Banh Cuon Thang Long

Maybe I love banh Cuon too much, that I think this place is just ok.
After all these raving reviews, I tried it and it was just ok. Maybe because I like four sisters since they have marinated pork on it too, that this was kind of bland. I like cha lua and banh cong though.
Definitely worth trying but I don’t know if it’s a 5 star place.

I am a big believer in less is more and this place definitely fits the saying. With so many phở places around you want to go to a place that is not only unique but great as well.
Everything is delicious here! It’s not on the strip so you kind of have to search for it. I usually start out with the banh cong (fried shrimp & mung beans) and then the bun oc (tomato noodle soup with conches), it’s my favorite here and you can’t really get it anywhere else. This place is authentic as it gets and I look forward to coming here everytime.

Located right next to the grocery store. My date and I had no idea what the name of the restaurant was but his roommate had recommended this restaurant and told us to look for a picture of Jesus in the restaurant. Surprisingly, we found the picture of Jesus! We walk in and it was packed with Vietnamese people (good sign!). I love how the menu is small and simple b/​c I usually get overwhelmed by large menus and can never decide what to order. I ordered #13 (dried noodles with grilled pork and egg roll) and my date ordered the rice crepes with ground pork and shrimp. Both were so delicious! My dish came with plenty of noodles and pork that it was enough to share and fill us both up. Prices are cheap but it is cash only. There is an atm located outside the restaurant if you forget cash. i will definitely be back!

It’s like coming to a relative’s home for delicious banh cuon and bun oc. Two signature dishes that the establishment is able to consistently and quickly deliver on demand.

Gotta love this place.
Like many similar Vietnamese joints in town — the décor sucks (it feels as nice as a hospital waiting room) but the food is great. This little unassuming semi-​hole in the wall in a corner of Eden Center features some of the most tasty rice crepes you can find.
As others have mentioned here, I also really love the combo #1 — it gives you a nice taste of everything from fried shrimp cakes to pain/​shrimp/​pork rice crepes and some Vietnamese ham topped with bean sprouts. Make sure you douse the stinky fish sauce on this sucker to really get the max taste/​flavor out of your meal. That’s really the icing on the cake for me. The crepes here always taste great and feel very fresh.
I often try their #11 shrimp noodle as well — which has a tomato base and at times reminds me of a tom yum soup. The flavor is quite nice and the texture is rich. It’s a great dish to consider on a cold winter’s day.
Their iced coffee here is nice too. If you give me one of those, along with a combo #1 — I’d say that’s the makings of a very fine lunch.
Again, this place looks plain jane but the food is far from that.

Combination #1 large is my personal go-​to item here. It has plain (nofilling), shrimp, and pork stuffed crepes along with fried shrimp cakes and what I like to refer to as Vietnamese balogna (cha lua). It’s a good amount of food for one person and if you split it with another, it makes a good palate teaser before you go off and grab more food around Eden Center. I like to ask for chili paste to add to their fish sauce, which is sweeter and less «fishy» compared to other restaurants.
I believe that this place is also cash only so be aware of that before coming here! This is a great spot to stop by if you want a quick bite to eat. It usually takes about 5 – 10 minutes for them to prepare everything which is impressive since they are making each crêpe to order.
Food: 4
Value: 4
Service: 3.5
Overall: 4

I came here because of all positive Unilocal reviews. I tried the #2 Banh Cuon and Banh Xeo. Both were way below average in terms of quality and taste. There are so many places outside of metro DC that makes them better. I’m talking about LA (Little Saigon), Chicago (Uptown), Dallas, and Houston. Yes, I have very high standards when it comes to Vietnamese food. There’s no excuse here if Banh Cuon is your specialty.
Banh Xeo fillings were mostly bean sprouts. Lots and lots of bean sprouts with big fat beans. The ground pork stuffing in the banh cuon was not tasty at all. Overall, my dining experience here was quite disappointing. The food was not cheap for what you get either. $ 7.50 for Banh Cuon and $ 9 for Banh Xeo.
The place is old and run down like many restaurants in the Eden Center. That usually doesn’t stop me because I can overlook it if the food is good. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of positive things to discuss about this place.

This place is awesome. Everytime I go the Eden Center, I always try to stop here. On a hot summer’s day, it’s the perfect place to have lunch. The papaya salad is very refreshing and delicious. The banh cuon is the best I’ve had in the east coast, it’s so smooth and silky with a great body. The meat filling is flavorful, but not greasy. My mouth is watering as I’m writing this review, it’s that good!

