Pho Saigon
1116 North Rolling Rd, Cantonsville, MD

Today Sunday was such a beautiful day, sunny, a tad bit windy but overall the temps were comfortable. Yes, it would be perfect timing to start Spring cleaning. My wife was keen on cleaning but my daughter and I convinced her to go as a family and enjoy a beautiful Sunday eating, hmmm Indian, Korean or Vietnamese. I had heard on the grapevine that the owner previously owned a Vietnamese restaurant at the Best Western on Loch Raven Blvd some time ago. And all of a sudden, he just abandoned the restaurant. During the time his restaurant was in operation, the food was excellent, delicious and never compromised on anything. I made every chance I had to frequent his restaurant.
I was so depressed when the restaurant closed and neve heard from him in quite awhile.  Until a little birdie mentioned this restaurant in Cantonsville, I decided to take my family there today. Hoping to expect nothing different, I ordered the Summer Spring rolls, the regular rolls, the famous chicken wings and my all time favorite egg noodles with shrimp and crabmeat.
Now, you have to realize it took a good 45 minutes to get to this place. I NEVER travel 45 minutes to a restaurant if I didn't have an idea of what was being served and whether it met my approval.
To make a long story short, since Vietnamese food is the new cuisine, I was in shock when I got my food. Literally shocked and disappointed. First, the Summer Spring rolls were bland. Very bland, just thin vermicelli, lettuce, and shrimp. No flavor what so ever. The dipping sauce was all Hoisin sauce, didn't taste have any peanut butter or coconut milk, maybe a sprinkler of crushed peanuts.
Now, I'll tell you this, when I give you my Summer Spring roll recipe, I load it up with slices of fresh marinated roast pork, cilantro, marinated shrimp and crush shallots for a nice crunch.
Second, the fried Spring rolls came and I can't even tell you what was in it. It's suppose to be rice vermicelli, ground pork, ground carrots with a dash of fish sauce and sugar. It was terrible! Literally no flavor! Usually the dipping sauce is the sweet chili sauce. No such luck.
The fried chicken wings were rather small in size and the sauce was watery.
My egg noodle soup with shrimp and crabmeat was terrible! Not only was there imitation crabmeat, I did not receive the fresh bean sprouts or Thai basil, or a jalepeno slice. The broth was from a can.
AND the worst part of the whole experience, the place was packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes.
The only bright part was the traditional Beef Pho, everyone including other Vietnamese patrons ordered the traditional pho. Thank God!
If I was interested in Vietnamese food, I would think that what was served to me other than the beef pho was delicious but I'm here to say that other than the beef pho, the food had no flavor and don't appreciate imitation crabmeat when the menu says crabmeat. Cutting corners my seem alright now but eventually it will catch up with this restaurant. It's a shame, his previous restaurant was  excellent.
At this point, if you do go there, just order the various types of beef pho. That's it! because everything else lacked any flavor.  If I want a Summer Spring roll with rice vermicelli and lettuce, and pay what I paid, I'm very upset. I travelled 45 minutes for cryin out loud!
On a scale of 1-5 and 5 being the best, everything I ordered except for my wife's beef pho get a "1"
I think they should think about making good quality food that taste good then just focus on making s much money as possible.
AND furthermore, the owner wants to expand his restaurant next door. Good Luck!
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
​#phosaigon    

VIETNAMESE SUMMER ROLLS INGREDIENTS

​If you never had the opportunity to try these delicious Vietnamese Summer Rolls, this Spring and Summer you gotta try one. But after you did,  you might just fall in love with them. 
You might even be interested in learning how to make them. 
Tomorrow, I will be visiting our local Asian supermarket to see if I can get a good deal with some basic goods to make this delicious  appetizer.
Only the best quality for my readers. You'll need the following ingredients:
-Rice paper preferably from Vietnam.
-Rice based vermicelli (Wawa brand) is the best
-Char Siu Sauce marinade (To make flavorful roast pork).
-Crispy shallots
-Hoisin Sauce
-You probably have Kikoman soy sauce

