Mien Trung Restaurant
Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Clairemont7530 Mesa College Dr Ste A
(between Ashford St & Wellington St)
San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 576-0962
- Price Range: $
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
10 Reviews for Mien Trung Restaurant
wow. surprisingly, this hole int he wall is VERY good. its not a 5 worthy but its REALLY good. we ordered a shitload and the taste did not disappear for our big order.
we had a small family party about 20 people and it was well approved.
4 NOMS
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I like the food here, but I mostly order it togo. Their bun bo hue is one of the best, but the meat is kinda tough. I wish I could just order the noodle and soup only, don't care much for the meat. Their ba'nh bot loc is unbeatable. One thing that I'm very UPSET with this place is their business hours. Once in a while they would closed for a month for vacation. It's not even that same month every year. They don't pick up their phone either =(((( Like today, I've called so many time and they don't even pick up the phone and their voice message is some Vietnamese food travel show. At least say something like our business hours are from bla bla bla like other restaurants.
Update: Sorry Mien Trung, I forgot that you guys are closed on Monday! It was the hunger talking. To make it up I will give you one more star and my meal this morning was perfect. Thank YOU!
Me: co`n mo+? cu+?a kho^ng chu'
Man: co`n con; ca^`n ca'i gi`?
Just from that exchange, I knew if their bun-bo-hue is as authentic as his accent, I would be in good hand.
Mien Trung is my favorite kind of Vietnamese restaurant...mom & pop operated with a lot of love. From outside, it does look like my buddy's home in Garden Grove down to the details of the black security screen door. Peer inside and thank goodness, it's nothing like my friend's home; one finds a small dining room with small red tables and chairs that are neatly arranged and tiled floor that is cleanly mopped.
On this evening I ordered to go. The bun-bo-hue hit the spot just great. The broth was light with full, yet not overwhelming flavors. Even with the stinky shrimp paste added, I thoroughly enjoyed my bowl of spicy beef "bun" from start to finish. Normally when the broth is heavier, I would just eat the noodles and leave the liquid.
So the slices of beef could have been thicker, and a couple variety of pork rolls would have made it even better, but that would be nit-picking it.
Four spicy stars for the perspiringly tasty bun bo hue and for the friendly service.
Just got back from Vietnam about two and a half weeks ago. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to Hue, where this family is from, but I did get a nice sampling of Bun Bo Hue around Saigon. That is really the specialty at this restaurant and I can honestly, they rank in my top three bowls of Bun Bo Hue that I have ever had (including in Vietnam). It has the perfect amount of sour, spicy, and funky shrimp paste. The garnishes are great. I honestly cannot add anything that has not been thoroughly documented by Kirk (mmm-yoso.typepad.com), but I will say this: the difference between *most* of the soups in Vietnam and the states is that theirs are hot enough to continue cooking long after they reach the table. Thus, the garnishes that you add don't just serve as condiments, but ingredients. This is the case with the Bun Bo Hue at Mien Trung. Throw in some basil, bean sprouts, chili paste, more shrimp paste!, whatever you want and you will be playing chef and personalizing your soup, not just the bowl. This place is the definition of authentic as far as Bun Bo Hue goes. i have not tried the Bun Rieu because...well, I can't get past the Bun Bo Hue. Eat it, love it, and come back so this place stays around!
This is a true hole in the wall place. I mean, its blink and you'll miss eventho its right on the street. The entrance in has a metal screen on it and the small windows have bars on it. Looks like an old converted house.
Inside, it is small. 9/10 tables? The menu is very small. The special is the Bun Bo Hue and the Bun Rieu. I tried both and they are tasty. Very much like the real thing in Vietnam. The noodle texture is perfect and fresh. I love it. And this place is cheap $4.50 for regular size, $4.99 for large special.
I'd never heard of this place before my roomates friend took us here. Its right next to K's sandwiches, but not in the same plaza.
Its more of a take out place and they do catering. They are closed on Monday.
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I can't handle this place. I heard so many good things about it from Kirk the awesome asian food blogger of SD (mmm-yoso.typepad.com) but when my friend and I showed up, we were a little frightened. I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants but I think I just lack the acquired taste to handle this place, same with my friend. We got the Bun Bo Hue and it was pretty good with a nice subtle tangy taste but it wasn't as amazing as everyone made it out to be. Noodles did have a great texture and there was lots of flavor but maybe a little too much. It was also my first time having Bun Bo Hue so maybe it's just not for me. I should just stick with pho...
We also ordered egg rolls and they were pretty damn good until my friend pulled out a long curly black strand of hair from his egg roll. We informed the waitress but instead of apologizing and taking it off our bill, she just brought out another single egg roll. We kind of lost our appetite after that... Probably not going again.
