Mimi Nguyen Cafe, Puchong

L-01-01, Jalan PPK 1,
Pusat Perniagaan Kinrara,
Taman Kinrara,
47100 Puchong
Tel# 03-8062 0107
https://www.facebook.com/miminguyencafe/

They used to occupy a single shoplot in the middle of the same row which saw customers spilling onto the walkway. That one has been turned into their vegetarian branch after they relocated to the corner lot which had more space. Still, that doesn't mean that you don't have to wait for your food.

Both my visits were for dinner so I didn't get to try the famous Vietnamese drip coffee.

Pho RM 11.80: Vietnamese beef noodle soup
My experience with Vietnamese food is mostly limited to their beef noodle. So it only made sense for me to order pho during my first visit. The soup was hot enough to cook the thinly sliced beef. It is hard to find any fault in a hot bowl of soup on a rainy night.

Bo Ne RM 16.80: Vietnamese "stand back" beef steak in sizzling plate
Apparently, they ran out of beef so offered a baguette in place. As to what a "stand back" beef steak is, your guess is as good as mine. While it doesn't quite taste like those Malay Western joint, I wouldn't say it's a very authentic version. Still good in its own ways. The baguette turned out great with the sauce.

When I first got to know about the French influence in Vietnam, it was almost shocking.  Here's an Asian country that could speak French, how cool is that? The history behind it though, is not so cool.

Bun thit nuong: Pork and spring roll dry vermicelli
 This is a rather light dish. The dipping sauce is made of chopped chili and fish sauce with a touch of sugar. Honestly though, how do you eat this? Do you mix it all up or eat it separately? 😄Yea, we struggled abit but hey, it was still enjoyable. The vegetable was fresh and crunchy. Enough of meat to go around. A wholesome dish.

Banh mi thit nuong cha lua RM 7.80: vietnamese baguette with roasted pork and ham
It was only during my second visit that I ordered another famous Vietnamese export though that's highly debatable since they didn't exactly invent it either.

I don't understand what's this thing peaking out of my sandwich and I absolutely detest it. When they invade my soups, it's not so bad because the ratio of leave to soup is quite small. But in my sandwich, the taste is amplified and that's a big NO-NO. Yup, I do not like parsley. But it's not to the point that I would go and create a Facebook page about it.

The bread is baked until it's quite hard so that it can withstand the filling and not turn mushy. Kinda reminds me of Paris. This time I can proudly proclaim:

it does taste like the real deal

Che troi nuoc RM 6.80: Vietnamese glutinous rice balls (mung bean fillings) in ginger syrup dipped with coconut milk

Although it's also glutinous rice ball, they couldn't taste anymore different. If you are accustomed to the sweet filling version, boy, are you in for a surprise. Mung bean paste doesn't taste sweet (not here at least). In fact, it's almost savory that my mouth wanted to do a mini revolt when I had this. Only the coconut milk helped (a bit). This was supposed to be a dessert but it was just way too confusing.