Assuaging my Banh Xeo cravings, finally.

Today, I dragged my friend Patita and her SO down to San Jose to get Banh Xeo w/ me. Actually, "drag" is perhaps not accurate, since she came along willingly.

I had these once in LA, but have not been able to find them in any Vietnamese restaurant here. Thus, when my friend told me that I can get these crepes at Grand Century Mall, I was very excited. However, that was months ago, and hence, I have been craving them for quite a while now.

So today, I finally found a willing subject to go try these with me.

None of us had ever been to Grand Century Mall before. The interior is a hidden (mostly) Vietnamese shopping mecca. In fact, I think we were the only non-Vietnamese/Chinese in the entire mall.

There was only one stall that sold Banh Xeo--and only one kind at that--so I was a bit nervous about the lack of options. I also wondered whether I might have over-hyped these crepes in my head and thus might be disappointed by the real thing. What if I dragged my friends down all this way, and it turned out to be a very mediocre food experience? I/we waited with nervous anticipation. However, when the food finally came, I took one bite and I was in Banh Xeo bliss.

I can't remember if the ones I had in LA were better, (they seemed to have more stuff in them than the ones we got today) but the dining experience was every bit as good as I had hoped.

It's actually a very simple dish-- a thin crepe with shrimp, pork (which I asked to have removed), mung beans, bean sprouts, wrapped with lettuce and various herbs, and dipped in a tangy/spicy sauce. . .. But the combination of these various elements is uncommonly good. My friends seemed to like theirs as well.

After we assuaged our banh xeo cravings, Patita and B tried some intriguing Vietnamese dessert drink, while I stuck to the more pedestrian grass jelly tea. They both seemed to like their drink, so perhaps I will try it the next time I visit this place.