An Com - Homestyle Vietnamese

There’s a table against a half wall outside of Amboy that they can eat at.

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what impressed me about the eggplant was the smokiness from the wood grill, it perfectly complemented the umami-ness of the dish but didn’t overpower.

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Chef talks about how he prepares it on KCRW’s Good Food’s latest episode. It’s more towards the end on the Market Watch section.

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@attran99, @hanhgry, @TheCookie, @JeetKuneBao
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDjpX7mDeOF/

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omg. salted egg yolk banh cam?!!

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CDmhPM0DIbH/

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CD7A7mmD3U2/

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Order form is live @TheCookie, @hanhgry, @attran99, @NYCtoLA

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexjpEFv-CjoZ5XgKCmm4DCvn61srcWEiQ7VazDyM973ds1Yg/viewform

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Dishes are great, but I was hoping to see new menu items. Highly recommend the thit kho.

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oh no i saw this too late and it’s sold out! :anguished:

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Yeah, I’m hoping to still get mine. I ordered on Sunday and received my selection confirmation, but they haven’t given me a total or asked for payment. :grimacing:

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com ga - poached chicken, burnt star anise rice, young ginger fish sauce
i did not love the chicken, it could have been juicier. i preferred the ga roti (pictured above) a lot more.
if not for the posted menu, i would have thought the rice was regular old plain rice, i did not get any burnt, or star anise flavor. the young ginger fish sauce could have been more gingery and fish sauce-y, it just tasted sweet. i’ll try to BYORB(Red Boat) to see if that helps.

and on a related note, i really dislike when poultry is chopped up with the bone. it creates bone shrapnel everywhere and it’s like playing chicken bone russian roulette every time you take a bite. feel free to revoke my asian card.

thit kho - caramel braised pork belly, quail eggs
just like before, this was good, wish there was some more funk from the sauce. I thought there was a good balance of meat and fat.

ca tim nuong - marinated charred kong’s eggplant with scallion oil, fermented pineapple
can I keep my carnivore membership card if I thought the highlights were the two vegetarian dishes? this was just as good as before, the eggplant had an incredible smokiness but didn’t overwhelm the palate, it was also pillow-y soft and was perfect to soak up all the umaminess from the sauce. chef nyuyen has really perfected his vegan fish sauce made from fermented pineapple that i didn’t even mind that this was completely vegan. @hanhgry, @TheCookie

canh chua chay - sour soup with tamarind, pineapple, tomato, and kong’s squash greens
highlight and again just as good as before. great balance of sweet and sour and tastes great piping cold too during this oppression.

banh cam trung muoi - rice flour doughnuts, sesame, salted egg yolk, mung bean
wow these were great. the outside had a thin shell of caramel that created a sweet crispy crunch and the dough had a great chew like a mochi. wish i ordered more. @Chowseeker1999

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Great report @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile:

Glad to hear you had a similar experience as well (that we weren’t crazy). Yah that Com Ga rice was just plain rice. :frowning: And thanks for the reminder - yes “chicken shrapnel” was annoying (and the butchery seems better with something like Chef Johnny Lee’s Hainan Chicken Rice (as well its incredible taste)).

It looks like you got way more Pork Belly than we did. :frowning: Your portion had more lean meat and just meat in general.

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When I cook hainan chicken at home I debone it now. Makes the experience much more enjoyable.

I learned how to do it from watching a Chinese sui lap chef deboning chicken. Surprisingly easy.

Wonder why more places don’t do it in LA/SGV. Hawaiian at home hainan chicken.

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Thanks @Chowseeker1999, also agree with you about the qpr, could have been better.

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Some Chinese people have this belief that if the meat has bones you know they are swapping it out with some street meat which if true is truly one of those ridiculous Chinese mentalities that need to go.

Another thing is most Chines people want to get the most for their money so deboning always leaves some meat on the bone and restaurants want to maximize their money but I do agree, I don’t mind some bones in my chicken but the person butchering needs to at least know how to make smart cuts, I really hate it when it appears that they make random cuts so theres no way to get a clean bite of meat off the bone without risk of poking yourself.

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Nah You don’t lose Asian card. We debone and chop too, except for the wing and drum stick. Keep those intact.

As I alluded to in the past he was pretty much one man show cooking during these challenging times. I’ve taken the liberty to send Nguyen this thread and he agrees with your comments. Will see where it goes from here…

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so true

isn’t it true that in many cultures meat is left on the bone and chopped in every which way in order to retain the flavor but also for the fun of working and chewing and sucking around the bone? i can think of tons of cuisines that do this on purpose (that my white coworker friends complain about when i take them to authentic restaurants)…

Yes, but not me. Don’t like random tiny sharp bones posing a choking hazard. Why I like sushi… no bones (or bone-cutted if bones are retained).

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