Banh Cuon Hoa II in Bellaire
If I had to pick one Vietnamese dish made from rice flour and eat it everyday for the rest of my life (whole grain white rice doesn’t count), then bánh cuốn would be it. These rolls of thin rice sheet, filled with minced pork and woodear mushroom, gently dipped in nước mắm, make the perfect warm breakfast, light lunch, and quirky dinner. The question is where to find them. Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ tops the chart everywhere from Texas to Cali, but does Bánh Cuốn Hoa II come close? Maybe rival? Miss by a long shot?
I cheated a bit at the beginning. The first picture isn’t bánh cuốn, but bánh bèo, a rice flour spinoff drafted in the shape and size of waterferns, hence its name. Flooded with nước mắm, they make great appetizers while we were waiting for bánh cuốn.
Bánh bèo comes with a few toppings: fried shallot, chopped green onions, and tôm chấy (dry fried shrimp). The tôm chấy I usually have are totally desiccant, ranging anywhere between flaky and powdery, but these (I’m guessing homemade) shrimps are still plump, and more sweet than salty. It’s not a bad twist from the usual though. The flour part is a bit tired, they broke easily into pieces the moment my chopsticks pinched them. Bánh Hỏi Châu Đốc does it better.
Because it is very hard to go wrong with grilled meat, it’s always safe to get bún thịt nướng on first try at a new restaurant, also a friendly choice for those who have not had Vietnamese cooking before, want to try, but are still cautious. There’s no weird stuff, just rice noodle, crushed peanuts, vegetable and honest grilled pork. Nước mắm seasoned with a tidbit chili paste, a lot of sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice would spike the taste to infinite pleasure. Bánh Cuốn Hoa II nailed it with a supertender juicy marinated pork.
As much as my dad is a fan of grilled meat, my mom is loyal to noodle soups. She ordered bún măng vịt (vermicelli soup with duck and bamboo shoot), which actually comes in two parts: the duck salad (gỏi vịt) and the bamboo shoot soup (bún măng) with no duck. Dunk the duck into the soup and you get duck soup :-).
The broth is quite pure and slender, free of fatty bubbles floating on the surface, not as heavily seasoned as pho or hu tiu broth, simply refreshing. As for the bamboo shoots, there were both the fresh kind and the re-hydrated dried kind. The dried kind is a tad firmer and more squid-like than the fresh kind. A lovely texture. Boiled duck is also very tender and flavorful.
Bánh Cuốn Hoa II has a pretty clean look. Varnished wooden chairs and tables, high ceiling, humble paintings of Vietnamese countryside sceneries on the walls. I took a peek into their kitchen to capture the banh cuon production line.
Clockwise from bottom left: 1. stirring the liquid batter (rice flour with water); 2. spreading a laddle of batter on a hot flat surface; 3. making a roll; 4. 3 kinds of final products: normal bánh cuốn (with minced pork and mushroom), bánh cuốn tôm chấy (dry fried shrimp), and bánh cuốn thịt nướng (grilled pork).
The lady was just too fast for my camera, I missed capturing the crucial step where she gently used a long chopstick to take the thin rice veil off the cooking surface and whip it aside for the rolling chef.
So here it is, the restaurant’s signature plate: bánh cuốn topped with cha lua, bean sprouts, greens, and fried shallots. The filling is good. The sheet is thin and not oily. But the flour has a sour hint. Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ is still the champion of bánh cuốn.
Price: a very reasonable lunch for 3:
1 bánh bèo + 1 bún thịt nướng + 1 bún măng vịt + 1 bánh cuốn = $24.57
Address: Banh cuon Hoa II
11169 Beechnut St. #K
Houston, TX 77072
Take a look at RavenousCouple’s recipe for bún măng vịt, it’s my new fav noodle soup.
Update: the amazing pictures and recipe for homemade banh cuon, also from RavenousCouple.
Wohh exactly what I was searching for, appreciate it for putting up.
1I would like to thank you for sharing this interesting content. I really like your website. Many thanks for allowing me to comment on your website. I would love to see additional interesting updates from you in the coming days.
2Thanks for the good writeup. It in reality was a leisure account it. Glance complicated to far brought agreeable from you! By the way, how can we keep in touch?
3Thanks so much for posting such great content. I love your web page. Many thanks for letting me share my thoughts on your blog post. I would love to see more engaging articles from you in the future.
