Try AnQi, in Costa Mesa, in the South Coast Plaza Shopping Center. This Vietnamese fusion bistro is the new hot spot in town. It serves delicate dishes, tapas style servings. I will go and try it soon myself. In the meantime, go on ahead and let me know what you think. I will be glad [...]

A group of friends from Saigonica (a Vietnamese version of Twitter) and I, met for dinner tonight at Quang Hy restaurant in Westminster in the pagoda mini mall. They have been opened for quite some times now. The restaurant was a hit right away when they opened, and still a hit now if you don’t [...]

If you are a Pho savvy and want to participate in the Pho challenge, go to Pho Garden in San Francisco. They have a  monstrous Pho bowl you can eat and challenge them to finish it off within one hour. Pho is a Vietnamese beef broth soup consisting of rice noodles and beef slices [...]

What to do on a gloomy day? If you are like me and love to cook, get your utensils out, vegetables, and start cooking a storm. Just what I did today. I started to make Bo Bia rolls, which need lots of preparation before even rolling them. Again, what Vietnamese dish does not need [...]

Black  rice is a natural rice with grains that looks like wild rice when dry, only the grains are not long like the wild rice. Its rich, nutty flavor is very different from the more delicate white rice.
If you look closely to the black rice grain, it is not black. It is actually [...]

This is the true crab cakes. Not the crab cake patties you eat at the restaurant, and you seem to taste the shredded potatoes and bread crumbs! My mother used to make these for her restaurant in France. It is easy and a great way to start up your Valentine’s Day dinner.
You can [...]

Believe it or not, this is a great white meat next to chicken and pork! You can find your frog legs frozen in most Asian markets. The meat of the frog tastes close to the chicken, a bit chewier than the chicken, but tender enough not to break your jaw! The Asian population usually [...]

Also called “Mut” in Vietnamese, these preserved fruits and vegetables are part of the Vietnamese food traditions during the Tet Festival. Fruits are being preserved by being soaked in sugar water, then cooked until dried consistency. It is made that way to be preserved longer. The most common “Mut” during the Tet Festival is [...]

Whether you want to eat some grilling food, noodle soup or spring rolls, you can always head down to Garden Grove, “Little Saigon” where a varieties of Vietnamese restaurants border the plaza. Personally, there are only a few I like, and a few that have consistently great service and food. The price is usually affordable. [...]