Mike B.
Yelp
I gotta be honest.
I truly was not expecting much out of the little Vietnamese hole in the wall next to Gourmet Inspirations. I hate to say it, but the place almost seems like an afterthought.
I've been into Gourmet Inspirations a couple of times. It's wide and expansive with massive pieces of art work hanging on the wall, bright colored lights, small but elegant chandeliers that centered in large ceiling recesses throughout the space. And the food... well the dim sum is pretty ok. Not very impressed, although we did have a whole fish dish there with lemongrass that was excellent.
The accompanying sister restaurant (Cam Ranh Bay Pho & Grill), that is connected at the hip, most literally; and has food coming from the same kitchen. It's a little bit understated. Yes, large pieces of artwork hang on the wall, but everything seems just a little more casual. Everything seems a little less refined.
I can tell you from my two recent experiences though. That is the side to be in!
The Tôm Nng shrimp appetizer is perfectly grilled bright yellow shrimp that are finished with a sprinkling of fried shallots and scallions, served on a bed of lettuce.
The Bánh Hi Ba Món (Nem Nng, Tht Nng, Cho Tôm) is described as "Three kinds of meat - Grilled meatballs, grilled pork, grilled shrimp paste on sugarcane. Served with fine vermicelli, lettuce, mint leaves, and peanut sauce on the side"
But this, like the restaurants interior is understated as well. The grilled meatballs are bright reddish sienna oblong lumps of meat that are served on short skewers. They seem somewhat related to the popular Filipino sausage longaniza. The grilled pork is shiny lacquered meat with a sweet charred sauce and the grilled shrimp paste on sugarcane well, it's a fairly large piece of sugarcane and the wrap covers most of it.
The best thing about this dish is that it's served with Rice paper and hot water so that you can roll your own summer rolls at the table. A veritable vietnamese fajita platter that is served (as the shrimp is) with a fish sauce dipping sauce with julienned green papaya and carrot.
I've also had the fortune of having an egg noodle soup dish with pork wontons that seems to be missing from the online menu. The soup's depth of flavor was surprising.
Everything comes out so quick that I'm just left asking myself... how?
How in the world does this small restaurant, that has not been busy each time I've been, sustain such a large menu full of winning dishes. And how are those dishes brought to me so perfectly with such a short waiting period.
Whatever the answer is... I just hope Cam Ranh Bay can keep doing it. I can tell you that I will be back frequently to make sure of just that.