Did y’all miss me? No? Whatever, you’re here now. Let’s talk about some food you should try. A handful of weeks back, I had the pleasure of taking a path off the beaten trail to try something that was outside of my usual comfort zone. I am willing to try just about anything, especially when it comes to food, but specifically, when it comes to particular regions in Southeast Asia, I am a novice. A greenhorn. A rookie before a rookie even enters the league. If there were tiers to my experience with this region’s cuisine, I wouldn’t even land on the map. Drop me off in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, or the Philippines and I would not even know where to begin.
I have heard of the exquisite and diverse dishes that come out of this area of the world, but it seems to be almost a fantastical landscape to me. I love Thai food, but that is courtesy of Bella once again. She opened me up to generic Thai food. Pad Se Ew, Pad Thai, and Tom Ka is about the furthest extent I have entered into this region of the world’s cuisine, but as for the other countries of Southeast Asia, I am ashamed to say my knowledge and experience is severely lacking. Fortunately, one of my good friends—Bang—is Vietnamese. He grew up in a Vietnamese house hold where his father would frequently take his family to restaurants in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Bang being a first generation child of immigrants allowed him to see the country through a unique lens. In the restaurants his father would take them, they would try certain dishes, and Bang would recall his father studying these meals as if the dishes they were some sort of challenge. Bang would later recall finding his father a week or so later, standing in the kitchen, replicating the exact same meal they had when they were out for dinner. Bang told me that his father was actually trying to improve, tweak, and propel the same meal they had at the restaurant to push it to its fullest potential. Many of these meals for Bang, and his family, were dishes that originated from Vietnam. So to that, Bang was and has been my Vietnamese cuisine shaman. His knowledge and background makes him a perfect candidate to entertain the shameless, ravenous pig that I truly am. Thanks buddy:)
Some Background
Bang Nguyen is originally from the southwest suburbs of Chicago and I have known him for a handful of years. I was first introduced to him through our mutual friend and Portland photographer, Adam Patchik. Bang would frequently visit Adam in Portland, and as byproduct of this, I became friends with Bang rather instantly. If you are interested in seeing some creative digital media that is breaking the standards of how traditional portraits and landscapes are perceived, I would politely encourage you to look into Adam’s extensive work, and while you’re at it, you might as well check out Bang’s work as well. They both have their own social media platforms that can be found here:
I joke that these guys are the only two photographers I have eyes for, but truthfully, both of their works are up in my home not because they are my friends, but because they are seriously some brilliant artists/photographers. You really should check out their stuff. It doesn’t cost you anything and means to the world to both of them. Alright, now that I have boosted their egos—lets get back to what actually matters.
Prior to heading over to Teo, Bang had mentioned that I was missing out on a niche pocket of food that would really make me question my preconceived positions for Southeast Asian cuisine. Me being the shameless eater I am, I had no issue with trying something new. You’re telling me you want me to try food that I haven’t tried before and I am likely going to enjoy it? Sign me up! He prefaced to imagine what your typical bowl of Pho would be like, then erase that from your memory, and reconstruct the elements that would be in a beef noodle soup that is similar to Pho, but also completely different in an of itself. huh?? To be honest, I don’t even think Bang even understood what he was talking about when preparing me for what was to come. While my brain was doing mental gymnastics over this explanation he just laid on me, I was more than eager to see what the hype was all about. Let me tell you, the hype is oh so very real.
Teo - Bun Bo Hue Review
Upon arrival, we were immediately seated. Their set up was rather simple. Some tables off to left and right of the door when you entered, and the kitchen in the center.
When we were seated, Bang had asked for some menus, to which we were told there are only 3 things to order… thats it, and no menus. Beef Pho, Chicken Pho, or Bun Bo Hue. Since Bang has been insistent that I try this dish, my decision was easy. Bang ordered us both a bowl of Bun Bo Hue, which is essentially a spicy beef noodle soup that is made with a plethora of different spices and ingredients, all the while, swimming in a delicious slow cooked lemongrass bone broth infused with shrimp paste and chilis. We’ll get into here in just a moment.
Like many of the Asian cultures, the Vietnamese enjoy tea as a part of almost every meal. Generally, tea is served after meals to help with digestion as well as cleanse the smell of food on their palette. Without even asking for the beverage, tea was dropped before for us to enjoy as we waited for our Bun Bo Hue.
Tea, for me, is definitely an occasion beverage. If I have a sore throat, or am trying to wind down from the day and want something to get me ready for bed, I love me some sleepy time tea. I also enjoy a hot toddy Christmas morning. Before I became a habitual black coffee drinker, I used to drink tea quite regularly. This jasmine tea was nothing special, but the fact that it was served as a part of the meal embellished the experience of what is like to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine.
Philosophy Lesson
It would seem that Asian cultures are very pragmatic, efficient, and are more concerned with the perfection of the end result as opposed to its counterpart—Western (American) culture—which prides itself on being able to mass produce one individual thing, monetize it its maximum potential, and build an empire around the product. An example of this is the notorious fast food chain we all either love, or hate, depending on who is reading this, that’s right, you guessed it, McDonalds. Personally, I have no qualms with Mickey D’s. You can literally go anywhere in the world, and the chances of you stumbling upon a McDonald’s, drunk, late one night, is higher than running into a restaurant that serves these three items and doesn’t even have a menu. This is why, we as people—as a society—need to enrich ourselves with these niche corners of cuisine—not as a means to appreciate the food, but to know more about ourselves and to understand where we fasten ourselves to this floating space rock we call home. There is a lot to be said about how we go about preferring certain cuisines and regions that tickle our fancy, but there is also something even more important about why we might not prefer something by comparison.
