Anh Hong - Seven Courses of Beef
Last night, my friends and I went to Anh Hong on Geary x Hyde. I've never been to this Vietnamese restaurant before, but it's always crowded whenever I walk by. My knowledge of Vietnamese food doesn't go beyond "pho (noodle soup)." So, I was excited to try something new and more "authentic."
Sitting at a round table with Jason, Kate and Tony, we were all dumb-founded on what exactly to order. We looked around and checked other tables to see what they were ordering in hopes to pick the well-known dishes. We agreed on a prix-fixe called "Seven Courses of Beef" since the name was printed on the front cover of the menu. We figured, it MUST be famous and what Anh Hong's known for. I had originally saw it on the first page but immediately thought, wow, that's a lot of beef. But...when in Rome, right?
We ordered the seven courses of beef for two people ($17.95 per person), imperial rolls and a combination dinner plate of grilled/shredded pork with rice, salad and egg.
The seven courses of beef is as follows:
1. Special beef salad
2. Fondue with a special vinegar sauce (hot pot - cooking thin slices of beef in hot water)
3. Steamed beef pate
4. Grilled beef sausage
5. Beef wrapped in Hawaiian (Lot) leaf
6. Grilled beef with lemon grass
7. Special beef rice soup
The table was immediately filled with plates of vegetables and a basket of rice paper. You make your own roll by soaking a thin sheet of rice paper into the hot water to soften it, putting some veggies and the beef of your choice in it. You can dip it in two EXTREMELY fishy sauces or you can go the "American" route and dip it in the dark, peanut sauce that comes with the imperial rolls. :P
My favorite of the seven would have to be number five and beef rice soup ("congee"/porridge). The Hawaiian leaf gave the beef an aromatic fragrant and its flavor was deeply soaked into the grilled beef. The soup was a light and refreshing complement to the richness of all the meat.
The pate (#3) would definitely have to be the strangest. It was a mixture of beef, mushrooms, nuts, noodles and carrots. Interesting, but a soft, texture that I'm not used to having beef prepared.
The imperial rolls are your typical rice paper rolls filled with shrimp, vermicelli, cilantro and bean sprouts. Nothing spectacular or new. The dinner plate was pretty good, although the shredded pork was a little dry. We should have smashed the egg over it to moisten the meat a little. :P I wouldn't mind ordering it again. The dish is common at most Vietnamese restaurants.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience...service is certainly not the best (we had a very impatient waiter), but it's A LOT of food at an affordable price ($15pp). I can't believe we ordered the prix-fixe for only TWO people and it was enough to feed all four of us! I'd go back, but not anytime soon...I think I'm "beefed" out for awhile. :P
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