Binh Duong

[tommy]

i understand this place is now under new ownership. i'm told it's called "bihn gouy" or something like that.

i'm also told it's a bit better now, and some of the FOH staff are from Little Saigon.

Note by Rachel -- just thought the address/phone should be at the top of the thread:

• Binh Duong -- in the East West Shopping Plaza
  61 1/2 Belleville Ave
  Bloomfield NJ 07003
  Phone 973-680-8440/8441
  

Edited February 14, 2004 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Curlz]

You're FREAKING me out, Tommy!! A coworker and I were just having a conversation about Thai food, which led me to ask if she had ever had Pho. She lives in Belleville and said "Oh, now I know what that is...there's a place near me with that on a sign." I logged on to egullet to look up the name of the place in Nutley that had the fire, and the first thread in the forum was this one.

You've certainly weirded me out enough that I now have to go get some Pho tonight--thanks!!

[tommy]

You're FREAKING me out, Tommy!!

yes yes. it's one of my many charms.

report back if you go tonite.

[Chris Cognac]

I am so doing Viet for lunch today!

[Rachel Perlow]

Please report back, I'm glad that place reopened, but it makes me wonder if Little Saigon will come back. Actually, if Little Saigon just moved to that location, that would be fabulous -- more seating!

[tommy]

Actually, if Little Saigon just moved to that location, that would be fabulous -- more seating!

that was the first thought that went through my mind. he'd clean up over there.

[Rachel Perlow]

And more parking, too.

[Curlz]

I'm waiting to hear back from a few friends re: tonight, but I promise to report back. As for Tommy and all things freaky, it was one of the reasons I was sorry you weren't at the C46 dinner--I was looking forward to meeting the man behind so many amusing posts!

[tommy]

[Curlz]

The OFFICIAL report (drumroll, please)...Binh Duong is the name of the restaurant; Tommy freaked me out enough that I had to go tonight!

First of all, I just have to say that I had NO idea that there was enough of an Asian population in the Belleville/Nutley/Bloomfield area to warrant a small strip mall full of Asian stores/restaurants. What a pleasant surprise!

The restaurant is a small place with all of about 10 tables--2 large rounds, the rest 2 and 4-tops. No decor, but the second I opened the door, I was hit with that wonderful smell of fresh basil, lemongrass, and all of the great spices; that + the revelation that we were 3 of only 6 round-eyes seemed like a good sign to me!

I went with a couple that likes to eat, but she really isn't adventurous about food, and chose a chicken and broccoli dish. Of course, we mocked her sufficiently for playing it safe. Adam and I have talked about finding pho for weeks now, so he and I both knew we would order it. A caveat: I've learned that while I greatly enjoy good food, I'm not totally adventurous, so I played it safe with Pho Tai, the beef/noodle soup with Fresh Eye of Round. Adam went for th Pho Xe Lua, which, according to the takeout menu that I brought home, has "Combination Extra Big Bowl of Rice Noodles Beef Soup Six Differences Brisket, Navel, Frank, Omosa, Tendon & Eye of Round." Suffice it to say that there were many unidentifiable items in the soup, but he loved it. I found a few things in my soup that I couldn't i.d. and just removed them. More on that later.

We also ordered two appetizers--an order of Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring Rolls--5 to an order) that were very tasty, and one order of Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls), that basically tasted like, well, SUMMER. The peanut sauce went well with both, although it was served with the Goi Cuon. The entire bill was just under $28--unreal!

I can't remember who mentioned the almost-raw beef in the soup (Jason?), but having only had pho one other time, this was a similar experience. The meat comes very thinly sliced; it reminds me of meats at a Mongolian BBQ place, and the first time I had it, was slightly frozen and quickly cooked as I sank it into the hot broth and noodles. Tonight's didn't seem to 'cook' nearly as much in the broth, but we were getting a bit of a draft from the door every time it opened, which didn't help keep the bowl very hot. By the time I was halfway through the bowl, I was picking out anything that didn't look totally cooked. Next time I'll probably just order the Pho Banh which is the identical soup but without the meat. Adam didn't have the same issues with his, although once he started really looking at things, he was picking some stuff out too. I don't know if we don't have enough experience with it or if it's our American taste buds, but that's the honest truth.

My bigger issues are with the (lack of) service and more than that, with the language barrier. If someone had been able to answer our questions, it would likely have helped! The waiter just didn't understand us, no matter how simply we spoke to him. Pointing to the names of dishes and trying to say them was the only way we were finally able to order! And I was truly surprised that I had to request the plate of bean sprouts/basil/lime/hot peppers, even though I understand that's the standard accompaniment to pho. We also had to ask numerous times for water, and the tea pot was never refilled. However--there was a line of people (again, mostly Asian) waiting for tables, and lots of folks coming in to pick up food, so I have to believe they have some clue in the kitchen.

All that said, I know I'll go back and try a few other things, and I'll certainly stop in to pick up a meatless bowl of Pho, especially for the giant $3.25 pricetag! And I'll be curious to hear about your experiences there too.

[tommy]

curlz, are you saying that you don't eat the meat in the pho unless it's totally cooked? many people, especially those who like red meat rare/med-rare, prefer it the same in pho. in fact, i usually request that the meat be brought out on a plate so that i can control how much it (doesn't) cook.

thanks for the report. sounds like a place i'll be trying very soon.

Edited January 31, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Excellent report Curlz, we'll have to check it out soon.

[Curlz]

I absolutely ate most of the meat tonight, Tommy...and in general, like beef cooked medium or medium-rare, but there was something about this meat that just didn't appeal. Not sure why--maybe once you try it you can tell me what's missing!

