Every once in a while I worry that maybe I've tried every kind of food that you can get in a Toronto restaurant. But I'm invariably reminded that there's an endless universe of food in this city. Yesterday, Jonathan and I had our first bánh xèo (rough pronunciation: "bun tsyo").
The waiter (owner?) at Bach Yen (788 Gerrard East, 647-347-8160) seemed pleased that we wanted to try it, and explained that it's a pancake made of rice flour with turmeric and coconut milk but no eggs. (I suppose you could request vegan stuffings.)
It's fried in a small amount of oil, and stuffed with minced pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. He served it with a little bowl of fish sauce and a hot pepper condiment. After we'd started to eat it, he came back and kindly explained that Vietnamese people usually use a lettuce leaf to wrap it up with the fixings (mint, basil, carrots, sauces and so on) – sort of a roll within a roll. "Of course," he added generously, "You can eat it the way you're doing now."
We also shared a bowl of phở (noodle soup) and some summer rolls (cold rice rolls with lettuce and shrimp) – what a meal! – for about $20, all in.
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Growing up in a Viet family my Mom made bun xeo quite often, but I never grew to like it ( I HATE bean sprouts!). Although, comparing my Mom's bun xeo to others I've tried in restaurants, hers is far superior. =)
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