Someone really, really wanted to eat pho while we were in Paris. Now while I am open to trying new food places, I was against it at first. I’m full Vietnamese and can eat authentic, delicious Vietnamese food back at home with my Vietnamese parents in Vietnamese-town in Westminster. So why are we going to go eat Vietnamese food while we are in the heart of France, the beloved city of French pate, cheese, and bread. WHYYY :O But he made a good point: The French did colonize Vietnam for a while and a chunk of our cuisines are influenced by the French food and culture. So why not see how the French people can make Vietnamese food? Okay, okay.. I caved and we went to try.

First of all, the restaurant is very small and dingy; it actually resembles a lot of Vietnamese restaurants that have authentic food and don’t really care about the appearance of the restaurant. Haven’t you guys ever heard that stigma where the dirtier the restaurant, the more delicious the food? My dad says it’s because the owner of the restaurant focuses on the cuisine; and not the decor of the restaurant. Hence, this must serve BOMB food right?

The food pictures look good; they even look Vietnamese. But the taste isn’t the same authentic Vietnamese taste. Every dish was good, but it had a twist in flavor to it. I guess this is what you would attribute to the French way of cooking Vietnamese food.

Here is the spin off of French-Vietnamese egg rolls. Doesn’t look too bad so far right? The appearance of the golden, crispy spin of the egg rolls is on par. The first bite you take is consumed by the noisy crunch your teeth makes in contact with the fried egg roll. Now how was the taste? Hmm.. pretty decent; your typical pork-themed flavors in the egg roll. It was yummy. I liked it 🙂

bo bun boeuf – viande marinee et saute servi sur son lit de vermicelles de riz, salade verte, soja, concombre, carottes rapees, menthe, basilic thai et ses nems, nappee de sauce maison. or in Vietnamese: Bun Cha Gio. So your traditional cold Vietnamese dish of vermicelli noodles topped with beef and egg rolls and some of that sauce. Yumm. This was pretty good and can’t complain about it. The beef was well cooked and flavorful; I like the small amount of sauce used so that it doesn’t overpower the other clear, golden sauce you pour over your dish. Mixed together with the small cute eggrolls, this dish was so refreshing, cold and warm to eat all at the same time! Honestly, I think I liked this dish the most because it felt the most refreshing to eat during that HOT day. Oh did I also mention that this small, dingy restaurant was insanely hot and had no air conditioning? Wow, typical Vietnamese. Not even a fan – Hence, not up to Vietnamese standards.

loc lac – riz parfume a la tomate, boeuf marine aux oignons et saute, servi avec un oeuf au plat et oignons frits. Then there is your Vietnamese version of Bo Loc Lac. The steak was well seasoned and tender. The tomato rice wasn’t too special, but I think they used extra long-grain rice here. I’m used to more “puffy” rice even though it’s also long-grained from wherever my mom buys it from. There was plenty of sauce to drench with the tomato rice, which I appreciate! The presentation looked weird considering I am used to the Vietnamese ways of presentation. Again, experiencing the French spin-off of Vietnamese food was interesting and a learning experience.

[[ (OKAY I APOLOGIZE I CANNOT FIND THE PHO PICTURE!!! Can’t find it in my phone nor computer nor camera!! But it’s okay, it didn’t look that great.. It looked really plain and basic. Your traditional brown-colored broth with some pho noodles peeking out from underneath, topped with the beef steak and greens) Again, so sorry! I am so sad 🙁 ]]

pho – bouillon aromatique, lamelles de boeuf cru et pate de riz. Finally, it is the Vietnamese pho. Honestly, it sucked. Can I be honest? It sucks compared to Vietnamese pho in 626, let alone in Westminster, and let alone my dad’s homemade pho (which is the #1 pho of all time)! Their broth flavors were different.. Hmm.. hard to explain. It was edible, but different. Sorry, but I will stick to what French people are good at making: their breads and cheeses and escargot and what not.

che. This wasn’t even on the menu, but there were self-serve complimentary dessert soups on the counter for us. It was pretty good; mildly sweet. I liked it, but how can you mess up such a basic dessert right??

Haha.. Anyways, I guess some of you guys are wondering why I even bothered to blog about this restaurant. I mean, it is pretty good; I’m just not used to their French twist-offs of the Vietnamese cuisine. So my opinions are biased!!!! And I just wanted to share how French people make and eat Vietnamese food. It is sure different!