4whoah this weblog is excellent i really like studying your articles. Keep up the good paintings! You already know, lots of individuals are searching around for this info, you can aid them greatly.
5서울출장마사지 서울출장안마 셀럽은 고객이 머무는 장소에서 관리를 받을 수 있도록 방문 서비스를 안내합니다. 자택이나 숙소의 위치, 원하는 이용 시간, 코스를 알려주시면 예약 가능
6서울출장마사지 서울출장안마 셀럽은 고객이 머무는 장소에서 관리를 받을 수 있도록 방문 서비스를 안내합니다. 자택이나 숙소의 위치, 원하는 이용 시간, 코스를 알려주시면 예약 가능
7겜스고에 대해 궁금했는데 도움이 됐습니다. 겜스고
8관심 있는 주제라 끝까지 읽었습니다. 겜스고 사이트
9서울출장마사지 서울출장안마 셀럽은 고객이 머무는 장소에서 관리를 받을 수 있도록 방문 서비스를 안내합니다. 자택이나 숙소의 위치, 원하는 이용 시간, 코스를 알려주시면 예약 가능
10Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
11I don’t even know how I ended up right here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t realize who you might be however definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
12수원출장안마 셀럽의 출장마사지 코스와 가격, 선입금 없는 현장 결제 방식을 안내합니다. 영통·광교·인계동·권선동·장안구 등 방문 가능 지역과 예상 도착 시간
13Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
14I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later on. All the best
15This is a topic close to my heart cheers, where are your contact details though?
16Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?
17Nice weblog right here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What web host are you the use of? Can I am getting your affiliate link for your host? I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
18I was studying some of your content on this internet site and I conceive this website is real informative ! Retain putting up.
19I like this web blog very much so much excellent information.
20Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care
21Valuable info. Lucky me I discovered your site accidentally, and I am surprised why this accident did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
22wonderful points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What would you recommend in regards to your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?
23Hey! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
24Thank you for publishing such valuable post. I love your blog. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts on your blog post. I look forward to more interesting posts from you in the coming days.
25Some really wonderful articles on this internet site, regards for contribution.
26We stumbled over here coming from a different website and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to exploring your web page again.
27I enjoy your writing style truly enjoying this web site.
28Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was searching for! “It’s the Brady Act taking manpower and crime-fighting capability off the streets.” by Dennis Martin.
29Thank you a lot for giving everyone remarkably memorable possiblity to read in detail from here. It’s usually so lovely and also jam-packed with a lot of fun for me personally and my office co-workers to search your blog not less than thrice in a week to read through the new stuff you will have. And of course, I am just usually impressed concerning the splendid opinions you give. Selected 3 tips in this post are unequivocally the most effective we have all had.
30I like the valuable info you supply on your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at again right here regularly. I’m reasonably sure I’ll learn a lot of new stuff proper right here! Good luck for the next!
31Hello my family member! I wish to say that this post is awesome, nice written and include almost all important infos. I would like to see more posts like this .
32I think you have remarked some very interesting details, appreciate it for the post.
33great put up, very informative. I’m wondering why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this. You should continue your writing. I am confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!
34I really appreciate you for sharing such valuable information. I really like your web page. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on your website. I look forward to more engaging articles from you in the coming days.
35Very interesting subject , thanks for putting up.
36Wonderful paintings! This is the type of information that should be shared across the net. Disgrace on Google for not positioning this put up upper! Come on over and visit my website . Thanks =)
37Wow! Thank you! I continuously wanted to write on my blog something like that. Can I take a portion of your post to my blog?
38Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you’re a great author.I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will come back very soon. I want to encourage one to continue your great posts, have a nice day!
39Thanks so much for sharing such great content. I truly enjoy your blog. Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to comment on your article. I would love to see more engaging articles from you in the coming days.
40Thanks so much for sharing such valuable content. I truly enjoy your site. Thank you for allowing me to comment on your website. I would love to see more engaging articles from you in the future.
41Nice read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. And he actually bought me lunch as I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch! “Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” by Sir Arthur Eddington.
42Precisely what I was searching for, regards for posting.
43As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can be of assistance to me. Thank you
44Sangat menarik info !Sempurna persis seperti yang saya cari! “Keadilan yang tertunda adalah keadilan yang ditolak.” oleh William Gladstone.
45Sangat menarik informasi!Sempurna persis seperti yang saya cari!
46This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.
47Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!
48It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you few interesting things or advice. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read even more things about it!
49Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My blog site is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would really benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Many thanks!
50