stock photo of bún bò Huế courtesy of bopuc
When I go to my parent's house in Northern Virginia I can always look forward to a meal or two at Eden Center. What is Eden Center? It is the Vietnamese culinary capital of the mid-Atlantic area, that's what. The strip mall of my dreams. Straight off my bus ride, I was whisked there for an early dinner of cha ca Hanoi- grilled turmeric catfish eaten with noodles, fresh herbs and black sesame cracker. Awesome, but not as good as my mother's. We also ate bánh xèo - scrumptious turmeric pancake filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. I would tell you the name of the restaurant, but my parents were told by one of the waiters once that the owners don't allow them to keep their tips. This makes me crazy and I don't want to promote them, if it turns out to be true.
But my parents said you can also get good cha ca and bánh xèo at the restaurant Huong Viet, which is also in the Eden Center. My parents usually go there for their bún bò Huế, a spicy noodle soup. It is considered the mother of all soups and originates from the old imperial city of Hue, the sassy part of Vietnam (the food is spicier, and the uncles from there that marry into your family write fervent poems.)
Each bowl of soup comes with its own pork hock and dark, tender slices of beef shank. I usually pawn the hock off on my parents because I am find little merit on gnawing on a long boiled shin bone. It does wonders to the broth, but alone is not very exciting. My mother told the waiter to tell the chef to marinate the hock because she thinks it shouldn't just be boiled plain, a reprimand that did not stop her from eating every last bite.
The broth is very rich and gets its intense earthiness from the boiling of the pork meat and beef bones with lemongrass, chili pepper and shrimp sauce. At the table, the soup is topped off with bean sprouts, a squeeze of lime, thai basil, and thinly sliced banana blossom for some bright freshness and crunch. The result is complex and sublime.
Huong Viet
6785 Wilson Blvd
Falls Church, VA 22044
703-538-7110
side note: Eden Center also has a really good medium sized grocery store. (good quality Chinese sausage, good variety of vegetables and sauces)
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