Banh Xeo Dinh Cong Trang

 

8

283

Jan P.

San Jose, CA

Banh xeo is a savory Vietnamese crepe, usually stuffed to the brim with fresh veggies, shrimp, and beef/pork. "Usually" is the key word as this place skimps on everything! The crepe is super thin (but delicious), the shrimp a minority amongst the sprouts, and pork pretty much nonexistent. Ugh, not to mention that it costs like $7 for one. Anyway, since my mom doesn't really ever make it at home anymore since we've all flown the nest, this is an okay place to satiate my infrequent cravings.

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Elite '08

25

315

Thuy N.

San Mateo, CA

First of all, keep in mind that you are eating in a friggin mall/shopping center at the FOOD COURT.

There.  Expectations should be lowered half way by now.

I was craving something I definitely was missing, either banh xeo or banh khot while waiting for coworkers arrive so they can try the Thai Lovers place.  Anyhow, banh xeo won my stomach's desire and so I proceeded over to the counter.

One banh xeo or #1 please!  $7.00 is a pretty decent price b/c what they skimp in terms of proteins (shrimp and pork) they give you a crap load of veggies...tons of bean sprouts in the crepe to make up for the lack of proteins and a huge plate of fresh greens - leaf lettuce, perilla leaves, mint...etc.

My favorite part of the banh xeo is the the top half b/c it is CRISPY and not touching any other part of the inner goods, therefore not getting soggy.  

Their nuoc mam is fairly decent, most places couldn't make an edible one, much less decent!  Theirs was spicy, I like!

For $7, damn it's huge!  I could barely finish it!  Ohhhh yeah.  Pretty good stuff.

And if the kids don't want any of this good food stuff, they have a ton of quickie icecream single serve options...nice!

Just remember:  you are in a MALL FOOD COURT and you should be fine!

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0

3

old c.

Santa Clara, CA

Visited this place for the first time because of an article in Metro.
We ordered the banh xeo w/ shrimp and one w/ shrimp and pork.  We were quite disappointed.  Although the vegetables were plentiful and of high quality, the quantity of shrimp/pork/bean sprouts was very meager and the shell, although crisp, was very thin so we left hungry.    Our only previous experience with banh xeo is at Pho 909 in Milpitas........the product there is cheaper and the quantity of shrimp/chicken/bean sprouts is a lot more than here and the shell is thicker and crispier.   The product in the Food Court suffers greatly in comparison to Pho 909.

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Elite '08

30

165

Nizaria D.

San Francisco, CA

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck"                                                                 - His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama

Due to a variety of circumstances I was unable to make it to Nam Tien, the elusive hole-in-the-wall pho place I had so looked forward to reviewing this weekend.  Instead I ended up in the Vietnamese food bonanza that is the Grand Century Shopping Mall Food Court in San Jose.  It is here that I happened upon Banh Xeo Dinh Cong Trang and what a lucky little find it was.  

It was hard to decide which food counter would be most ceremonious for my official Grand Century devirginizing but I picked this one for the alluring abundance of fresh lettuces and herbs adorning their humble counter space and the friendly enthusiam of the counterperson in charge, a glowing gal with a happy, toothsome smile all the more accentuated by dark crimson lipstick.  I could not resist her grin over the more dour and disinterested competitors at each side, despite their suspiciously similar menus.  We did not try her namesake Banh Xeo (though they looked appetizing, even with bay-size shrimp) but instead went for the following:

#3 Cha Gio Man Chay - a dozen vienna sausage size deep fried spring rolls stuffed with shrimp & ground pork, served with fish sauce, pickled carrot, cold rice noodles and a mountain of crazy exotic herbs & lettuces to wrap them in

#6 Mien Ga - aromatic chicken soup with white onion, herbs and cellophane noodles in a delicious clear broth with lots of cracked black pepper, accompanied by two different chili dipping sauces, garnished with finely chopped ngo gai

#7 Com Ga Roti Opla - fried marinated chicken with broken rice, sunny side up egg, pickled bok choy and a side of chicken broth

Our dishes were called out in Vietnamese as they were ready and served up on plastic cafeteria trays with disposable cutlery.  All was good and filling, nothing was super duper amazing, except for maybe the herb plate, which was the size of Mount Everest and had stuff on it I've never tasted anywhere, including some kind of wierd bitter vine-like leaf, a ton of mint, a ton of romaine lettuce, basil and purple shiso leaves); and my Mien Ga, which was so delicious I broke my own "no take out" policy and spirited home the leftovers for dinner, which were just as good reheated and extremely comforting to my still flu-suffering sinuses.  My friend devoured his fried chicken and egg but was not so into the rice, and he liked the cha gio pretty well, though I found them a little too strong on the shrimp flavor and the fish sauce weak... but overall they were fair to middling.  

Conclusion: I don't think you can go wrong with ANY of the purveyors at the Grand Century Mall Food Court, though some do look cleaner than others, and some probably make better cha gio or broken rice, so choose wisely.  

Not sure if I would come here for pho since the neighborhood is saturated already with nicer spots, but there are a couple of sit-down pho joints inside the mall if that is really what you want.  I found it was more fun to take our chances and try out some authentic viet dishes that are hard to find elsewhere.

3.5 hot cocks for the food and value, 4 hot cocks for the overall experience of a Vietnamese-only food court

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Elite '08

375

2643

Anita L.

Irvine, CA

This place is called something else now, but for the longest time I've seen it listed in the San Francisco magazine's list of great cheap eats. When a food writer friend of mine suggested we give this place a try, I was more than happy to oblige. When I got there, I couldn't find the place even though the name was still at the entryway, but the restaurant itself had changed its name. After asking several people, they pointed me towards the restaurant. There was no menu in English, so we asked the manager for suggestions. We tried several dishes, but none of which were THAT impressive. The strictly Vietnamese clientele came in, ordered in their own language and got their food. We weren't sure if what the manager suggested was what he thought non-Vietnamese people would be more open to, but it definitely wasn't something my SF dwelling friend would drive to San Jose again for she quipped.

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2

86

precious c.

San Jose, CA

I see this place in the food court of Grand Century Shopping Mall. Even though Banh Xeo ($6) is in their name, it's not that good. The crepe is too thin & the color is not vibrant enough. The shrimp is way too small so it become overcooked. I like it better when I make it at home, the crust is thick & crunchy around the perimeter. Fortunately, their Com Ga Hai Nam ($6.5), # 2 on the menu is so good. It's the vietnamese version of Hainese Chicken. It's the best out of the other places that I've tried. However if you get it to go the meat they give you is not that great. I even had to pay for the to go box ($.25) & it had 2 big holes in it. Recently, my friend bought it & they didn't charge him for the to go box & he got better chicken too. So it's kinda inconsistent.

**Banh Xeo
****Com Ga Hai Nam

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6

145

Thao T.

Mountain View, CA

I dont know any other places that sells this. Banh Xeo is one of my favorite dishes to eat, and usually you can only get it homemade. This place is in the food court at grand century too and this dish is like a vietnamese crepe filled with beansprouts, beef, onion, and shrimp. I guess it doesnt sound that good, but it actually does taste good. They make it huge here, usually at home i eat three of them, and its grilled in a 10 inch pan. But here is more like a 16 in pan so its big, probably two is more than enough for a hungry person. The taste is alright and it's not super crispy (key ingredient is beer) or yellow (the coloring of the seasons makes it that yellow color). They also use minimal meat but they do give you a lot of lettuce, herbs and dipping sauce (fish sauce). I think its pretty expensive bc you can get the ingredients for pretty cheap so its unfortunate that being one of the few places to serve this, it isnt better.

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