Hey, kids: guess what time is it? It's time to restart that Long March known as 100 Favorite Dishes (INSERT YEAR). YEAH!!! Now, on with the program…
It's just two bites, if that, the compressed ham-habanero-daikon treat wrapped inside a banana leaf and sold three for 50 cents at Huong Giang in Little Saigon. It looks more like bubble gum than anything porcine, or perhaps Vietnamese Spam if you want to be creative. It's not a full meal, to be honest. But the density, the flashes of heat and freshness, make this “pork hash” (their translation, not mine) among the best pig candies you'll ever eat.
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This is one of the highlights at this Central Vietnam specialist–it's bún bó Hue is like an electric wire reduced into soup, and the rest of their platters are as excellent. But most of Little Saigon also gets Huong Giang's charcuterie to-go for snacks later on. I lost the entire list, which is excellent–but the pork hash is my favorite. That habanero singe! The crunchy daikon! The actual pork, rubbery but brilliant! When I reviewed this place in February, I wondered out loud why the restaurant hadn't stuffed them into a breakfast bánh mì to create an awesome Egg McMuffin; four months later, nothing. Paging Dos Chinos….
The list so far:
95. Sweet Chili Chicken Quesadilla At Kogi
96. Licuados at Mil Jugos
97. Hawaiian Ahi Poke at California Fish Grill
98. Takoyaki at Takoyaki Tanota
99. Fiesta Noodles at Jollibee
100. Chilaquiles Verdes Con Huevos Estrellados at La Tablita California
Click here to view our 100 Favorite Dishes of 2010!
Click here to view our 100 Favorite Dishes of 2011!
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