The Char Siu Sauce marinade applied to a pork shoulder with the bone in. Why, ok when you take all the meat off and left with the bone, just simmer the bone for about 6 hours and that is your pork stock. The bone provided natural collagen and great for your joints and skin. Portion control each batch and freeze. So, when your cooking and a recipe asks for stock, just use what you froze, its more nutritious that the pasteurized stuff.
The other ingredients will be iceberg that shredded, shrimp that is par boiled whole and peanut butter. Cilantro would add some more flavor too.
Make sure you have a crowd of anxious hungry fans.
Reason why is that when rice wrappers are used, they need to be consumed that moment. Eating them later cold losses a little texture and flavor and in the fridge doesn't do justice. So wish me luck negotiating a price. I'll buy a limited amount to test the demand from you my readers.
I'll convert my website to an e commerce site so you guys can order on line.
But in the interim, when I get the prices, I'll let you know and can take preorders.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#Vietnameseingredients 

VIETNAMESE FOOD IS HOT RIGHT NOW!

If I was to tell you that Vietnamese food is hot right now, get ready for some very simple recipes that will dazzle your family and friends this Spring and Summer. From Vietnamese Summer rolls to the famous Pho, you'll experience the very unique flavors of this Southeast Asian delight. From the use of fish sauce to palm sugar to mint, coriander, pickled radish, all the ingedients can be gathered from me. just one click away.
To ensure freshness to you my loyal readers, I will be converting my website to an e commerce website so that trust you have as Chef Woo Can will always provide the best quality ingredients, rather than make a trip to your local supermarket and find products that might not be 100% good quality. With Chef Woo Can website, just click and get your products within 3 days. Ingredients for Vietnamese food include rice paper for the supper spring rolls and rice vermicelli as part of the filler. You may want to learn how to make fresh roast pork using a fresh pork shoulder that will yield a pound or 2 of delicious marinated pork which can be vacuum sealed and portion controlled for future use.
I recommend good quality and fish sauce is one of those ingredients. The use is along the same lines of soy sauce but a much more complicated salty flavor flavor. Very strong.
Beef Pho broth uses beef bones that are simmered for 6 hours. Today, food manufacturer tries to make it easier by developing the flavors in Pho in a packet. Just add to  to a pot of hot water and simmer for at least an hour. It's close but all the goodies that you add, beef brisket, basil, bean spouts, jalapeno,  Hoisin sauce or siracha hot chili sauce and viola, you made your own pho. 
At first, I will need to order a limited quantity of goods to ensure freshness and track demand.
But I'm pretty excited to move forward with an ecommerce site so you can order from me direct.
Check out my first Vietnamese recipe on the Simple and easy recipe tab on the left.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#Vietnamesefood  

WATCH OUT FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANTS!

​About a week ago my family went to the Iron Age Korean Grill on a Saturday night. We got there at around 5:30 PM and I expected to wait for about 1 hour. Needless to say this place was packed to the gills. It was a 2 1/2 hour wait. At 9 PM, people were still coming in.
What makes this place so great are a number of things:
1. Pay one price/per person and all you can eat. Imagine fresh beef bulgogi (marinated beef) placed on a gas stove in the center of the table along with all kinds of condiments like Korean sweet potato noodles marinated in sesame oil and mirin sauce, hot a spicy radish, kimchi and a delicious salad wih a red chili dressing, hot spicy but sweet and savory. Salad was fresh and lively.
The premises was super clean and every 5 minutes, it was someone's birthday celebration. Music was entertaining and maybe a little loud with screen projection geared towards the young people or those looking for a bubbly atmosphere.
The staff was very professional. The place didn't slow down until 10 PM.
Offer something different yet tasty and flavorful, offer a good value and allow patrons get involved in the cooking process.
Are you telling me that executives for Chili's, Applebees, TGIF, and othe food chains haven't researched what the public likes. As my family left, we were stuffed and satisfied and got our monies worth. I looked at my watch and it was 10:30 PM. I looked across the street and saw Chilis or Apple bees closed by 9:30 PM on Saturday. If there was any day to open late, it would be Saturday and stay opened late.
With the family fast food, all I can think of fried food, processed with cheese and microwaved cooked.
Aren't you tired of it?
They betta wake up and smell the roses.
Yes, a lot of the influence in food variety is coming from Asian, hey why not. It's time for a change.
Things need to change, being more creative offering delicious dishes that are fresh and allow customers involved in the cooking process. The new generation is demanding more and those that want to hear and understand their life style will succeed.
Oh by the way the restaurant again is the Iron Age Korean Grill in Catonsville off of Route 40.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#getwiththeprogram   