[tommy]

I absolutely ate most of the meat tonight, Tommy...and in general, like beef cooked medium or medium-rare, but there was something about this meat that just didn't appeal.  Not sure why--maybe once you try it you can tell me what's missing!   

if the meat was dodgy, then it was dodgy, and i'd say cooking it in broth wouldn't do much to help it anyway!!

i know what you mean about some things not looking "right". i'll make note of the meat.

but i definitely draw the line at Frank and Omosa. i mean, frank's been dead for years, and omosa, well don't even get me started on that guy.

Edited January 31, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Curlz]

I knew I liked you, Tommy!

[skchai]

I don't live anywhere near New Jersey, but wondered about new name of the restaurant. Binh Duong (with Marcia Kiesel) is the name of the author of the Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking (Simon and Schuster, 1991), one of the few comprehensive Vietnamese cookbooks in English (now out of print and selling for big bucks on the used market). But it is also the name of a province in Vietnam, so the restaurant might not have anything to do with him. . .

Did any of you hear who the new owners were?

[Rachel Perlow]

Binh Duong (with Marcia Kiesel) is the name of the author of the Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking (Simon and Schuster, 1991), one of the few comprehensive Vietnamese cookbooks in English (now out of print and selling for big bucks on the used market).

Wow, it is selling for more than twice the list price on Amazon. Here's a link: Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking.

[Rachel Perlow]

I called and they are open on Mondays. We're going tonight. They are not the same people who ran Pho Van Tuan, and are not related to Little Saigon either. One of the waiters from Little Saigon is now working there, but not the cooks, "our cook much better than them," said the owner with whom I just spoke.

FYI - They are using the same phone number as mentioned upthread. However, since they are under new ownership, the pictures above no longer apply. We'll bring our camera tonight.

[Rachel Perlow]

So we went there tonight as a party of five adults & a toddler, and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We had quite an assortment of appetizers, including spring rolls, summer rolls, grilled pork, pork meatballs, grilled beef & onion rolls, and a salad of lotus shoots, shrimp & sliced pork that was a big winner. Plenty of lettuce, herb and pickled veg garnish for most of the above. The spring rolls are the larger kind, very crisp, quite good. The summer rolls were just OK, I suspect they might have been preprepared by a few hours. The grilled meats were very good, some served atop rice noodle, others just sprinkled with chopped peanuts & scallions. However, the star was that salad. Very refreshing and different from anything I've had elsewhere.

We sampled three soups: Pho Tai, Bun Bo Hue, and Hu Tieu. The pho was very good, a nice standard representative bowl of pho. Our Chinese friend, Lin, got very excited over the beef tendon and blood cubes (?) in the Bun Bo Hue, Jason liked the broth and the meatier parts of it. The Hu Tieu was just OK, but that is in comparison with KT's awesome Hu Tieu at Saigon Republic. In comparison with the previous restaurant at this location, just about everything was better. Quite on par or better than Little Saigon.

Oh, actually, I'm not done with the food. We also had Sauteed Shrimp with Lemongrass, surprisingly hot, for Vietnamese food, with lots of red and green bell pepper. Also ordered was a chicken & onion curry, it was like a rather mild Thai coconut milk curry. The fried rice with chinese sausage and shrimp was very good. Hmm, I think that's it.

For a traditional Vietnamese restaurant, Binh Duong definitely hits the spot. (tommy, I don't think you'll be disappointed. ) Like I said, in food and in atmosphere (they've decorated the place and got nicer tables & chairs), it is a vast improvement over Pho Van Tuan. Also, the prices are quite reasonable. We could not have ordered any more food (wouldn't have fit on the table or our stomachs, we actually had some food leftover), and it came to $22/pp (not including the baby, including tax & generous tip).

Oh, and in Little Saigon news, they are going to open something in Bloomfield and not reopen at their previous location, according to our (used to work at Little Saigon) waiter.

[Jason Perlow]

Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls)

Lotus, Shrimp and Pork Salad

Cha Gio (Spring Rolls)

Spring roll interior

Grilled Pork over Rice Noodle

Sauteed Shrimp with Lemongrass

Grilled Pork Balls

Pork ball & garnish ready to eat wrapped up in lettuce

Bun Bo Hue

Satueed Chicken with Curry Sauce

Pho Garnish (sliced jalapenos, lime wedges, bean sprouts, Thai basil, shredded red cabbage and shredded lettuce (in back of the plate)

Pho Tai (beef nice and pink)

Hu Tieu (Egg Noodles soup with pork & seafood)

Combination fried rice

The aftermath.

Pictures by Jason, Captions by Rachel

Edited February 15, 2004 by Jason Perlow (log)

[tommy]

awesome news!

[Jason Perlow]

BTW, my apologies for the crappy pictures, I had the settings messed up from our last photo session.

[tommy]

BTW, my apologies for the crappy pictures, I had the settings messed up from our last photo session.

i was going to comment on how beautiful they are.

[Rachel Perlow]

I know, he gets mad at himself if they aren't perfect. I think they get the point across and show the food. Huh, it's a closer look at the food than I took while eating it! My favorite pics are of the salad and the Pho Tai.

I want more of that salad. You see those white stalky things towards the bottom of the image that kind of look like white asparagus? That's lotus shoots. They were pickled and kind of reminded me of hearts of palm, but better. If you hold one up and look at the cross section, you can see the flower-like pattern, just like when you slice a whole lotus root.

[tommy]

Huh, it's a closer look at the food than I took while eating it!

yeah, the last time i got that close to pho i almost drowned.