Alyssa
While driving down McCullough Avenue in Olmos Park, Jacqueline and I had a sudden craving for Vietnamese food. At the infamous turnaround, we spotted Phở Kim Long, a restaurant we had heard of, but never seen. We quickly found a parking spot and ventured inside with pho on our mind.
Located at 4230 McCullough Ave., Phở Kim Long serves a range of classic Vietnamese dishes and Chinese dishes in a calm, relaxing atmosphere. Blinds cover the windows casting a dim, comfortable light onto your table or booth and greenery surrounds the interior walls.
Vietnamese cuisine reigns high on my list of favorite types of food. The simple, delicious and healthy entrees draw me to the cuisine, but the plethora of flavors you can add to the dish to completely make it your own is what I truly love. At most (if not all) Vietnamese restaurants, tables will be decorated with numerous different sauces and utensils including chopsticks, Asian soup spoons, small bowls for sauces, Sriracha sauce, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. If you don’t like spice, stay away from everything except the Hoisin and soy sauce. The Hoisin sauce is sweet and goes with every entrée you’re served. My two favorites are Hoisin in Sriracha. The two mixed together creates the ideal combination of sweet and spicy.
Usually, I order pho, or beef noodle soup. Phở Kim Long serves pho with a variety of different seafood and meats including rare steak, beef balls, shrimp, squid, soft tendon and well-done brisket. Although pho was on my mind, it was a very hot, July day in San Antonio; a hot soup was not the best idea. Instead I ordered the vermicelli – thin, rice noodles – with grilled sliced pork, cucumbers, carrots and an egg roll. Once the dish was smothered with Hoisin and Sriracha, and a little bit of chili garlic sauce, it was ready to eat.
Jacqueline ordered the sesame chicken with fried rice, broccoli and an egg roll. Although Phở Kim Long is a Vietnamese restaurant, the sesame chicken was tender and flavorful.
Before leaving Pho Kim Long, I ordered a bánh mì to go. Bánh mì, a Vietnamese sandwich, translates to “all kinds of bread”. For only $3.50 each, Phở Kim Long serves pork paste, grilled pork, grilled chicken and shredded pork skin bánh mì. Sadly, the meal disappeared before I snapped a decent photo.
With Vietnamese cuisine added to the list of restaurants, Olmos Park is becoming quite the culinary neighborhood!