WE ARE A SAUCE NATION

​I get it! Business are in business to make a profit. I'm all for it but sometimes business practices are making us unhealthy.
We are a sauce nation! What am I saying. In order for business to make a profit, they need to purchase products at the most inexpensive price hopefully without compromising on quality. The reality is that in order to purchase inexpensive product, 99% of the time that product is tasteless. As a multinational corporation or an entrepreneur, serving inexpensive food has no flavor and when there's no flavor patrons won't come back. So, they need to do something to take the product and make it taste delicious.
You see our taste buds taste salty and sweet. So, a combination of both is the secret to a delicious meal.
In the United States, unfortunately, multinational corporations research and development offer various types of preservatives and additives to extend the longevity of food products.
The food products are so cheap and tasteless, the degree of sauces must be excessively salty or sweet. Our palates are so used to this, we take it as normal. Here's a challenge. Go a week without purchasing take out or prepackaged or fast food or family fast food and cook something yourself with just a dash of salt to bring out the true flavor of what you bought or add a dash of sugar. Guaranteed that after 1 week, your body will know how salty and sweet the food is when you buy your fast food meal. It will be so salty and/or sweet.
Another reason why you should turn to me to make simple healthy meals.
Whether its a healthy salad or honey mustard sauce for chicken nuggets or soy sauce on your favorite take out meal to fried seafood with tartar sauce or even cheese on everything. Do we actually taste the food or is the sauce overwhelming the entire dish?
In light of that most of our favorite foods are fried and covered with sweet or salty sauces. Manufacturers can purchase really cheap cuts of poor quality products, deep fry it and add sauce and its delicious. The sad part is our bodies knows when poor quality food enters our system and tries to rid it out of our body.
Now with chicken they offer grilled chicken on salad, but that chicken breast has been soaked in saline solution to provide moisture because the reality is when breast is cooked, its very tough to eat. So, you think its healthy but laden with tons of sodium? Go figure.
We are programed with advertisements and persuaded to try a new product and we never question their intent of why  manufacturers would be deceitful? We feel as long as it tastes good, its ok.
Heavy gravies, sauces, dressings, condiments are highly saturated with salt and sugar. We love adding more sauce because it taste sooo good!  
Research firms for foods are always trying to make food items taste good but unfortunately, they make it so delicious that we want more. Food companies are enjoying record profits, fast food chains are enjoying new creative dishes and maximizing on record profits
Que sera sera!
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#saucenation  

Qdoba Restaurant

I had the opportunity to visit Qdoba. I knew it was Mexican fast food but I also know that they serve huge burritos which I don't really enjoy especially for lunch. In terms of value, yep you get a lot in the burrito.  My friends and I went in and I have to say I was impressed with the décor. The menu was a little difficult to read since this was a first time for me. I didn't want a burrito nor did I want the bowl, so I just ordered 3 tacos, a chicken, a pork and a beef taco. Every taco ended with a special sauce. The tacos were in a soft taco.
First the soft taco was suppose to be heated up but it wasn't. Eating a taco when the shell is not even heated was simply terrible. The filling was plentiful I must say but the one thing that stood out was the filling had no taste. The taste was the special sauce placed on each taco. Other than that the filling was tasteless.
Now for those that love Qdoba, I can see the value Qdoba is providing and the sauce is very delicious, salty and sweet and slightly spicy.
I was just eating something just to fill me up.
I won't be going back to Qdoba ever again. 
My rating for this fast food Mexican place on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best, I give this place a "1"
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#qdoba  

It's time to change our eating habits!

