introducing me to this restaurant! I had such a good time with you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't find anything like that around here :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, I was so rooting for you to get all of the items on the menu! =D I, myself, am quite ignorant of the regional differences in Vietnamese food. =( I liked this review; so very thorough. =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great review! San Gabriel Valley definitely needs more quality Vietnamese cuisine beyond the current offerings. We love hen/baby clam dish! There's place in OC that makes a great version.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've always thought that xoi chien originates from the north.D'oh! my dad's side of the family are from Qui Nho- Binh Dinh as well. Didn't know your family are from there :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow. what an awesome review with awesome pics. will have to try this place sometime soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. jeez! take me! take me! :P i can't believe u remember stuff from like 5 months ago!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That feast looks truly fabulous - great pictures! We have a restaurant here that does the smaller, crispier banh xeo, also - it's so good and not overly greasy. Our little VNese grocery in town does the pulverized shrimp thing on banh beo - I was very hesitant to try it b/c of past bad experiences with dried seafood, but it's so good. I do remember many regional differences when I was in VN, I remember having bo luc lac in my son's area of Quang Nam that tasted almost like a completely different dish from the one I had on the west side of Sai Gon - both delicious, but very different.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm pissed this entry only gets 8 comments. I gotta go back and do the xoi chien. This place is just the best Viet joint to open this year in the SGV. Period.

    ReplyDelete
  10. WeeMo,
    I had such a great time with you. We'll have to catch up soon!

    Pam,
    Aww, maybe a trip to SoCal is in order? I bet your daughters would like that.

    TS,
    Haha. I still have to do offal stir-fry on Fridays, duck noodles on Mondays, and the chicken curry.

    RC,
    I think this has to be my favorite VNese restaurant in SGV. I love bivalves! The version at Quan Vy Da is pretty good too.

    Hedgehog,
    I don't know what region the xoi chien is from, but a lot of the other dishes are good comfort favorites. My family's from south of Binh Dinh. :)

    Jack,
    You should! It's really great.

    Van,
    I did! It wasn't five months ago, more like three.

    Jonathan,
    There are so many ways to prepare the same dish, but I just love it when I find a place that does it the way my family does it.

    Tony,
    Haha. My restaurant posts don't get many comments in general. I agree! Totally love it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, this post made me so hungry! If you ever make it down to San Diego, you should go to Mien Trung on Mesa College Dr. - I'm nowhere near as good a judge as you are, but their bun bo Hue is pretty darn tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you so much for introducing me to this joint! Loved meeting & lunching with you! Banh beo FTW!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Vicki,
    I know Kirk likes Mien Trung a lot. I'll have to check it out if I ever make it to San Diego again.

    Anisha,
    It was great meeting you and so glad you liked banh beo!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the review. My family is from Phu Cat/Qui Nhon. Definitely will have to try out the restaurant and compare to my grandma signature Bun Bo!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anhtuan,
    You didn't read the title and note at the end? Sadly, the restaurant closed about five years ago.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I try to respond in a timely manner, but am not always able to do so. If you're awaiting a response, check the post in which the comment is made or click the "Notify me" option.

If you're not a blogger and you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so using your Google/Gmail account.

I welcome questions, discussions, and feedback, but please be mindful that this is my home online. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is anonymous or unknown, rude, promotional, or has a link.

Thank you for reading!