[ExtraMSG]

New restaurant in the Lion's Lair location on SE Division, more or less across the street from Wong's King. Haven't tried it yet. Just saw the "Grand Opening" sign.

Interestingly, this is across the street from the spot that is currently Thai Fresh and was NH Bun Bo Hue before that, and Minh's Bun Bo Hue before that. (Tres Hermanos, I think, before that.) You can see some pictures from the defunct Minh's here. However, I don't know that they're the same. But it'd be an awfully big coincidence. If it is the same, that'd make a third excellent Bun Bo Hue specialist along the New Chinatown corridor.

Bun Bo Hue Minh
8560 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97266

[ExtraMSG]

Got a chance to try Bun Bo Hue Minh tonight. Saw some PortlandFooders there, but I'll let them announce themselves, if they wish. Got the lowdown. Yes, they are the same people that owned Minh's Bun Bo Hue in the current Thai Fresh spot. Apparently they had an issue with either the landlord or a partner, so they split off. They helped the Ngoc Han people open their shop, but had another dispute, and so decided to open their own shop again.



Started with some salad rolls. A little heavy on noodles, light on greenery, but they had a good flavor. I think it was the pork that made the difference. It tasted better than usual, yet was just sliced pork. Decent dipping sauce, too.



Followed with the bun bo hue dac biet. Menu is fairly extensive for such a small place, much like Ngoc Han's, with not only bun bo hue, but various hu thieu, bun rieu, mien ga, pho ga, banh canh tom thit, mi do bien, etc, for soups, plus vermicelli bowls and rice plates.

The bun bo hue was excellent. The broth was perhaps a little less complex than either Ngoc Han or the original Bun Bo Hue on 82nd, but certainly much better than most places where it just tastes like someone dumped a bunch of sriracha or chili flakes in the broth. And I really enjoyed the variety of meats, which, according to the menu, include beef shank, beef round, pork hock, pork foot, pork blood, and pork patty.



Nice herb platter: cabbage, sprouts, banana blossom, lime, rau ram, mint, tia to, and cilantro. Everything was very fresh.



Got an order of bun bi thit nuong cha gio for my wife. Took a pic, then packed it up. Only had a couple little tastes myself. It had the grilled pork, shredded pork, veggies, and egg roll. Egg roll was soggy by the time it got home, so can't really say how that was. My wife wasn't thrilled with the pork. She said it tasted fine, but had an odd texture, almost like something processed or like jerky (without being tough or dry). It tasted good to me, but I only had one bite. Looking at the pics, I wonder if it's that it was cut with the grain instead of against it. I thought the shredded pork was some of the best I've had. It wasn't dry as is often the case. Enjoyed the flavor, too. Dressing was a bit fishy and less sweet than some, which I appreciate, too. Wife thought there should be more veggies. But there was a hell of a lot of noodles and I pre-mixed it for her, so I wonder if that played a part in her perceptions.

Definitely going to go through a few more items. I imagine it will be like it is now where it just depends on which is closest between it and the other two Bun Bo Hue places.

[sacman]

Hi...yeah, it was me and Mrs. sacman. We're still around. I have not been posting at all while on my diet, mostly because I am not eating out very much. In terms of the diet, it's going okay, with the expected hiccups associated with the holidays. I'll be posting more in a few months when I'm at my target weight.

Eating out can be compatible with a calorie-restricted diet; it's easiest for us if we choose a Vietnamese or sushi joint. So, based on a rumor I read here, me and my better half headed to Bun Bo Hue Minh tonight.

I apparently had the same things as MSG - as in, exactly the same things. The salad rolls - I agree that there were plenty of noodles in them. But I also detected a really nice porky funk as well. The dipping sauce was a good example of the peanut-based sauces found in most Vietnamese joints on the East side.

The soup was a Bun Bo Hue with several varieties of pork, including blood. It'd say it was on par with Ngoc Han. The herbs were plentiful and fresh. I ordered the soup spicy, but to my palate it was only medium. The pork loaf/sausage/patty was studded with peppercorns, which added a really nice kick. The only problem with Vietnamese soups is that I always get pissed off at them when I slop 'em around the table. Not their fault - I swear I'm gonna buy myself a man-bib.

Mrs. sacman had a pork noodle salad - and she thought it was actually a bit better than the one she gets at Ngoc Han. I thought the pork was very good. It had a good grill flavor, and was coated with what seemed to be a teriyaki sauce. We didn't detect any odd textures.

The decor...well, the place has a bare concrete floor, peeling paint, and a bizarre layout. How come so many Vietnamese places insist on putting a chest freezer in the dining room? Oh, well, the ambiance makes it "my kind of dive," and it wouldn't feel like an authentic PDX/Vietnamese experience without the sort of ad-hoc ex-burger joint vibe.

I do, very much, think I'll be back. No pictures, sorry about that.

-sacman

[ExtraMSG]

It was nice to see you two again, Sacman. Congrats to you both on losing so much weight already. I'm sure you'll make your target and then some.

btw, they forgot to bring my check with my wife's to-go order and I ended up leaving without paying. They didn't even realize it when I came back to pay.

[sacman]

We're waiting for you to implement that business model at the deli...

-sacman

[Quo Vadis]

Often when you find strange things like a chest freezer or cooler in the dining area it is because they don't have enough money to redo the breaker box in their rental property and still charge the prices people expect. A new breaker box costs several thousands of dollars- not including the task and expense of dealing with all the inspections and permitting.