No matter what age we are, eating healthy has been ingrained into our brains. But our life style inhibits us from eating healthy. It's more convenient to go to a drive through to pickup a quick hamburger or go to a family fast food restaurant designated parking s[ace for  pickup meals. Let's face it, This is the way it is. Whether its right or wrong, it is what it is. Even when we try to eat healthy by going shopping with the right intent to purchase fresh vegetables or fruits, we're bombarded with delicious pastries as we enter the supermarket or hit in the face with specials on soda, and potato chips. The will power we started with just dropped 30%.
Logic goes out the door when we look at a bag of precut salads, washed and bagged versus buying Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red cabbage. Although the prepackaged salads ,ight be higher in price and the right thing to do is make your own salad and save a couple of bucks, laziness and justification to buy the packaged salad is easier and better.
The problem is we are so use to convenience buying and paying more it carries over to when we get older. Our thoughts are "hey its on sale" but is it nutritious, healthy or does it just taste good.
As the baby boomers retire, money is a commodity and besides healthcare, food is one of the most important budgeting factors to consider.
First of all, our eating habits need to change. All of us can lose a little weight, eating less is important, learning how to cook healthy can be gradual. Moderate our intake of carbohydrates, soda, sugar, dairy products, moderate intake of fiber foods, fruits and veggies, watch salt intake. Now this may sound overwhelming but its really not. Notice I stress moderation. You can't go cold turkey, no way no how.
I can tell you that the prepackaged foods you pay for include advertising, design of box, additives and preservatives used to make thing last and taste better.
Consider European food, which includes nuts, fruits, small portion of carbs (fresh bread), olives, vegetables.
olive oil,
Asian food, not American Asian food. Fresh veggies,, soups, herbs and spices and rice and rice noodles in moderation and all escapes GMO. Drink lots of Asian tea with real tea leaves, not the bottled stuff, and the most wonderful thing of all its so much cheaper than American food.
Its ok to buy all fresh food, so every night your eating fresh veggies and fruits. Another fact eating Asian and European is all family style, Family style provides a variety of various foods to choose from. It's so much cheaper.
During the Chinese New Year celebration 19 of my closest friends went out for Dim Sum. I ordered a slew of various dim sum dishes and some regular dishes. The overall contribution for every one was $ 20 bucks each. Everyone was stuffed.
So, what can you do. I'll make the suggestions, take the time to learn to cook and you'll appreciate all your effort in preparation. I'll introduce this concept on the weekend, so you can vacuum seal the meal for the week. Guaranteed, you'll see the difference in your wallet.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
#itstimetochange           

Kabab Hut
6502 Baltimore NA child that is hungry is serious business. National Pike
Catonsville, ND

A funny thing happened Saturday night. My wife suggested we dine at a very good restaurant called Iron Age Grill- a Korean restaurant. I've already given my take on this restaurant but my wife likes it so we decided to go again. Ok, did I mention going out to dinner on Saturday night. You can well imagine that this restaurant was going to be packed and low and behold, it would be a hour wait. Needless to say my daughter was having a sleep over at our home with one of her best friends. Her friend was starving when we got there. A child starving is a very serious business. Aaah, we went next to the KABAB HUT. A small place with traditional Indian food. I call it a joint, nothing fancy but I bet had great food. Well, my wife also loves Indian food too. She told our daughter and her friend to just eat a little and not spoil their appetite for Korean food. Well, we ordered samosas, fried rice and Tiki Marsala with chicken. Everyone was starving, but they tried their best to restrain themselves from eating more. But I have to say, that the Tiki Marsala was so delicious. Usually the chicken for this dish is tough but here at Kabab Hat it was actually tender with a delicious aromatic savory curry sauce. They also had a curry lamb shank with rice and curry sauce. I bought it to have the bext day. It  was simply delicious. The lamb shank cut like butter but no knife was needed, came off the bone with ease. Nice balance with yogurt and curry spices.
So the wait enabled us to try some Indian food that was just marvelous. I highly recommend this place and will be visiting them again.
So on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent. I give this place a definite "5." This place had a lot of Indians ordering take out meals, so it had to be good.
By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com
​#Kababhut