Green Bamboo Vietnamese Cuisine
1230 – 4500 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
Last year, Karl (of The Friday Lunch) commented in Thai Son (on Broadaway) post that his favourite Vietnamese restaurant was Green Bamboo. Coming from a fellow blogger, I would, of course, check their suggestions. Well, since I was in Metrotown, crossing the road to get to Crystal Mall shouldn’t be that much of an issue, right?
When I arrived, there were a two couples seated in different tables but no sight of anybody from the restaurant itself. Did I come at a bad time? The truth is that, given how the restaurant is structured – L-shaped plus some non-transparent windows – I wonder how they would be able to stop something from dining and dashing… Fortunately (?), the fact I was tall enough for them to notice me over the windows, I was seated – or rather, given the option to sit anywhere. While checking the menu, the waitress kept telling me their most popular item was their House Special Beef Noodle. While that sounded fine, I wanted something more “pho” and that ended up being the “withe everything but the kitchen sink” one. And here it is…
If you reaction was “WTF”, then our reaction was the same. Yes, what the #!@$!%@#$ is that yellow blob! It happens it is the tendon that is part of the pho. Now, I am not sure if there is (to paraphrase Sherman), something “organic” in it (in reference to more yellowish organic chicken meat) but these looked really weird to me. While I was biting into it, they weren’t melting, rather, they still had some bite. Arrrrr….
As for the rest of the pho, the tripe was also weird. It looked like the cooked ones you can get in T&T. At least, the colour wasn’t a distraction in the same way as the tendon. As for the meat, well, not much to comment. The yet-another-weird part was the rice noodles. While it looks OK, it was almost a whole bundle at the bottom. When I tried to pick some, it just slipped back due to that bundle at the bottom of the bowl. In the end, I made a mess while trying to eat it. Arrrrrr!!! As for th broth, it wasn’t really clean but, at least, it was tasty.
Yes, needless to say almost everything I have had at that point was disappointing. But, wait, what is that container for in the picture above with the bean sprouts? Well, no, it wasn’t spring rolls but…
Yup, rather than the usual spring rolls, I ordered some dumplings. In fact, they have a note listing several types and for $4.50, I would be getting eight. I ended up ordering the leeks, shrimp and pork.
Actually, these were quite good. It reminded me in a way of xiao long bao in the sense when I bite into it, there was some broth inside. Now, it could have been water sipping in; however, since it was sealed, I don’t think that was a possibility. Of course, comparing it to XLB would be unfair, as it wasn’t listed as a soup filled dumpling, not to mention the thickness of the dumpling “skin”. But, on its own, it was good for $4.50. However, the “problem” is that I could have gone upstairs and had some XLB from Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine…
At that point, I thought the meal was subpar and had to check back with Karl if there was something wrong, if I ordered the wrong dish (specially considering I was told about the most popular bowl). Karl wasn’t sure why but suggested I give it a second try anyway. So, on another day, I went back and…
Here is the House Special Beef Noodle. At first, I thought this ain’t pho! And that was confirmed when I looked at the noodles.
Doesn’t this look more like Taiwanese beef noodles? After the first bite, just to confirm, yup, indeed it was similar t been noodles. However, unlike the ones of, say, Lao Shan Dong or No 1 Noodle, the broth here was almost sweet, rather than, say, spicy. Not that I am complaining but comparing it to the ones mentioned above would be unfair. Regardless, it was way better than what I have had in my previous visit.
Since in my previous visit I did not order spring rolls, I chose to go for them this time. Hey, I am trying to be thorough, you know! 
I will have to say, these were quite good. Made to order, these were still piping hot and ended up burning my tongue a little bit when I had the first bite. The filling seemed it went through a food processor because it was almost a paste. OK, almost, as it still had some texture but, unlike the ones from other places, you couldn’t really notice if there was some noodles inside.
Overall, there were some hits but also big misses. The safe approach would be not to deviate too far from the recommendations, as otherwise, you might be running into one of those dubious dishes. As for me, I will have to think hard coming back, considering all the other options mentioned above.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
whaaaat? that’s so weird of a Vietnamese restaurant to serve dumplings and beef noodle! I’ve read other bloggers thoughts on Green Bamboo and some say that the Bo Kho is very good (beef stew pho).
I was hoping to try Green Bamboo sometime this week since I go to Metro regularly but seeing that they serve cuisine other than Vietnamese puts me off and makes me wonder if this restaurant is really a legit pho place..
sigh, I guess my search for good pho continues..
Beef noodle? Alright. I won’t judge until I try. As for the tendon, it’s quite possible that they did acquire “organic” or unprocessed tendon. What I mean is that it hasn’t been blanched. For example, before bible tripe is passed onto the consumer, it is blanched (or bleached) so it becomes white. Normally it’s a dark tan/gray color such as the honeycomb tripe. Maybe they got the tendon in it’s natural state?
There used to be dumpling restaurant in this location. I think it was Shanghainese… I loved going for their XLB there. That would be all that I ordered when I go, a plate of XLB, and they didn’t mind! Not trying to be cheap but it was usually just for an afternoon snack. I’ve always wondered what this new Viet restaurant was like.. Maybe it’s the same owner since you say the dumplings are tasty. I will have to give it a try, thanks for the post!
Although their pho is quite decent, IMHO, I go there for the beef stew, vermicelli bowls and the big spring rolls. They seem to have bigger portions. I usually have trouble finishing oftentimes. I’m glad you went back for another shot.
I do agree with you about the pho noodles. They tend to be a bit slick…could be the chopsticks, maybe? Plus he really heaps them on, a bit too much for me. Probably why I’m always stuffed!
As far as the tendon and tripe go, Sherman’s probably right. I just can’t handle the stuff. Could never understand the attraction.
Mike, it is a little difficult to assess at times, since a lot of restaurants try to cover as many similar cuisines just to entice customers.
Sherman, it is possible but there are reasons why you don’t see some cuts/offal in some forms: because it is not that edible in the “raw” form. For example, kidney, anybody?
Jacqueline, there is still Wang Shanghai!
Karl, I don’t have problems with either tripe or tendon; instead, it is the weird form it was served. I can eat almost anything!
This looks like a Chinese owned Vietnamese Restaurant, because it seems they do Chinese food better than Vietnamese.
The dumplings look good and authentic, the skin looks like it’s made from scratch, hence it’s pretty thick.
Jenny, I do not have problems with them serving Chinese dumplings… If it wasn’t because it is listed as a Vietnamese one!
Hey Kim,
I haven’t tried this place yet so I can’t comment on the taste, but as for the tendon..you can call it rustic. This was how tendon was usually served in the days, until the chain (pho hoa) came along and dressed it up. Also a cost saving thing. Tendon was purposely served with a bit of a chew to them for contrasting texture. Too chewy meant they didn’t prep it right. We all know Pho takes hours…hours…..hours to prep. zzzz
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