Often, especially in an older rental location, the eletricity is not formatted ideally for a restaurant.

I don't know if that is the case here..but I've known several places (including my own) where it is so safe assumption.

[ExtraMSG]

Hit up Bun Bo Hue Minh again. Cavs-Lakers game was on, so I got to joyfully watch LA get beat with some tasty soup in front of me. My wife got the bun thit nuong again. She enjoyed it more this time. I think having it all warm and fresh, the veggies still crisp from not sitting for a half hour in the container while I finished up made all the difference.



I got the bun rieu, tomato-seafood-pork soup.



Really nice herb platter, with shredded cabbage, banana blossom, sprouts, lime, mint, and tia to. Comes with a bit of extra shrimp paste, as well.



In the bowl is cilantro, fried tofu, tomato, pork blood, sliced veggie loaf (I think; seemed like veggie, not pork), and the crab-pork sausage, though the menu says it's a shrimp-pork sausage and very well could be. The broth is a glistening orange color, slightly sweet, a little tart, and definitely pungent with seafood. Not as harsh as some, but you can increase the pungency with the shrimp paste. I thought it was really in balance and an excellent soup, perhaps my favorite version of bun rieu I've had in town.

[polloelastico]

That's a damn good looking bowl of the bun rieu.

[ExtraMSG]

polloelastico, on Jan 21 2010, 11:21 PM, said:

That's a damn good looking bowl of the bun rieu.

I'll be interested to see what you think of it if you get over there. You've had a lot more experience with the soup than me.

[BigDaddy]

I gotta get over there just for the Bun Bo Hue. Lazy ass westsider liviing with Pho Hoa's version. That Bun
Bo Rieu looks even better.

[polloelastico]

I liked the bun rieu here. It came with a fair amount of meat/seafood "loaf", and the broth had a great balance of flavors, including a nice tomato-ey goodness. I've rarely had a good bowl of bun rieu in a restaurant. In my experience it's an afterthought, and as a general rule I won't order it unless a place is known for it (the only reason I came here to order it was on the strength of eMSG's report).

I'm not sure what was up, but I was only given a sparse salad plate of cilantro, sprouts, and lime by a busser. Bun rieu absolutely demands mints (spearmint, parilla, lemon balm) so I had to flag down my server. I assume this was just a mistake.

I don't really think I've seen bun rieu with the pork blood cubes before, but I think that's a bonus of being served in a place that specializes in bun bo hue. eMSG, you think that was veggie cha lua? I've never had the vegan version before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed close enough to the real thing for me. I might have to pick up a mock loaf out next time I'm at the store.

The salad rolls here were very good, fresh, and well handled. $3.50 is a great value.

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Number of downloads: 1

[ExtraMSG]

Quote

eMSG, you think that was veggie cha lua?

I often have a hell of a time telling the difference. My wife insisted it was veggie. Trips to Van Hanh have shown me how damn hard it is to tell on some of those mock meats.

[jennifer]

In car with sleeping child. Does anyone know if this place has booths?

ExtraMSG, on Feb 23 2010, 11:51 PM, said:

Quote

eMSG, you think that was veggie cha lua?

I often have a hell of a time telling the difference. My wife insisted it was veggie. Trips to Van Hanh have shown me how damn hard it is to tell on some of those mock meats.

[ExtraMSG]

Sorry, I didn't see this. It does have a couple booths.

[jennifer]

ExtraMSG, on Feb 27 2010, 10:10 PM, said:

Sorry, I didn't see this. It does have a couple booths.

Thanks! I was able to call a few of the pho houses where I could find phone numbers. I don't know why I didn't think of Pho Van on 82nd. Duh. I think we really wanted to try someplace new. She fell asleep in the car halfway to the East side. It's times like that that I bet Twitter would've come in handy, if I could figure out how to use the damn thing.

[ELA]

Just wanted to chime in and say I love this place. It is a weekly stop for me. Sometimes twice a week. As I prefer this type of food for breakfast I love the fact that they typically open earlier than their posted hours. Can't say enough good things about this place. Know what? I think I will head there in a bit.

[Calabrese]

http://wweek.com/editorial/3635/14233/ Waterhouse

Quote

The beautiful bowl before you is bun bo hue, a rice noodle soup that originated in the Vietnamese city of Hue, as served by Bun Bo Hue Minh (8560 SE Division St., 777-1917, $7). For the uninitiated who don’t mind generalizations about other people’s culinary culture, think of it as pho with the volume cranked up to 11, with a better broth, better veggies and weirder meat. Here’s what to expect:

[Flynn]

Quote

think of it as pho with the volume cranked up to 11, with a better broth, better veggies and weirder meat

That's entirely too idiotic for me to bother clicking through to the rest.

[ExtraMSG]

Flynn, on 07 July 2010 - 11:50 PM, said:

Quote

think of it as pho with the volume cranked up to 11, with a better broth, better veggies and weirder meat

That's entirely too idiotic for me to bother clicking through to the rest.

The brief article wasn't really aimed at you (or me), but for those who've never heard of or tried BBH (which is way too many), the rest of it actually gives a good, quick run-down of what to expect.

The biggest shame, really, is that they don't get more space to extol the pleasures of all the other soups at BBH Minh as well.

[Flynn]

ExtraMSG, on 08 July 2010 - 12:05 AM, said:

The brief article wasn't really aimed at you (or me), but for those who've never heard of or tried BBH (which is way too many)

Precisely why that generalization sucked. A terrible setup if you haven't tried bun bo hue.