So Ju Bang / Banh Cuon Tay Ho (downtown Oakland)

Dragged a bunch of apathetic coworkers out to So Ju Bang, only to find the place dark and the doors locked? It didn't have the completely dead appearance some restaurants get (where they've moved all the cooking equipment out into the center of the floor), but I hope it's not permanently closed. Two Korean restaurants in the same month would be too much!

So I dragged them on further to try out Banh Cuon Tay Ho, at 12th and Webster (where Apsara used to be). Just about everyone eating there was Vietnamese. Service was pretty bad, but they do have a wide variety of phos (sorry, david de berkeley, didn't see chicken broth ones) and some noodle and rice dishes. We all thought it looked fairly authentic.

I didn't think it was amazing... but I couldn't decide on a pho and just got a vermicelli noodle dish. The egg rolls were barely fried. The BBQ pork was okay, but didn't have the amazing grill taste of, say, Huynh or Le Cheval. But I wouldn't mind going back to try the pho. (all the natives in the restaurant ordered pho)

Walked by today and there's a sign in the window of So Ju Bang, saying it will have a new owner. Perhaps (hopefully) that is the only reason it is currently closed...

actually, this was my suggestion for the next Oakland lunchtime Chowdown,but I was blanking on the name, and the others at the table when we were deciding just looked blank, so perhaps it should be the fourth installment, assuming it is open by then? (after we hit Joy Luck on July 6th?)

We could do that... although it's not really a "family style" sort of place, as they bring things out in bento style boxes. (you can see pictures on the menu in the window)

And, of course, it might not be open.

But we'll see -- it's fairly central, and if others want, let's certainly do that!

But did you try the banh cuon? Perhaps it's a specialty? And isn't banh cuon a Hue (central Vietnamese) dish? If so, perhaps there are some other central Vietnamese specialties lurking on the menu.

It was on there, but I didn't notice until just now -- the menus were very confusing. Lists with descriptions and prices on the outside, photos on the inside, with overlapping number ranges.

Plus we got three "regular dish" menus and one "pho" menu, so were constantly swapping around.

I think Banh Cuon is a chain which does specialize in Banh Cuon. I have been to one of the locations in Westminster with my coworker who is Vietnamese and that is what she ordered. I have included the link for their website below.

Link: http://www.westlakefood.com/menu.html

That looks mouthwatering.

Looks like the place to start is the Banh Cuon Dac Biet Tay Ho (which I roughly translate as "house special"). I love the description of the banh xeo as "soft tacos" -- most places describe them as "crepes."

that's their specialty. THe oakland store doesn't have banh xeo anymore.

It is, indeed, a chain -- the menu listed six locations, including two in Westminster and one each in San Gabriel, San Diego, San Jose, and Oakland.

What's Banh Cuon?

Good question!

If you look at the pictures on the menus, you'll see that it refers to translucent rice paper sheets rolled around various kinds of filling. You can't see them very well in the first picture -- they're hiding under the tempura, but they're clearer in the picture below.

Link: http://www.acjc.edu.sg/Spectra/VibrantCulture/Vietnam/banhcuon.html

Image: http://www.westlakefood.com/menuA/dis...