Dong Khanh Restaurant: Round 2

This is my favorite lunch buddy and her bowl of chao long (Cantonese pork innards congee) at Dong Khanh Restaurant. The Cantonese version is more viscous and bland compared to its Vietnamese counterpart, which is more like a savory rice soup.

And the best part about eating congee when it's cold out are the gio chao quay (Vietnamese) or yau ja gwai (Cantonese)--Chinese fried bread sticks. Dong Khanh's sticks are always mouth-searing hot, adequately crispy on the outside and super soft on the inside.

And here is the glorious Dong Khanh bun thit nuong cha gio (rice vermicelli with spring roll & grilled pork)--my favorite Vietnamese restaurant dish. I was skeptical when I first saw it because it did not have the traditional thinly-sliced pork, but instead was served with a sliced pork chop. Tradition aside, the pork was cooked to perfection--well-marinated and tender.

Dong Khanh Restaurant

Banh cuon are steamed rice rolls filled with seasoned minced pork, wood ear mushroom and onion and served with thin slices of Vietnamese lean pork cake, mung bean sprouts, julienned cucumbers, torn Thai basil, shallot crisps and a generous amount of nuoc cham.


I had this banh cuon ($5) from Dong Khanh in Chinatown for lunch today. This is my best Vietnamese food find in Boston thus far.

Although Dong Khanh uses previously frozen pork cake instead of fresh pork cake that’s been steamed in banana leaves, this dish is still superb due to its exquisitely delicate and fresh rice rolls. I don’t know how they do it, but the rice rolls always taste like they just came off of the steamer 2 seconds before they landed on my table. Amazing!

I also had an order of goi cuon ($3) which were pretty decent. They decided to leave out the requisite herbs and substituted leaf lettuce with iceberg lettuce, an unfortunate trend in Boston Vietnamese restaurants.

This is a Vietnamese restaurant run by Cho Lon Chinese, so the menu carries many Chinese items as well. I will contintue to go to Pho Pasteur for pho, but this place definitely has better bun thit nuong, banh cuon and fruit smoothies.

Dong Khanh Restaurant
83 Harrison Ave
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 426-9410
Vietnamese Cuisine