As I was saying...Brodard serves up some really tasty Vietnamese food! Now what is "Nem Nuong" you ask? I'll tell you later. But first here are some photos of the outside of the restaurant. It is located in Westminster people, it isn't Beverly Hills, so don't expect pristine conditions. I'm kidding because they recently remodeled the outside and inside and it looks really nice. Unfortunately, I only have photos of the outside as I haven't been here in six months or so. Just too lazy to make the drive.
The outside of the restaurant use to look terrible. I guess business is doing well as they have since remodeled the "patio" area and it looks quite nice now. Not sure what the purpose of the patio is but there is currently no seating there. It is just an empty space. Perhaps future patio seating?
This here is what the Vietnamese call "che". It is sweet and is considered dessert, although we normally order it along with our water request at the beginning of the meal. Having dessert before the meal is my kind of dining experience. Speaking of dessert, Vietnamese people do not traditionally have what is commonly thought of when we think of dessert. Growing up, my family ate fruit after meals. My dad tells me that fruit helps with digestion but who knows if that is true or not. In speaking with some of my other Vietnamese friends, I discovered that fruit is commonly eaten for dessert in Vietnam.
This is a Vietnamese appetizer called Goi Cuon or Spring Rolls. It consists of thin rice noodles, lettuce, chopped herbs, cooked shrimp and sliced boiled pork, all wrapped in a softened rice paper. Usually served with a peanut based dipping sauce. This is one of my all time favorite things to eat! Although this is meant for sharing as an appetizer, sometimes I will order this and eat it as my entree.
This is a fish-based dipping sauce often served with Vietnamese dishes but sometimes I use it for the Goi Cuon as well. Only because my mom use to make both sauces. I'm terribly spoiled by my mom.
...but this is the stuff that this place is known for...Nem Nuong Cuon, grilled ground pork patties wrapped in rice paper with rice noodles, lettuce, herbs and what sets this place apart from other places is the addition of a crunchy fried egg roll right in the center of the roll. I say egg roll but the roll is actually hollow, it is just a fried egg roll wrapper.
I think this dish is called Bun Cuon. I'm not even going to start to describe this because it will just be drawn out and long. It is really delicious though. It's difficult to make at home so it is one of those dishes that you want to eat at a restaurant.
I went through a Bun Bo Hue phase a while back so I use to order this every time I came here. Bun Bo Hue is a beef noodle soup from the region of Vietnam known as Hue. Some people compare this to Pho but they are two completely different dishes. It's like comparing chicken noodle soup to minestrone.
It is really delicious!
This is a plate of garnish for the Bun Bo Hue soup. The garnish helps make the soup more texturally appealing and gives it more flavor. The soup is already really flavorful but this just makes it that much better.
This is a rice noodle dish with BBQ pork and grilled shrimp with egg rolls and various julienne veggies. It can probably feed two regular people or one very hungry somebody I know.
Sister K ordered this once but the name of these escapes me. No it's coming to me...Banh Khot. They are little crepes filled with shrimp and scallions served with lettuce, various herbs and the above mention fish sauce dip. I wish I had more photos to show you of the many dishes they serve here but I always seem to order the same things every time I come here. I will try to be more open minded. Ciao!
Brodard Restaurant
9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844(714) 530-1744
1 comment:
Mmm, I need to come back here for those GREAT rolls. I miss the OC, or just places in general that don't have rain all the time, ha ha.
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