406266 Tue May 29 17:34:04 -0700 2007 10 2 Los Angeles Area 0 2611767 so just about every monday morning i stop at top baguette for an egg banh mi and bbq beef for lunch. as i drive the deserted bolsa at 5:30 am i notice sing sing and huong huong. Has anyone eaten at either of them and can you recommend anything to drink or eat from either? thanks if no reply in a few days i'll try them out myself. Tue May 29 17:34:04 -0700 2007 26512 meltedcheese 1 2611783 Are you looking for anything in particular? I go to huong huong bakery occasionally, but not the food to go side. You could probably do much better. Actually, right across the street, in that run down strip mall next to rainbow sound, go to kang lac bakery. Get yourself some cafe sua da (from that specific place). Go across the street to Lee's bakery. Get yourself an almond croissant. Thank me later. Tue May 29 17:40:04 -0700 2007 2611767 91179 ns1 2 2612061 thanks. i usually don't go to lee's much- their normal sandwiches are better then their banh mi. i do like their ham and cheese croissants though- it's the only place you can get a hot one without some donut shop owner throwing it in the microwave and making it all soggy. i'm all over the almond croissant- Tue May 29 19:35:37 -0700 2007 2611783 26512 meltedcheese 3 2612516 I only go to lee's for their baughette's and their almond croissant haha. Tue May 29 23:13:50 -0700 2007 2612061 91179 ns1 1 2612123 Sing Sing is my go-to place for fruit tart. They do a great job with puff pastry and pastry cream. I get my birthday cakes here too, because they use whipped cream instead of buttercream, which I dislike. It's also good for pate chaud, savory puff pastry rounds filled with pork or chicken meatball, and here, in an unusual twist, pieces of fish filet. Sing Sing is a patisserie, not a boulangerie, so seek out your bread and sandwiches elsewhere. PS - try their Viet style yogurt. When it's fresh, it's lovely. When it sits in your fridge for a couple days, it takes on a sharper tang, but it's still good. Tue May 29 20:01:30 -0700 2007 2611767 10023 Professor Salt 2 2612515 if you're looking for some BOMB ASS fruit tart, head up north on Bolsa, past asian garden mall. You'll see a little french cafe called "le croissant dore" or something like that. Absolutely best fruit tart I've found. I like the crunchy flaky crust and nobody does it better AFAIK. Also on that same plaza, Hanoi restaurant. They have 3 specialty dishes, bun cha hanoi, cha ca thanh long, and some other sweet yammy shrimpy fried thing that I don't know how to say. The cha ca thanh long is probably the most popular one you'll see there, and is definately worth trying at least once, but I'm over it. I prefer the bun cha hanoi, which is some odd combination of rice noodles + meat that I don't really know how to explain, but it's also the best that I've found. Tue May 29 23:13:25 -0700 2007 2612123 91179 ns1 3 2612568 in regards to "le croissant dore" an ex-student of mine- her father owns and cooks there- it's pretty damn good. Wed May 30 00:34:55 -0700 2007 2612515 26512 meltedcheese 3 2613677 I like Le Croissant Dore, though it's worth mentioning (sorry, I'm picky!) that it's WEST of the Asian Garden Mall on Bolsa, between the AG Mall and Magnolia St. -- Bolsa runs east-west (and turns into 1st St. in Santa Ana, for those of you coming from the 5). Bun cha Ha Noi is grilled pork and sometimes pork meatballs that come submerged in a papaya-fish sauce (it's like a sharper, sweeter nuoc cham)... it comes with the usual plate of herbs, rice noodles, and a bowl -- it's basically deconstructed bun (which is on offer in almost every Viet restaurant in the country), and you put stuff in your bowl, mix it up and eat it. The grilled meat swimming in the sauce lends this incredibly smokey flavour to the sauce, so that if you run out of meat you can still eat greens and noodles and get that delicious flavour. I wanted to order cha ca thanh long (grilled fish with dill on a hot plate) at Vien Dong the other day, but we'd each had a strawberry shortcake at the Strawberry Festival so we were just not hungry enough to do it. Next time. Wed May 30 10:44:53 -0700 2007 2612515 10811 Das Ubergeek 3 2613742 I know people on this board like D'ore's fruit tart. Our esteemed colleague elmomonster recommends it too. It's good and all, but I still prefer Sing Sing's. The puff pastry is taller, crisper, and the custard isn't as loose, which means the pastry isn't soggy. If these places were rock trios, Sing Sing is to Rush as Croissant D'Ore is to Nirvana. Different strokes, y'know? IMO Sing Sing displays more accomplished technique, and because they don't do a cafe / sandwich operation, stays focused on cakes and pastries. Wed May 30 11:00:18 -0700 2007 2612515 10023 Professor Salt 4 2613923 Fine. I will try Sing Sing... but if it starts talking about its uncle having a country place that no-one knows about, I am going to throw it at your car! :-P Wed May 30 11:39:36 -0700 2007 2613742 10811 Das Ubergeek 4 2613958 Fair enough ;) I once split a giant fruit tart with 2 friends. 3 guys 3 forks no plates. I haven't eaten a fruit tart since. Wed May 30 11:46:12 -0700 2007 2613742 91179 ns1