phuong trang - vietnamese heaven

after i was pretty much facebook pummeled for not having had pho before last weekend, i couldn't say no when dave suggested a vietnamese food outing this week. with some snazzy coordination skills, we were able to get a nice-sized group together. asian meals are best done family-style -- it's so much easier to sample stuff!

and sampling was priority, as i've only had vietnamese a couple of times, and andrew had never had it at all! (a total travesty, i know! ahem.) thankfully, dave & an were semi-experts, so we let dave pick everything (w/our suggestions, of course). and we ended up with a lazy susan that was, well, lazy. the poor thing was covered in so many dishes that we had to eat & clear, eat & clear, eat & clear.... well, you get the picture. plus we had to keep the fried rice (which was a total throwaway) on another table.

we weren't sure we'd get through it all, but we did a pretty good job jamming everything into our tummies. the highlights for me included: the cha gio (the fried egg rolls), the tom rang muoi (the fried salted shrimp), the goi sua tom thit (the shrimp, pork, & jellyfish salad), the ca kho (the catfish sauteed in fish sauce), the dan hu xao xa ot (the tofu w/lemongrass & hot pepper), the bo lu lac (the beef cube steak), and the suon ram man (the pork spare ribs sauteed in fish sauce).

now i know you all think that i just typed out the whole menu for you, but i assure you that the menu was GINORMOUS. thank goodness most of us had skimmed through it online. and thank goodness we were all so starved that we just let dave do all the work. [thanks, dave! ;)]

aside from the fact that the restaurant didn't have dungeness crab OR lobster available to us on a tuesday night at 7PM (i mean, seriously?), the service was actually quite impeccable. water appeared fairly quickly, our server was on top of his schtuff, and our food came out as soon as each dish was ready.

first things first, the apps were the perfect intro to the meal. the egg rolls were just greasy enough so that you knew they were fried, and they were *so* hot (as in, straight-from-the-fryer hot) that you had to be careful not to burn your tongue. that said, the skin offered an audible crunch as your teeth sank into the salty filling. the fried shrimp was also a big hit. after i was politely schooled by dave on how i should  *not* take off the crispy shells encrusted with yummy salt, i had a much easier time. (i swear i was burning my fingertips!) these apps went quick, so it was clear that it was going to be all-hands-on-deck for the rest of the meal. (FYI to all those who are squeamish, the heads are left on and the bodies aren't de-veined. if you have issues, the shrimp aren't for you. ahem, chris, ahem.)

[btw, i'm glad some of the other folks were more polite, b/c otherwise i wouldn't have been able to get back for the necessary seconds and thirds!]

wendy & i had both skimmed rave reviews on yelp for the sauteed catfish & the lemongrass tofu, so they absolutely HAD to be ordered. dave & an had had the catfish on previous visits -- and both raved. after it came to the table, we ALL raved. i was just telling jerry & teresa the other day about how i didn't like catfish. well, let's just say, exceptions can be made. this catfish was absolutely PHENOMENAL. the sauce was practically lacquered onto the fish (in a good way), and the blend of sweet & salty w/just a hint of spice was heavenly. there was also just enough fat on the fish to make it go down super smoothly. wendy & i split a piece, and i swear my chopsticks went into the pot a few more times. (and apologies to all, b/c that was definitely NOT a very big pot.)

in similar fashion, the tofu was pretty much encased by the sauce (again, in a good way). the cubes came out with a thin crispy yellow exterior, a warm melting white middle, and a light coating of red spicy sauce. a great balance of textures and tastes that worked a whole bunch of tastebuds at once. as we were trying to cool down from the physical heat of these early dishes, the salad was a great last-minute addition. first of all, who doesn't love the jellyfish chew? (that's a rhetorical question btw.) secondly, i noticed that the kitchen actually took the time to cook the shrimp perfectly (not chewy like the jelly) and to halve them neatly! it was quite a contrast to the fried shrimp, but just as good.

and b/c wendy & i are carnivores, andrew eats at least 4000 calories a day, and the rest of the table was hungry too, we asked for LOTS of meat. my personal faves were the beef cubes & the pork spare ribs. i'm partial to pork, so spare ribs pretty much have to be ordered whenever they're on the menu. from what i can tell from the menu, the sauce may have been similar to the one on the catfish. this is likely as i found myself going back for more of the pork. there's something about this caramelized fish sauce thing that's got me hooked! at any rate, the beef was also very good, though anything that comes over to me sizzling is bound to grab my attention.

the rest of the dishes -- some plates of chicken, a catfish soup, the fried rice -- were pretty typical and throwaway and possibly American-ish. while this doesn't mean they weren't flavorful, they definitely couldn't compete w/the others i took time to describe. it would've been nice to try some of the desserts, but it seemed like everyone was a bit too stuffed by the end of the meal. granted, dave could still inhale a few bowls of rice soaked in caramelized fish sauce, but the rest of us were spent.

despite my lack of familiarity with vietnamese food, and my preference for virginia's homecooking, i have to give this place 5 stars. yelp can be temperamental, but i certainly swear by the suggestions offered up for this strip mall hot spot!

phuong trang restaurant

4170 convoy street
san diego, ca 92111
858.565.6750

http://www.phuongtrangrestaurant.com/