Brodard Restaurant

9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844

Occasion: Our last stop before we head back to LA to catch our flight before we head to Beijing! We had to come here for Henry to try their infamous Spring Rolls. 12.07.11

Nem Nuong 

See previous entry here for a better review.

Their spring rolls are definitely memorable.  It's stuffed with a sausage of some sort and fried egg roll skin for extra flavor and an extra crunch.  He liked it, but thought it was over hyped.  We bought an extra order to go to eat on the plane and let me tell you, it wasn't nearly as good because the skin was all dried up.  Next time we'll know not to bring it on the plane and eat it over 6 hours after it's been purchased.  Now I wonder how people buy it and bring it back up to the bay...

Quan Hy

15640 Brookhurst Street
Westminister, CA 92683

Occasion: Early dinner in Westminister before we drive back up to LAX to catch our flight to China! 12.07.11

Banh Beo

steamed rice cakes with shredded shrimp eaten with a special sweet nuc mam (fish) sauce

I must admit these were pretty good.  They're little steamed rice cakes sprinkled with goodness.  Very easy to slurp up once you've loosened it from the plate.  One order comes with 8 and you one person can easily slurp these all up.  Since we've already had quite a bit to eat before, we only got one order of this.  The rice cakes and a jello consistency and was pretty flavorless.  It's the other ingredients you eat it with that makes it so good.  It's definitely a must if you're ever in this Irvine/LA area.

An upclose shot!

Banh Out thit nuong

steamed rice paper stuffed with grilled beef (seemed to have been grilled with lemon grass) filled with basil

The noodles were super soft and you can easily finish one roll in a few bites.  It's almost like cheurng fun from dim sum. Very tasty!

Up close

Goi hit

jack fruit salad mixed with shrimps and pork

I decided to order something else that seemed like a light dish and this appealed to me.  I've never had a jack fruit salad before, so I wanted to give it a try.  To my surprise it was delicious refreshing. The texture of the jackfruit reminded me of the texture of artichoke hearts. Fried onions and fried garlic not only added flavor to the dish but also a nice crunchy texture. Included in the salad were also peanuts, sesame, chopped up basil and mint leaves. You can eat it alone as a salad or on vietnamese rice crackers with black sesame seed for extra flavor and texture. So good and so different!

Le Diplomatic Cafe

4237 Campus Dr
Irvine, CA 92612

Occasion: Togo lunch before we leave Irvine to drive back up to San Francisco. My brother brought it to our hotel room to have for lunch.  I've heard about this infamous sandwich place where UCI students go for good sandwiches. 06.12.11

Garlic Chicken Panini Sandwich

I love panini's, it's the way they grill their bread.  Their bread was awesome, but in my opinion, I just thought there was too much mayo, or whatever the sauce is.  As the first meal of the day, it was hard to completely digest all the goody richness.  I thought it was a pretty plain sandwich and I could see why people are so fond of it.  It wasn't my favorite, maybe because I'm more health conscience now a days, but it wasn't too bad.  I was instructed to eat it while it was warm (which tasted a lot better than if it were cold) and to dip it in their spicy sauce.  I was told that it was pretty mild, but I still couldn't handle the heat

Chicken brocolli mushroom panini sandwich

It was good, but still very rich. I think I like this better than the garlic chicken, because it's not as filling.  Meat vs veggies. Veggies win.

Brodard's

9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844

Occasion: In Irvine for the weekend for brother's graduation.  After a 9 hour drive down to Irvine, we finally got to eat. 06.10.11

Nem Nuong Cuon

Pork spring rolls: grilled pork paste wrapped in rice paper with lettuce, cucumber, carrot daikon and mint served in a special house sauce

So good, this was our second order. It's like an imperial roll wrapped with a spring roll.  The crispy skin of the imperial roll was stuffed inside this roll, which not only added flavor to it, but also a crispy texture. Never had anything like this before!

Bun Bo Hue Suong

Don't remember what this was called exactly, but I think I've got it. It was in a spicy broth and vermicelli noodles with pork blood and pork organs.  I couldn't handle the spiciness of it, so I had to trade with my sister for something else.

Bun Bo Xao

Loved it. Tender beef with authentic broth and chewy rice noodles.  It was probably the best bowl of beef pho I've ever had!!