G I N.
Yelp
2019-11-29. B's Kitchen Fine Vietnamese Cuisine. Vaughan, ON.
B's Kitchen is relative new in Vaughan and joins quite a few other Vietnamese restaurants in the area. Located in a residential plaza across the street from Vaughan Mills Mall, it's definitely depending on the residential and local scene to survive.
I've tried just about every Vietnamese restaurant from Rutherford Rd to Keele St. and Langstaff Rd. to Major Mackenzie Dr. and while some are pretty decent, I have yet to find my go to place. When B's Kitchen opened up, I had it on my list, but it wasn't until now that I had the chance to partake.
As with all rural plazas, parking is free without time restrictions. Inside, B's Kitchen is not the typical bright interior found in most Pho Restaurants. The lighting is softer and neutral tones embrace the walls. Dark tiled flooring, and brown formica tables with a marble pattern set the scene for horizontal surfaces, and tanned cushioned chairs provide the contrast to the furniture. Canvas and framed portraits compete against three flat panels for decor and fresh plants and flowers line the ledges along the large bay windows where light is plentiful.
Opening day was July 1st, and their Grand Opening special was a 15% discount until the end of November, so I was lucky enough to make it by a day. Prices are on the high side for Vietnamese, but some of it can be attributed to inflation and the higher cost of living.
Being our first time, we went with our favorites, Grilledd Pork Vermicelli, Special Pho Soup, Grilled Pork Chop Rice, and a Special Egg Noodle Soup.
P2. Pho Dac Biet (Special Beef Noodle Soup.) The kitchen sink of Pho. All Pho is beef broth based with hints of basil, onions, star anise, fish sauce, and ginger. The Dac Biet comes with a bit of everything. Every restaurant may have their own unique combo for the Dac Biet, but it should essentially encompass it all. Any combination of tripe, congealed blood, beef balls, fatty beef, beef brisket, beef tendon, beef steak slicks (flank or eye of round). The signature of this dish is that the soup is poured over the raw steak slices cooking it to a nice medium rare. If you don't like your steak medium rare, let it sit in the soup a little longer and it will cook fully (NB: It will also get tougher as it cooks more). The dish is typically garnished with cilantro and onions. Here the ingredients didn't disappoint. There was no congealed blood, but it did have everything else (see pics). The soup flavor was on the mild side for me. It may be that it wasn't cooked long enough to extract the flavor from the beef bones, or they didn't use enough bones with marrow. Overall a decent dish, 3,5 stars.
H1. Mi Dac Biet (Special Egg Noodle Soup.) You guessed it, essentially the kitchen sink of Egg Noodle Soup. The broth is chicken based here and the toppings are different, but you typically get them all. BBQ pork slices, roasted pork skin bits, ground pork bits, fish balls, squid, shrimp, and imitation crab. The hidden treasure of this dish is the quail egg. If you want to test how authentic this dish is, check out the quail egg. Authentic recipes call for fresh quail eggs, not those from a can. The quail eggs are cooked to a soft boil, then they're deshelled. They go into the dish to continue to cook, and you consume it to your liking. Much like the steak in the Pho, the longer you wait to eat it, the more cooked it gets and the dryer it becomes. Much like the Pho, I was a bit disappointed in the broth here. It wasn't as flavourful as I've had in other places. The toppings were also more pork and less seafood. This version had deep fried tofu, the congealed blood and Cha (pork roll). Not to say that the dish is bad, but I've had much better. 2 stars.
B1. Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong (Vermicelli with Spring Roll and Grilled Pork.) This noodles in this dish is served cold with a side of fish sauce. The ingredients typically come separated and you toss it like a salad before eating. If done properly every bite is like a symphony in your mouth. Daikon radish, julienne cut carrots, bean sprouts, peanuts, spring onion, and mint all provide a cacophony of texture and flavour. Here they did a decent job with the exception of the spring roll (cha gio), to me it was 6 flies away from being in a Unicef commercial (see pics). The pork was flavourful and not at all dry. The fish sauce was also pretty decent, not too sweet, and not too fishy. 4 stars.
C1. Com Suon Nuong Op La (Rice with Grilled Pork Chop and Fried Egg.) A simple dish where the grill of the Pork Chop and Egg are key! Ideally, the egg should be cooked over medium (slightly runny), but most places do it over easy. Here it was like most places. The pork chop had some nice grill to it, but the chop itself was on the small side throwing the ratio of meat to rice off. 2,5 stars.
Overall, 3 stars.
If You would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!