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My mom ordered take-out for my grandmother's birthday. We ordered chicken salad, chow mein and eggrolls. I must have won the lottery because I bit on a freakin' rock when I chomped on one of their eggrolls. Luckily I didn't break my tooth! I saw Joanne's review about the hair. What the hell do they put in those things?
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Damn, I was sure I'd be the first! : )
Well, I'm completely obsessed with this place. I've been wanting to try it for AGES but I just never got around to it. About a month ago while I was doing laundry up at my Mom's house, I walked over for my first taste. HEAVENLY! I actually don't know a whole hell of a lot about Vietnamese food outside of Dao Son, which, well... isn't very authentic. I've never really been in to Pho but I love Bun Cha Gio!
Okay, so --- this place is always packed. There are only eight tables which are most always full; and then there's the near constant flow of people coming in/out to get big party trays of this or that on take-out. I think one of the coolest things about this place is that they've got a little TV sitting up on the counter which seems to play the same Vietnamese version of $40 A Day with Rachel Ray every time I'm in there. The show features a young Vietnamese couple cruising around the city trying different food stalls and restaurants. I love how Asians, by and large, are as food obsessed as I am! Great!
I've only tried three things so far, so, I'll probably come back for an update after a few more trips in.
Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup), $4.50: Super spicy with kind of wide-ish rice noodles in it. Of course you get the plate of vegetables to throw in as you see fit, plus lime. And then there's the beef. Only about 50% of the pieces are edible --- by me anyway. Mine had a big huge knuckle type of thing in it and a lot of REALLY fatty pieces. It was still super though. I'd order it again for sure.
BBQ Pork with Steamed Rice & Fried Egg, $5.25: I've gotten this one twice --- it's so freakin good! First of all, I love pork. Second, I love eggs... especially eggs over medium. Mmmmmm!!!! Again, the quality of the meat is a bit sketchy, but it seems authentic (?). This dish is HUGE! The BBQ pork is really yummy and it's topped with a bit of sesame seed. The egg has come both over-medium and over-easy, I didn't bother to specify either time. The plate is garnished with 2-3 slices of tomato and a bunch of cucumber AS WELL AS Mmmmm!!! Some pickled vegetable stuff that goes great with bites of rice and pork. They also serve it with the same kind of spicy sweet dip they serve spring rolls with. I add a little chile paste from the jars on the table to make it spicier! I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS DISH!
Spring Rolls, $3.25 (I think): An order of six above average spring rolls with the usual fixins. These are some of the best spring rolls I've had!
Vietnamese Coffee: Thick like mud, and UBER sweet. I don't know if I'll get this again. I could hardly swallow the stuff the way they served it to me. I took mine home and watered it down a bit and then it was delicious.
The next things I want to try are the: Congee with Duck, Dumplings with Shrimp and Pork and some other banana leaf wrapped thing that I saw a bunch of people getting... I think it's Rice Cake with Shrimp.
MIEN TRUNG = I Love You!
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bun rieu here is excellent! it has all the right stuff - fried tofu, gio (pork sausage), shrimp paste, and huyet (congealed pork blood). they also give you bean sprouts, cabbage, lime and chili.
bun bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup) is also good. the broth is clear and not too salty. they give you the stinky shrimp paste on the side if you want to add some flavor to it.
the chao hen (claim congee) is full of clams and onions. mmm SO GOOD, but a little salty. i added extra lime and that helped a little.
i had the banh nam la (kind of a rice cake with ground shrimp wrapped in banana leaf and steamed) but it was dry and not very good. its the only time i've had it, so i might give it another try to see if it was a just a bad day/time.
they have banh cuon here, but its not stuffed with pork, it has ground shrimp inside and the texture is a little different than normal. still, it was good.
they had a handful of other things on the menu, but i think the bun rieu, bun bo hue, and chao hen are the specialties. its hard to find bun rieu, chao hen, and all those hue goodies (banh beo, banh nam la, banh bot loc) in san diego. i do still want to try the bun cha ca (rice noodles with fish cakes) and hen xao (stir fried clams served with rice or crispy rice cakes).
every time i've been there i've seen someone picking up chao hen to-go or bun bo hue in large pots. its located behind K's, but in the plaza with the sushi place.
OH - they have hot soy bean milk. good stuff.
Family owned. Not a place to impress your date unless its just about the food. Kick ass, tongue burning, head sweatin' noodle soup. It's definitely for the hardcore who likes to venture out of the norm. Try the Dac biet bun bo Hue (Special extra large bowl) you can probably feed a family of four with it. They also do special catering like eggrolls, fried rice, etc.
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