Continuing my desire to experience new Vietnamese street food, I selected bánh cuốn as my next Vietnamese experience. Bánh cuốn is a rolled rice cake from wide sheets of fermented rice batter filled with seasoned meat and vegetables. I visited Banh Cuon Luu Luyen in Garden Grove to complete my OC mini-staycation
It’s common to find bánh cuốn on the streets of Vietnam. It originated in North Vietnam and has become extremely popular in Hanoi. Walking through the streets, you can find sidewalk stalls with people preparing this staple. While it seems relatively easy to prepare, it is challenging for a novice to transform the ultra-thin rice paper sheets into rolls.
Banh Cuon Luu Luyen is known for its fresh hand-spun rice sheets. Co-owners Delena and Garden Ta originally opened the business from home, wanting to make it the same way as their mother. Nearly nine years ago, they opened a brick and mortar in a strip mall where they are the only eatery.
Entering Banh Cuon Luu Luyen is confusing because they have a table that partially blocks the entrance, but they also have indoor seating. They require their take-out customer to remain outside, preventing the restaurant from becoming too crowded.
Eating there, I appreciated the additional freshness and the presentation, but I also benefited from having nuoc cham in large mason jars, the ubiquitous Vietnamese umami-packed dipping sauce. I’m used to receiving nuoc cham in an ounce-sized dixie cup, and I was ecstatic that I could apply it liberally.
A popular appetizer, Bahn Beo ($7.00), is made with steamed flat rice cakes and topped with chopped fried shallots. It is incredibly fresh with a pleasant chew, and the fried shallots’ sweet and salty nature compliments the plain rice cake. Nuoc cham sauce gives the banh beo an intense umami flavor.
Dac Biet ($10.50), Vietnamese for “special,” is a combination plate of plain rice sheets, sliced pork roll, shrimp, egg roll, and a side of bean sprouts, julienned cucumbers, and cilantro. If you are looking for variety, this is the item to order.
My favorite is the #11 Banh Cuon Thit Nuong ($10). BBQ pork with mixed vegetables is rolled in their hand-spun rice sheets. The freshness of the rice sheets dramatically takes these spring rolls to the next platform in their velvety texture and flavor, and with the fried shallots and nuoc cham, I was in heaven.
Like many family-run Vietnamese restaurants in North Orange County, the prices are incredibly cheap and reflect what the nearby residents are willing to pay. Not many years ago, the locals didn’t want to pay more than $2 for a banh mi sandwich, yet you can now find a banh mi on the Westside for more than $15!
Finding Banh Cuon Luu Luyen is a little tricky since it’s in an area that doesn’t include food establishments. You can find the restaurant in the back corner of a strip mall on Euclid St, south of Westminster Ave.
Banh Cuon Luu Lyuen, 14351 N Euclid St #1j, Garden Grove; 714.554.0212