The charm of crunchy-skin grilled fish
Thiên Phú has been in my draft list for over 18 months. I wanted to write a post worthy of their dishes, but a proper post requires proper pictures, and either I was too hungry at the time or I just sucked at taking pictures at the time (I still suck now, but less than before) that every single picture was blurry like a blizzard. I was more concerned about food than food blogging so I didn’t snap many shots and didn’t check the clarity of the shots I took before digging in. I also didn’t know any photo editing. Basically, I was plain dumb.
At many points I thought about abandoning the post altogether, but we had a good meal that time and I even fed the birds in the parking lot while waiting for my friends to come join us. The birds were full, we were full. The restaurant was, as usual, empty except for us (because their menu is catered to large groups and wedding parties), so we got extra attention from the staff. Such memories kept me from deleting the draft that had nothing but terrible pictures. Then my parents came to the rescue when they revisited Thien Phu in the spring and took some luminous shots, like the beef and shrimp salad above and the seafood stir fry on rice below.
The salad, like most Vietnamese salads soaked in that half sweet, half tangy mixed fish sauce, was yummy. The seafood stir fry was nothing beyond expectation, they said, but at the very least, Thiên Phú brown sauce was not fattily thick like that goo in Phở Hà’s pan-fried phở. Dad’s vermicelli with stir fried beef was a good sweep, as evident from its picture.
If you’ve read my blog for long enough, you probably would notice that my dad almost never orders anything but beef, while Little Mom goes for shrimp or fish nine times out of ten. Naturally, Thien Phu ranks high in my parents’ list because their specialties are the 7 courses of beef and the whole grilled fish.
We’ve never tried all seven beef courses at once. We just choose a few that sound most savory, and for this party of 5, something shareable. Like beef that can be wrapped in rice paper and dipped in sauces. The chunky, fatty steamed beef balls (bò chả đùm) was broken into coarser bits to be scooped with a rice crackers or wrapped with lettuce. Razor-thin leaves of still red beef were dunked into heated vinegar for a simple, tender, and tangy completeness of bò nhúng dấm. Halved shrimps joined the beef in a similar fashion to make tôm nhúng dấm. Dad even dipped it in mắm nêm (ground anchovy sauce) to tighten the taste.
Then there’s the good old style of flopping beef slices on a hot black grill pan and hearing it sizzle while loading the wet rice paper with bean sprout, herbs, pickled radish and daikon. I also put a slice of unripe banana in my bò nướng vỉ roll because its cookie-like texture and clinging aftertaste are fun, although they don’t add much to the roll as a whole.
Leaving the blurry images of December 2009, we’re back to the present: grilled beef ball on rice. The marinade was sealed inside its smooth, gritty texture, each ball was so juicy it would shame a plump mango.
The seafood dishes are not subpar either. Loaded with shrimp, squid, and broccoli, mì hải sản (seafood noodle) had the sweetness of hủ tíu Nam Vang (Phnom Penh ka tieu) and the strength (and curly noodles) of ramen. The more broth we drank, the more delicious it got.
But there is one thing that everyone gets when they go to Thiên Phú: the crunchy-skin grilled fish (cá nướng da giòn). The whole catfish is enough for two by itself, grilled hiddenly in the kitchen until its skin breaks a crackling sound and glisters like topaz, then it’s brought out to you topped with crusted peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Its flesh stays white, juicy and soft. Roll up a side piece, you can savor its pristine, naturally sweet taste or dip it in nước mắm. The second grilled fish I had here this May was better than the one I had in December 2009, and so were their beef dishes. It’s good to see a good place gets better.
Just watch out for bones.
Address: Thiên Phú Restaurant
11360 Bellaire Blvd Ste 100
Houston, TX 77072
(281) 568-1448
(in the same parking lot as Giò Chả Đức Hương)
Lunch for 5: $76.03
I discovered your weblog web site on google and verify a couple of of your early posts. Continue to maintain up the very good operate. I simply additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. In search of forward to studying extra from you afterward!…
1주소콘에서 필요한 사이트를 분야별로 살펴보세요. 뉴스, 커뮤니티, 영상, 웹툰, 쇼핑, 생활 정보와 온라인 도구를 찾는 방법부터 주소 확인, 즐겨찾기 관리, 접속 오류 해결까지 안내합니다. 목적에 맞는 링크를 고르고 더 편리하게 이용하세요.
2I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
3We stumbled over here by a different web page and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to looking at your web page yet again.
4It’s actually a great and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
5주소콘에서 필요한 사이트를 분야별로 살펴보세요. 뉴스, 커뮤니티, 영상, 웹툰, 쇼핑, 생활 정보와 온라인 도구를 찾는 방법부터 주소 확인, 즐겨찾기 관리, 접속 오류 해결까지 안내합니다. 목적에 맞는 링크를 고르고 더 편리하게 이용하세요.
6Helpful information. Lucky me I found your web site by accident, and I am surprised why this coincidence didn’t came about earlier! I bookmarked it.
