This Edison restaurant draws diners with an array of carefully prepared and attractively presented Vietnamese dishes.
By: Faith Bahadurian
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Bien Hoa |
On a frigid night we headed north to Edison on Route 27, past the strip malls, through New Brunswick’s warm lights, and another few miles further on, lured by the siren call of the Vietnamese cuisine at Bien Hoa, a seven-year-old matchbox of a restaurant in the Pines Plaza.
The brightly lit room was a bit drafty as we settled in at a table with a burgundy tablecloth under a glass top. The walls are dark green to waist height, then white above, with minimal decorative touches. The napkins are paper, the water comes in red plastic glasses, but the welcome is warm and owner Quan Nguyen’s sister, Mia, our charming hostess, answered our questions about the menu as pleasantly as she had my advance call for directions earlier that day.
We braved the cold for good reason, it turns out, for we enjoyed a delicious array of carefully prepared and attractively presented dishes from the other side of the globe. Vietnamese cuisine is known for its light, fresh ingredients that give it a seemingly guilt-free appeal no matter what you order. Or how much.
So many appetizers appealed to us that we ordered several, including two that were specials that evening. Roasted quails ($7.95) sat atop a bed of lettuce, lightly crisp spice-rubbed exteriors giving way to succulence inside. Chao thom ($8.95), ground shrimp wrapped around sticks of sugar cane, then grilled, is meant to be sliced off the stick and wrapped inside small pancakes, and dipped in one of the many sauces and condiments such as fresh herbs and bean sprouts that by now dotted our table, each one delicious. Many dishes also come with frilly lettuce leaves for wrapping, which my friend enjoyed more than I did. Although I know it is traditional with Vietnamese food, I might appreciate this more in warmer weather.
I liked the shrimp appetizer more than my friend did; her favorite was banh xeo ($5.95), the classic crispy Vietnamese crepe filled with slitherly bean sprouts, slivers of pork and shrimp. Its bright orange hue prompted me to question Mr. Nguyen, who said that this dish is typically colored with yellow or orange food coloring in Vietnam, and that when he was young his mother would often make one crepe after another to keep the kids entertained on rainy days. The food coloring was a slight culinary disillusionment for my friend, but nothing that deterred her from polishing off every morsel.
Main courses were also quite good. Com tam thit nuong ($5.75) consisted of thinly sliced and barbecued pork on broken rice. The broken grains are considered economical comfort food back home, Mr. Nguyen informed us, and the brightly flavored meat with soothing rice hit the spot on this cold evening.
No visit to a Vietnamese restaurant would be complete without trying one of the many versions of pho, the meat (usually beef) and noodle soup regarded as the national dish of the country. It comes steaming hot in a huge bowl, with side dishes of bean spouts, hot peppers, cilantro (and sometimes basil), and lime wedges to add as you eat the soup. Of the 15 or so versions offered, we tried pho xe lua ($6.25), the "combination extra big bowl." The fragrant broth was filled with thinly sliced eye-round, brisket, beef tendon and ribbon-like fronds of tripe. Yes, the beef tendon is chewy with cartilage, but it is the mix of textures and temperatures that make this dish so beloved.
We regretfully passed on classic Vietnamese "expresso" with condensed milk ($2.75), sure to be a comfort on a cold night, but for us a proven sleep deterrent later on. Instead we shared a dessert, and were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked che Bien Hoa ($2.95), shaved ice with a combination of beans, coconut milk and peanuts. As it was set down in front of us we were instructed to stir it up before eating, and it quickly turned into a delicious thick soup with the smoothness of coconut milk offset by crunchy peanuts and chewy beans.
The beverage menu at Bien Hoa is astonishingly long, and includes unusual offerings such as pickle plum drink, and shakes in flavors like sour sop tar, durian (the famously stinky but highly prized fruit as big as your head) and avocado ($2.50-$3.45). So many shakes and so little time; I’ll be back in warm weather to try some soon.

