Roasted quail at Thảo Tiên
It must have been at least 4 months since we last went to Thao Tien, and I’ve been telling myself to blog about this place ever since, but for some reason every record of our visit had mysteriously disappeared. Did I not take picture? What happened to the receipt? I have no idea. But the amazing taste of roasted quails haunts me in my sleep. We just had to go back to take pictures again, and it’s only appropriate to complete this last hour of the Ox year with the best of birdies.
Thao Tien actually specializes in hủ tíu, a noodle soup with slightly sweet broth, chewy noodle, fried shallot, usually accompanied by pork and shrimp (I blogged about it before at Bún Bò Huế Cố Đô). With the southern Vietnamese theme, the house not only has their waiters dress in áo bà ba but also extends its menu to include the less commonly seen savories like chim cút rô-ti (roasted quail) and cá kèo kho tiêu (a kind of freshwater fish – the “elongate mudskipper“, if you absolutely must know – simmered in fish sauce and caramel sauce much like cá kho tộ, but with a lot of black pepper for kicks). Among the daily specials, Mudpie was excited about the ca keo kho tieu, but unfortunately it was only served for dinner that day. Still, the quails are up for grab anytime, and expensive as they were ($7.95 for 2 birds), we drove 50 miles here just for them.
The birds, split and stretched, were just as long as my hand from nail to wrist. Their plump breasts and legs rival those of a frog, no fat, just honest meat and thin crispy skin. The marinade seeped through every strand of muscle in that vibrant little body. Lemon and salt pepper mix came with them, but was unnecessary, the birds needed no aid to taste good. The moment we grabbed them, our fingers got busy tearing them apart, and our eyes focused on getting every scrap off the bones. Table manners we lost, vicious beasts we became. And the aftermath:
I remember the hủ tíu here is good, bò lúc lắc (shaken beef) is quite delicious, Hainanese chicken rice is not the most exciting thing, but if I could, I would come here every week just for the quail. Thank goodness Thao Tien isn’t close to me, or I’d go bankrupt being a quailitarian.
Cost:
1 shaken beef (9.75) + 1 Hainanese chicken rice (8.50) + 2 roasted quail (7.95)
+ tax
= $28.62
Friendly service and spacious setting.
Address: Thao Tien Restaurant
Grand Century Mall
1111 Story Rd #1080
San Jose, CA 95122
(408) 283-9231
great post.Ne’er knew this, thanks for letting me know.
1When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
2Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and internet and this is really annoying. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for keeping this web-site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can not find it.
3I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks
4Very interesting details you have remarked, thankyou for putting up.
5Hello, you used to write excellent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your great writings. Past few posts are just a little out of track! come on!
6I got what you mean ,saved to my bookmarks, very nice internet site.
7You have observed very interesting details! ps decent internet site. “We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot.” by Saint Augustine.
8Great post, I think people should larn a lot from this weblog its real user pleasant.
9Very great info can be found on weblog.
10Great post, you have pointed out some good points, I besides believe this s a very excellent website.
11I saw a lot of website but I conceive this one contains something extra in it in it
12he blog was how do i say it… relevant, finally something that helped me. Thanks
13I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my website :).
14Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
15