03/19/18
Located in Greensboro, NC, Van Loi #2 is a homestyle Vietnamese restaurant serving a wide selection of authentic dishes along with great bbq duck and roast pork. I usually go here for the phó noodle soup, but at times I’ll change up the game a little. On this occasion I tried the Bún Riêu ($10) which is a pork vermicelli noodle soup w/ tomato, tofu, pork & crab meat. The soup base is where it starts with this dish. It’s a mixture of pork bones, crab paste, crab meat, whole tomatoes and tamarind seasoning that has been simmering for hours. The broth is surprisingly light and slick with a sweet taste from the crab and tomatoes and a little tang from the tamarind. Not much extra seasoning is needed, unless you want to drop a bit of chili oil for heat. The noodles have a smooth slick feel, while remaining chewy for easy slurping. The proteins of crab cakes, tofu and thin slices of pork absorb and release the flavorful broth with each bite. The crab cakes are handmade and are especially delicious and abundant in the dish as it provides the notes of the herbs (basil, green onions) and shallots used to make cake. Pieces of dried shrimp and whole tomatoes from the stock broth round out the soup, giving it some contrasting texture. Be sure to check out this and other traditional Vietnamese dishes if ever in Greensboro.