Latest news with #Huỳnh

San Francisco Chronicle​

The Bay Area's Vietnamese food capital just got a surprising seafood specialist

San Jose is a modern-day gold mine for Vietnamese food. It's the Bay Area's superior source for sizzling steak, chicken pho and the steamed rice rolls known as bánh cuốn. And recently, the city gained another exciting specialist. A few months ago, former San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho pointed me toward Làng Ốc Việt, a food truck slinging 'Viet mariscos.' I was intrigued, since I already happened to regard San Jose as a one-of-a-kind seafood hub. Shellfish is Làng Ốc's domain, with a particular emphasis on southern-style sea snails. Chef-owner Tuyền 'Cindy' Huỳnh is from Bạc Liêu, a coastal city in the Mekong Delta region where sea snails are in abundance. Before opening her truck last December, Huỳnh ran a sea snail stand in her hometown. The lengthy menu can be overwhelming. Several pages are dedicated to snails ($20-$25), loosely divided by preparation style — boiled, stewed, sauteed, grilled — and sauce bases such as black pepper, butter and coconut milk. Additionally, the truck offers snail noodle dishes and charcoal-grilled items like clams or squid. There's a fair amount of customizability, with the general wisdom being: the larger the snail, the higher the cost. I opted for the shiny grey conches stewed in a sweet butter sauce ($20) that had surprising tang. Its complex flavor comes from tamarind pulp, crispy pork belly bits, minced garlic and a heaping spoonful of butter. Grab a shell, wrestle out the snail with a toothpick and dip it in sauce before eating it. The texture is similar to squid, ranging from chewy to firm. But it works combined with all the elements. Garlic butter brings savory richness, pork lends a crisp texture and Vietnamese coriander also known as rau ram delivers robust pungency. Pork seems to be one of Huỳnh's secret weapons. She stuffs it into snails or sneaks it into dishes like grilled scallops ($20), which arrive as six aluminum cups of smokiness, savoriness and nuttiness. Even for Vietnamese folks, Huỳnh admits, snails can be an acquired taste. Her family members who grew up in different parts of the country, for example, didn't have much exposure to snails. My mileage with eating snails tops out at escargot. There are countless restaurants and chefs making well-known Vietnamese dishes, but few do the work to expand the public's perception of the cuisine. This truck functions as a gateway, bringing a specific slice of the Mekong Delta to the Bay Area. Formerly stationed at an auto parts parking lot in San Jose, the truck recently moved to a gated lot a few miles away. The setup is similar to a street food stand in Vietnam, with green plastic tables and low-to-the-ground stools. Huỳnh said three quarters of truck's clientele is Vietnamese, and looking around, that checks out. During service, Huỳnh is in constant motion, gracefully multi-tasking outside of the truck. She tends to the charcoal grill. She stirs pots of boiling snails. But she always makes time to share belly laughs with customers. Huỳnh is driven by passion. She came to the states five years ago and worked at a seafood shipping company. But her heart was in cooking. She worked at a few restaurants, hoping to learn the trade and eventually open her own. Her strategy changed after working on a friend's food truck. She fell in love with the model, which she claims had simpler paperwork for a newcomer to the U.S. In 2024, she launched her truck Làng Ốc Việt and tested the waters at an event in San Leandro. Late last year, she secured a space for the truck in San Jose and quickly found an audience. She's proud of what she's been able to achieve with no family support system and two kids. Huỳnh is still settling into the new location. But with a truck open until 1 a.m., patrons can expect late-night karaoke. I can't wait to return, devour snails and share my pitchy rendition of V-Pop tunes.