Ba Xuyen

So yesterday I did something out of character. I traveled to Brooklyn. Ugh yes, Brooklyn. One of my friends suggested we go try this "really great" Viet place on 9th ave + 43rd street. So I went. It's ghetto, it's small, it's in the middle of no freaking where, but man, it was good- yeah, pretty much better than the truck. (see post here)



Mostly I went to see my two old high school friends, whom I haven't seen in literally 5 years. Danny Cai and Alejandro Chen-Li! But I was honestly really impressed with the sandwiches there. Ale had a Sardines sandwich! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THEY HAD SARDINE SANDWICHES??? (sounds gross, since I'm not a huge fan of fish but some of you may like to try it...). I had the grilled pork sandwich. It was freaking amazing. They had some kind of strange white sauce mixed in with the spicy hot sauce,.. made the sandwich a little easier to eat. It wasn't dry at all, the pork was really tender and full of flavor. It definitely was a good eat.



Ghetto, dirty, hole in the wall, but damn good. And for $4.00 for a sandwich this big? I definitely don't think you'll ever find that kind of price in Manhattan OR Queens...



*5 points to whoever can find my blackberry. LOL

Taste: 5/5
Atmosphere: 2/5 (I definitely would not come here after 8pm)
Cost: $4.00 (FOUR BUCKS FOR A HUGE ASS SANDWICH? I THINK YES!)

Downtown Vietnamese Truck! - 'Banh Mi Cart'

Hopefully, I will be getting back to my updating moods. Life has gotten really busy this past Summer, between traveling, working (a LOT, Thank GOD!) and being a crazy, I've hopefully calmed down a bit for a little to pop my head in this blog and write about some great foods I've been lucky enough to try.

So one of my personal favorite places to eat is this truck, called the "Banh Mi Cart" on Hanover Square and Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan. (In the Financial District) There are so many stories associated with this little truck. But I've eaten there 3 times and each time has been heavenly goodness.

The first time was with my friend Shelley, who told me about this truck (since she works like a block away). The second time with my friend Alan, which best story ever, we literally ran around the whole financial district looking for this stupid truck in the pouring rain. My blackberry's googlemap really sucked, so we got lost, and I'm not very familiar with that area so yeah, we got lost a lot. The third time was with my sister for a really random quick lunch break, where we both craved it, and I traveled all the way from midtown just to go get it with her. (Yeah, I know..SUCH.. a _long_ way :p) Each time it tasted great, hit the spot and filled me up like a happy child getting a huge gift on Christmas morning.



I always get the sweet pork Vietnamese sandwich. They have things like spicy pork, chicken, vegetable, spring rolls, summer rolls, whatever finger-type foods the Vietnamese have- but no PHO.. sadly. Anyway, the sandwiches are thin, packed with meat, cucumbers, carrots and some other mysterious veggies (which are probably easily named, but I can't think of them off the top of my head right now) - but it all tastes great. The reason why I really love this place is because of how fresh and clean it tastes. It doesn't feel too heavy after you eat it, and it definitely leaves you feeling good after finishing the whole thing. It's not huMONNgo, nor is it too small, it's pretty much the perfect size. What's also pretty great, is that it costs $6, which if you're from queens, you're like WHAT THE HELL, WHY WOULD I PAY SO MUCH FOR A STUPID VIET SANDWICH, because you can get one for like $4, BUT! again, in manhattan, honestly, where can you get a lunch that's less than $8?! (WITHOUT a drink!) This is actually a jewel of a deal! :)

Anyways, if you guys have a chance, go check it out- should be there Mon-Fri from 11am-2pm. Don't call me if you get lost- I still probably can't find it even to this day. Ha!

Thanks to some of those DEDICATED FANS (HA HA WHO AM I KIDDING??) I realized that I forgot to put my proper ratings in, so here goes:

Taste: 5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Cost: $6

Shelley Ting's Vietnamese Spring Rolls - NYC

All right, this is a special post! For the first time, I am venturing on a critique of a friend's cooking. Honestly, I'm only writing about it because it's... THAT GOOD.

Last night we had yet another surprise birthday party for another friend. For this, we went and did somewhat of a Pot-Luck style. Miss Shelley Ting cooked some huge pots of Baked Ziti and a batch of her specialty Spring Rolls. They were amazingly delicious. No joke. Let's be truthful here, the Pho Bang Spring rolls have always been considered the best. Even though that restaurant is the grossest, most HOLE IN THe WALL, place ever- they redeem themselves because of the taste of their SPRING ROLLS. The taste is unique, special and fried to it's perfection. So, it's very safe to say, I have never had Spring Rolls that could somewhat measure up to those...UNTIL I MET SHELLEY TING'S SPRING ROLLS!


(sorry, I only had my blackberry handy at the time!)

Anyway, I think they are a freakin' 10. The sauce that she made to accompany it was also delicious. It was perfectly fried, crispy, yet still perfect enough to not CUT open your mouth when you chewed down on it! The stuffing inside was a great blend of saltiness, and the mixture with the sweet sauce really kicked it up. I interrogated her after I ate one, asking her what recipe she used to create such a masterpiece- she was like, "Nah, I just made it up. [I used] Shitaki mushrooms, garlic, ground pork, vermicelli, shrimp, eggs".

ok.... *****NEWS FLASH ******
I think everyone knows that I absolutely hate eating mushrooms of any shape, size, type, etc, etc. But i ate it-- UNKNOWINGLY !!! That is how FLAWLESS this freakin' spring roll IS!!!!!!

Sigh, I have been owned- but I'm not complaining. hehe.

As for the sauce, she used, "sri-chia sauce, honey, fish sauce, lemon, soy sauce, water". It was sweet and tangy and went so well with the crispy salty spring roll! It was an awesome combination!!!

10, 10, 10!

Taste: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5 (everyone loves the happy/cuteness of miss shelley ting! ^__^)
Cost: If you're nice, she'll make it for you for free. If you're ... uh, you should try at least getting her the ingredients! LOL