7주소콘에서 필요한 웹사이트 주소를 쉽고 빠르게 찾아보세요. 분야별 주소모음과 링크모음, 주소찾기 방법부터 변경된 주소 확인, 안전한 링크 확인 방법까지 한눈에 살펴볼 수 있습니다.
8In the great scheme of things you’ll get a B+ just for effort. Where you actually lost us was on your facts. You know, as the maxim goes, the devil is in the details… And that could not be much more true at this point. Having said that, permit me inform you what did deliver the results. Your authoring is definitely pretty powerful which is probably the reason why I am taking an effort in order to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Secondly, even though I can easily see the jumps in logic you make, I am not necessarily sure of just how you seem to unite your ideas that produce the actual conclusion. For right now I shall subscribe to your issue but wish in the near future you connect your facts much better.
9I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
10주소콘에서 필요한 웹사이트 주소를 쉽고 빠르게 찾아보세요. 분야별 주소모음과 링크모음, 주소찾기 방법부터 변경된 주소 확인, 안전한 링크 확인 방법까지 한눈에 살펴볼 수 있습니다.
11I’ve learn several just right stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much effort you put to create this type of great informative site.
12Utterly composed content material, Really enjoyed reading through.
13I was curious if you ever thought of changing the layout of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
14Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, thanks. “Nothing happens to any thing which that thing is not made by nature to bear.” by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
15Just wanna input that you have a very nice web site, I enjoy the design and style it really stands out.
16I was reading some of your articles on this site and I think this internet site is very informative! Keep posting.
17주소콘은 자주 찾는 사이트의 최신주소와 변경된 주소를 카테고리별로 정리한 주소모음·링크모음 플랫폼입니다. 실시간으로 업데이트되는 바로가기 링크로 원하는 사이트에 빠르게 접속하세요.
18When I originally 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? Thanks!
19주소콘은 자주 찾는 사이트의 최신주소와 변경된 주소를 카테고리별로 정리한 주소모음·링크모음 플랫폼입니다. 실시간으로 업데이트되는 바로가기 링크로 원하는 사이트에 빠르게 접속하세요.
20I always was concerned in this topic and stock still am, regards for posting.
21I truly appreciate this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again!
22주소콘은 자주 찾는 사이트의 최신주소와 변경된 주소를 카테고리별로 정리한 주소모음·링크모음 플랫폼입니다. 실시간으로 업데이트되는 바로가기 링크로 원하는 사이트에 빠르게 접속하세요.
23I think this website has some real fantastic info for everyone :D. “Time–our youth–it never really goes, does it It is all held in our minds.” by Helen Hoover Santmyer.
24I simply needed to thank you very much once more. I am not sure the things I would’ve sorted out without the creative concepts shared by you about such a question. This has been a horrifying circumstance for me personally, however , understanding the very expert way you solved the issue took me to jump over contentment. I’m thankful for your work and then hope you recognize what a great job you’re putting in educating many others thru your blog post. I know that you have never encountered all of us.
25I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. All the best
26Really great visual appeal on this website , I’d rate it 10 10.
27You have remarked very interesting points! ps nice site.
28Some times its a pain in the ass to read what blog owners wrote but this internet site is really user genial! .
29Cool blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Thanks
30Well I really liked studying it. This article offered by you is very effective for good planning.
31Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.
32I think this website has got some really fantastic info for everyone. “The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.” by Mary Wilson Little.
33Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Thanks!
34Very interesting topic, thankyou for putting up.
35Hello there, You’ve performed an incredible job. I will definitely digg it and individually recommend to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this web site.
36Great site you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really love to be a part of online community where I can get feed-back from other experienced individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Kudos!
37Hi my loved one! I wish to say that this post is awesome, nice written and come with approximately all important infos. I’d like to look extra posts like this .
38Hello my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and come with almost all important infos. I’d like to look more posts like this.
39This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.
40Hello there, simply become aware of your blog thru Google, and found that it’s really informative. I’m going to be careful for brussels. I’ll appreciate should you continue this in future. A lot of other folks will probably be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
41Hello.This post was extremely remarkable, particularly because I was looking for thoughts on this matter last couple of days.
42I like this web blog so much, saved to fav.
43Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
44Thanks , I’ve just been looking for information about this subject for ages and yours is the best I’ve discovered so far. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?
45I am glad to be one of several visitants on this great website (:, appreciate it for posting.
46I like this website because so much useful stuff on here :D.
47My wife and i got really happy that Raymond could conclude his research because of the ideas he got through the site. It is now and again perplexing to just possibly be giving for free steps that many others have been selling. Therefore we keep in mind we need you to thank because of that. Most of the illustrations you have made, the straightforward site navigation, the friendships you make it easier to create – it is many superb, and it is making our son and our family know that the topic is awesome, which is certainly unbelievably pressing. Thanks for all the pieces!
48Woh I love your articles, bookmarked! .
49I couldn’t resist commenting
50