Quan An Vietnam by Benny Palma

                When living in Daejeon, finding essential restaurants is going to make or break the experience. I have been on the hunt for high quality places to eat that would compare to what I could find in America. I have a passion for Vietnamese cuisine with Pho being at the top of the list. It is a staple dish from Vietnam and is prepared differently based on what part of the country you live. It is a beef broth soup, noodles and an assortment of vegetables. Fairly simple in its preparation but that method makes all the difference.

Quan An Vietnam has pioneered that taste into an affordable dish that costs nearly half the price of other Vietnamese restaurants. The menu hosts a variety of dishes all from the most common that you will find in Vietnam. The spring and summer rolls are good but must be prepared individually by the customer which is a little annoying if you are not familiar with the process.

Bun, a.k.a. rice noodle salad, is another classic Vietnamese dish. It's an amazing salad of thin rice noodles, lettuce, carrot slivers, mint, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, and fish sauce, topped with grilled pork.The dried noodles are definitely worth a try and are lighter than the pho dishes which may be considered heavier than the other dishes.

The restaurant isn't big on atmosphere. They have just moved to a larger location so it looks nice but the clientele is largely Vietnamese. They are quite nice but do smoke and gamble in the restaurant. If you can overlook that then you should throng for the quality of the food and the excellent prices. A large bowl of steaming pho noodles and veggies swimming in delicious broth and topped with beef is only 6,000 won. Considering that the average bowl of pho costs 10,000 and above in other restaurants it’s quite a steal. Add a plate of Vietnamese spring rolls (fried or fresh) for the perfect meal.