Kim Long Asain Cuisine

Cha Gio - Egg Rolls

In the past few years more Vietnamese restaurants have been opening north of Lomas which is great, so not all the restaurants are located in one section of town. About a year ago, Kim Long Asian Cuisine opened up. I didn't hear about it until a few months ago from a friend. Kim Long is tucked away in a strip mall on San Pedro south of Uptown. The parking lot for the strip mall is not too spacious, but it's sufficient. The restaurant does have a bar area that faces a TV and a few tables to the right. The place is nothing fancy, but it's pretty clean and the restrooms are OK. This is defiantly a small business, which I think is great.   

Banh Beo Chen

According to my friend this place put taro in their egg rolls. This is the first time I've heard of someone putting taro in their egg rolls. The taro didn't really change the flavor of egg rolls, but it did add a slight crunch which was great. The Banh Beo Chen is something I have not seen on any menu, but according to my aunt we have a relative that makes this dish on occasion and I've eaten it before. This was a rice cake in a small bowl topped with pork and shrimp bits. This was a tasty appetizer that was not too heavy.

Bun Cha Han Noi Kim Long

 A dish a friend of mind recommended was Bun Cha Hanoi, which I'd never heard of. My friend has been in Hanoi for more than a year teaching English so any input he has about Vietnamese food may be worth a look. The Bun Cha Ha Noi I would describe as bun or vermicelli noodles with different components, like  dish of pork in broth, a veggie plate, and nuoc cham. The pork dish had onions on top with grilled pork and meatballs in a clear broth. The broth was a little salty but over all the dish was good. When all of this was put together to eat the whole was greater than the sum of it's individual parts.

Pho Dac Biet

Bun Bo Hue

The big meal in Vietnamese food seems to be pho. I LOVE pho. It would be in the running for Anthony Bourdain and my last meal. The pho here is good, but not great. The parts that go into it are great, but I felt that the broth lacked in complexity or depth. Don't get me wrong this is good pho, but definitely not my favorite for Albuquerque. The bun bo Hue was excellent, not as good as homemade, but great for a restaurant. I did get mine with blood pudding and pig's feet. If you don't like that stuff request it without. This broth had a rich lemon grass flavor that was spicy. This dish was great.  The picture below is what my aunt ordered on one of my many visits in a fairly short time. It was a rice and pork dish. I tried a bit and it was pretty good.

I enjoyed Kim Long Asian Cuisine. They server some beers and their modest beer selection offers some good stuff like a few Marble Brewing selections and Fat Tire. It's nice to wash down your bowl of Vietnamese with some suds. The service here is good; the staff is quick and polite. They offer a lot of different dishes and everything I've had is excellent. I would give Kim Long a rating of four out of five.

http://www.kimlongalb.com/