To ask why contains more weight than to know why we like something. Why do you like or dislike what you are watching, eating, reading, or experiencing? Bang laid this out to me the other day over a beer and it really made me think about this in regard to our preferences when it comes to food. Why haven’t I really tired Vietnamese food before? Is it my parents fault who primarily swear Italian food served by a French waiter is the way to go (this is a reality for me)? I would say no. Is it because I am uncomfortable with trying something new? Maybe, but probably not. Is it because my willingness to seek out these places seems like an timely task? No. So then why? The answer is simple—I don’t know why—which is the exact and very reason to try something new. Furthermore, this same sentiment can be lamented across the board for any type of food for that matter. Why? Because you have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Eating is about taking risks, but what are you really risking? The quality of the meal? Yes. The time you spent eating something you didn’t really enjoy? Yes. The experience that was somewhat lackluster? Yes. But guess what? Now you know—and because of that, you have gained something far more important than enjoying or disliking something new—you have learned more about yourself, which is a priceless reward. Food will do this in more ways than your head can even comprehend, but to completely disregard an opportunity is to sign a lease to live in your mother’s basement until your 40. Choice is your. Try. Play the risk/reward game. You are doing yourself a service.
Main Course
Now, onto the service we did to ourselves with this meal. Our Bun Bo Hue came out fast. This, I believe, is in part due to the efficiency and coming out with a perfect product in a timely manner that is a staple in many Asian cultures. I didn’t mind this as I was eager to dive in. In front of us were these two large bowls.
Before I even try to break down the complexity of what was sitting before me, I should mention that each order of Bun Bo Hue comes with an assortment of greens and leafy veggies that could be added to your beef noodle soup. I followed Bang’s lead as he started breaking apart bits of mint, and other greens by letting them marinate in the broth. This adds a layer of texture and flavor beyond what is already present within the bowl. It’s almost like a “choose your own adventure” kind of meal. You want it be more spicy? Throw some chili oil in there. You want it to be a little crunchy? Try some of the dried banana skins. Or if you like it how it is, leave it as is; there is plenty of different things to enjoy in the bowl by itself.
This being my first experience with Bun Bo Hue, you are going to have to forgive me as this was quite a wild ride for my palette. I mean that in the absolute best way possible too, its just so diverse and complex that even for someone like myself who tries to write these reviews, to pinpoint individual flavor profiles would be, and is, near impossible. Instead, I think I will try and just embellish the best elements of the meal as opposed to getting too far down a flavor rabbit hole. The lemongrass bone broth alone was medley of flavors and aromas with different ingredients, spices, and everything in between. Not even our waiter could explain to us what was present in the broth. When I asked if the waiter could tell us what was in it, their eyes widened and said, “Uh… a lot of stuff.” He wasn’t wrong. This salty, spicy, and balanced broth was essentially a melting pot of different ingredients that not even the person working the tables could answer. The lemongrass tint, with almost an umami like after taste is something that leaves you going back spoonful after spoonful. One thing I think we all knew was that whatever was in this bowl, it was damn good. Really damn good.
The most interesting and fun parts of this meal had come in the form of the cubed pig’s blood, also known as blood cake, which I had never tried before, and had no issue in entertaining the opportunity. Almost gelatinous in texture, and salty in flavor, this chewable piece of blood had me raising my brow. It was like taking the broth and turning it into an edible piece of spongy beef. In tandem with this, the pork knuckle and beef shank, which almost had a similar taste and texture but a completely different presentation, was familiar enough to me, but when coated in that oh so tasty broth, every bite felt like I was tasting pork and beef for the first time all over again. The most comforting and familiar part of it all had to be the rice noodles.
Noodles in just about any form is hard to pass up. Now dunk them in this lemongrass bone broth, the plethora of flavors that have been whimsically marinating with one another, and the numerous other little bits to bite into throughout this meal, and you have a seriously well balanced beef noodle soup. Don’t believe me? You ever heard of a show called, Parts Unknown? My buddy Tony deems this to be the best soup in the world!
Tony makes an extremely profound point—this bowl of slurpy goodness can be put up there alongside the likes of French cooking. To the average person who calls Thailand home, this meal is similar in the way American’s would appreciate BBQ or homemade mac n’ cheese. To the outsider, foreign to these flavors, this feels more like a delicacy, thus furthering the notion to my point that eating food is not only for the entertainment of your palette, but also a means to understand where we all come from, and how we see ourselves individually in relation to one another.
Evan’s Eats Report Card: Teo Bun Bo Hue
Ambiance…………………………B
Wait staff………………………….A-
Drinks……………………………… B
Appetizers………………………. N/A
Main course…………………….. A
Expense……………………………. A-
Overall Experience………… B+
A perfect pairing with Portland weather. Looks tasty, duder!
That looks great. You and Anthony seemed to have the same opinion.
Nicely written review