Lunch at Huynh

Hello all! I know it's been awhile since I have posted … I can thank some very busy times at work and also Houston's gorgeous weather of late, which has led to many picnics and afternoon walks. I find it extremely hard to go back to work when it is 65 degrees, breezy, and sunshine-y, don't you?

One day the lunch I had packed didn't seem appealing --lentil soup is one of my favorites, but somehow it seemed inappropriate for a beautiful day -- and so we decided to get lunch at Huynh, a Viet restaurant outside of downtown. We chose the worst possible day to go, however, as a favorable review had just been published in the Houston Chronicle. There were major hiccups with the service, but I can't fault them for being slammed after a very positive review. Besides, my frustration at the wait melted away once I had one bite of my food, which was delicious.

I ordered one of my favorite dishes, banh cuon: thin rice noodle crepes enveloping savory pork and garnished with basil, cucumber, lettuce and fried shallot. Judging by the delicate texture, I believe Huynh's rice noodle crepes were freshly made, which astounded me, because I have never had freshly made banh cuon except in Vietnam. The Chronicle review confirmed that they make their rice crepes and some of their noodles in-house, to-order, which makes this place a real find.

Rice noodle crepes are made by pouring a thin layer of rice batter over a piece of damp cloth that has been stretched over a hot surface, sometimes a steamer and sometimes a griddle. The end product (think a rice crepe) is ultra-thin, translucent, and very delicate. In Saigon we saw several banh cuon ladies making this dish on street corners or in markets. In the absence of my own banh cuon lady on the corner, I am happy to go to Huynh to get my fix. I wish they would add a few bean sprouts, but otherwise it is pretty close to perfect.

I was also really happy with the nuoc cham dipping sauce. Most places in Houston go light on the fish sauce and heavy on the sugar, but Huynh's version was redolent with fish sauce, a little spicy, a touch sour, and just slightly sweet. Balanced nuoc cham is a very good thing.

We chatted with the owner's husband for a bit, who was very nice, about Vietnam and the restaurant. He was apologetic about our food taking so long and asked us to give them another chance. He didn't need to cajole us – in fact, we have already made plans to go here for dinner this weekend with some friends! I want my new banh cuon place to stick around.

Huynh Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine
912 St. Emanuel St.
Houston, Texas