Chicago: Dong Ky
Today was Asian grocery shopping day. I dragged my dad all the way to Uptown for some serious re-stocking. Tucked right next to Broadway Supermarket is Dong Ky, where we stopped for lunch first:
My friend had told me previously that Dong Ky is her favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Chicago. I almost wasn't able to find the place because the front door is located inside the supermarket:
Prices were just ridiculous. A bowl of pho for $4.95:
Don't expect the laundry lists of meat combinations you can find at other pho places. Dong Ky has a total of around four pho options (if I remember correctly). My dad went with the combo. His final conclusion was that the pho broth at Dong Ky is not as complex in flavor as the pho back in San Jose, but he still enjoyed the lightness of this particular broth, even if it was a bit sweeter than what he's used to. I second his opinion.
Don't expect the laundry lists of meat combinations you can find at other pho places. Dong Ky has a total of around four pho options (if I remember correctly). My dad went with the combo. His final conclusion was that the pho broth at Dong Ky is not as complex in flavor as the pho back in San Jose, but he still enjoyed the lightness of this particular broth, even if it was a bit sweeter than what he's used to. I second his opinion.
Fun observation of the day: I saw one lady uncap a bottle of sriracha and pour an ungodly amount of the stuff directly into her pho. Props to her.
For my own dish, I ordered the rice rolls combo, also $4.95:
It came with two types of sausages, a unexpectedly large heap of bean sprouts, a few sprigs of mint, pickled daikon, and a mysterious fried shrimp cake. Oh, and fish sauce. Duh. I didn't particularly like the pink sausage (too artificial tasting for me), but everything else was good.
Each rice roll came packed with ground pork and some veggies:
I haven't been able to figure out the fried shrimp cake, but I enjoyed the shrimpy-ness as well as the interesting texture:
Dong Ky
Can someone tell me what's inside?
Cheapest Vietnamese food I've ever seen. Dare I say it? Cheaper than even in San Jose. Ouch, that actually hurt a little. Maybe not the best Vietnamese food I've ever had, but at $5 an entrée, who cares?
4877 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 989-5579
The last show I worked on the cast took us out after the final performance to a Pho place in Little Saigon, SF. The shredded-chicken was amazing. I'm taking you there next time you're in the area.
ReplyDeleteCha! I miss Cha! (Can you hear me saying it in the obnoxious accent?)
ReplyDeleteThe shrimp cake is called banh cong in Vietnamese. The stuff inside is mung bean. I've been craving for that today :p
ReplyDelete