Vietnamese restaurants are a dime a dozen, so finding the right one is a challenge. Truthfully we weren’t expecting much with the name @26 on the door, not understanding the number’s significance. However, this proved to be a far drive out to Kerrisdale and one that was worth our time given how much we enjoyed the food. This is the menu you‘s expect when craving Vietnamese cuisine, and it delivered on all the hallmarks of freshness, flavour, and zest.
Outside of it being the only Vietnamese restaurant in the area, there isn’t much decor-wise to have @26 standing out. A large space that branches off into two, creating plenty of seating.
When ordering there is a lot to consider and several menus to go through. A full drink and dessert list, plus the ability to make any pho, vermicelli, or banh mi order into a combo. Considering we wanted to explore their appetizers, beverages, and dessert options we thought the latter was a clever way to encourage add-on. For each choice there are 3 different options to choose from.
We each got a combo and for both we went with soup noodles and had the following accompaniments. A single roll each of the spring roll and salad roll, skipping on the would have been 2 bbq meat skewers.
The Spring roll was the double fried Vietnamese variety, extra crispy with its jagged texture. It retained its great crunch throughout the meal, even after a generous dip in fish sauce.
Similarly, the Salad roll was a classic and as expected. We especially appreciated the wrap skill on this, each bite and even one between lettuce, vermicelli, shrimp, and Vietnamese ham. But the real hero was the peanut butter sauce that was equal parts thick and starchy and it easily adhered to flavour the roll.
With our combo we ordered the two coffee options. The first was the classic ice dripped coffee in a press that finished filtering on the table. A bit of a wait before we stirred up the condense milk and poured it over ice cubes.
Between the two, we preferred the extra saltiness of the Iced sea salt cream coffee. The salt here parallel-led the use of coarse salt over caramel chocolate, with the saltiness balancing out the dark bitter coffee.
For our dessert, we went with the mango and coconut sweet soup, and passed on the red bean.
The Mango sago cream was gelatinous with the tapioca pearls, creamy with coconut milk, and slightly tart from the fresh blended mango. I especially liked the coconut jelly in the mix, adding a textural difference to an otherwise gummy dessert. Its overall tropical tang made this a great palate refresher, but there was far too much in one bowl, for one person, to finish in one sitting.
We enjoyed the combo idea, and found that it well flushed out a single dish into a full meal. However, would suggest that they scaled down the serving and offer it at a price too good to refuse, instead of everything at cost. Half the serving for a taste to leave you wanting more. Similarly the appetizer and drinks could have been scaled down and we would have still been happy at a $10-13 for the add-on.
The Taro coconut milk with sago dessert had the same gummy texture, but to it add a layer of sandy grit from the fresh taro. I preferred this over the mango with its more neutral flavour.
We couldn’t decided between our usual order of bun bo hue or to try the more exciting beef stew noodle soup so got both.
We are constantly on the look out for the best Spicy bun bo hue, a stand out bowl that we can order delivery of when we are craving its spicy and tangy flavours. Therefore we are happy to announce that we have found our new go to at @26, and from Vancouver to Burnaby is not too far to deliver to.
Spicy beef and pork noodle soup with a terrific deep heat and a great flavour to have you drinking spoonfuls. There were plenty of sliced beef, fish cake, tofu, and meatballs to sort through; and even ratio to noodles to chew through. This is was everything we were looking from a solid bun bo hue and highly satisfying.
The Beef Stew noodle soup had a ticking clock attached to it. The gravy-like broth was quick to be absorbed by rice noodle. Although? while we still had it, we ordered a freshly baked, crispy loaf of French bread to pinch off and dip into it. We treated it like stew and it was tasty. In hindsight I could have done without the noodles and should have just order it as a comforting beef stew with carrot.
We also had to try the Soft shell crab, you don’t often see this on the menu. Three whole crabs heavily breaded and deep fried, served chopped in half with a tahini based dipping sauce. They remained crispy throughout our meal, and were not caked in oil. My favourite bites were ones I took with a mouthful of legs.
My partner loved the Crispy Vietnamese pancake with its creamy coconut flavour amongst crisp beansprout and juicy shrimp, all folded between a paper-thin layer of fried crisp egg. He enjoyed it with the ample leafy greens it was served with. I could have used some fish sauce for dipping into.
We both declared the Sizzling beef fillet cubes our favourite dish of the meal. I can see why the owner recommended it. Perfectly cooked chunks of meat that came to the table still sizzling on a hot cast-iron plate. The meat was so tender and comforting with its accompanying bowl of steamed rice and two sunny side up fried eggs. This is something I would love to have for breakfast, and my partner said it reminded him of an elevated Filipino beef steak, which he enjoyed.
In short, this was a great meal and we only wished it was closer to our home so that we could frequent it, as we seem to crave Vietnamese cuisine most often, seeking it out at least once a week.
@26 Viet Cafe
2044 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, BC V6M 1Y8
(236) 889-3399
26vietcafe.zomi.menu