Being from the Midwest, great banh cuon is really hard to find. (The only other great is on the otherside in California). This dish was one of my mom’s favorites growing up in Saigon, so I had to stop by and purchase an order to go for the ride back to Indiana.
This place certainly hasn’t changed since the 90s. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid whenever we traveled out to DC. Since, its been over ten years since I’ve had Thang Long, I went with the No.1. It comes with plain, crushed shrimp filled, and minced pork and wood ear mushroom filled crepes. These are topped with Vietnamese pork roll/​sausage, bean sprouts, cilantro, fried shallots and some crunchy shrimp cakes.
It was very good. But I do have to agree with Andrew H., it would be nice if the fish sauce was a bit more concentrated, so you didn’t have to drown your plate. Nevertheless, the flavors were spot on. My favorite was the one filled with minced pork, so next time I’ll probably have to go the No.2. Now that I’ve seen the menu, I’ll have to come back for No. 9 — Banh Xeo.
**They have a Facebook page that includes a menu! Bön Appetit!

They are closed on Tuesday.
I got an order of bun oc (snail noodle soup) to go. It was enough to feed 2 – 3 people. The soup was flavorful. The cilantro that came with the soup was shredded. Adding the herbs to the soup made the soup even better. I had some left over for the next day. It was still very good.
We will definitely visit again.

This place was totally worth the hunt! We had never tried bahn cuon before so we sought it out. It appears to be family run and the staff was so welcoming. We were clearly the only gringos in there so it felt super authentic :) When our awesome server came to take our order, I just told her we’d never had bahn cuon and was looking to try something new. She made great recommendations to try the sampler and another type of soup (not phở). When she brought the food, she told us all about how to use the sauces and then even told us about how the dishes were made — offered to let us go back in the kitchen to watch! It was a really great experience, I feel like I learned a lot on my visit and I got good food. Oh, cash only though!

In my opinion, this place isn’t the best but it’s not exactly the worst either. We all ordered the same banh cuon dac biet dish (it was probably not called that but basically it was the special dish for banh cuon). I thought the meat and shrimp filling for the banh cuon were not very satisfactory; plus the fillings kept coming out which was irritating. I didn’t exactly enjoy it and ended up giving away my banh cuon tom (shrimp) to my dad to eat. The only things I liked were the cha lua and the crispy fried banh cong. The plain banh cuon and the fried onion filled one were good though. The service was eh. I was expecting something unique or really good about the banh cuon but realized I’ve had much better from other places.

This is one of those places that don’t have much on their menu, but what they offer is unique, and they do it well. I really like their Banh Cuon, but I do admit it’s a little bland and greasy. If they made their fish sauce more flavorful instead of watered down, it would be MUCH tastier, however they do have big jars on each table so you can have as much as of it as you want.
Banh Cuon is a soft, wide fresh noodle with a type of filling inside, either dried shrimp paste, pork, or garlic. It really is unique, and while it won’t blow your socks off in terms of flavors, it has a simpleness but good taste that I really like, and they also give lots of beansprouts with it that gives it a nice fresh taste as well. It’s one of those dishes that won’t stand out in your mind and you probably won’t ever crave it, but when you do eat it, there’s this simple satisfying feel. I think everyone should try it once, it’s unique and good, but I don’t think you will probably ever crave it enough to go back.

Banh Cuon Thang Long is located in the right most building of Eden Center (if the Welcome sign is at your backside). After finally being able to locate this restaurant, SX and I ordered a Combination #1 Banh Cuon to go.
Upon opening the lovely container back home, it consisted of three types of rice crepes (plain/​unstuffed ones, stuffed with shrimp, stuffed with pork), fried shrimp cake (looks like fried muffin pieces), pieces of sausage (the pink half moons), sides of fried onions, blanched bean sprouts, cilantro, and sauce cups of fish sauce. While different from the steamed rice crêpe noodles from Chinese cuisine (ie: the steamed shrimp stuff rice crepes at dim sum), there are some similarities. Banh Cuon Thang Long’s rice crepes that were stuffed with pork and shrimp were much thinner than the Chinese dim sum cousin. It was an interesting, delicious combination of flavors and textures. I was happy that they provided plenty of fish sauce with the meal.
As a non-​Vietnamese customer, it was nice to see that the menu was easy to read and that the service was friendly and willing to help. Also, upon receiving our take-​out, they kindly packed up chopsticks too.
Definitely a place you should stop by in Eden Center!

Banh Cuon Thang Long is the original banh cuon restaurant in Eden Center. It is in the original Eden building on the right side. Banh Cuon (or crepes) is rice crepes filled with either minced shrimp or pork. The orders come with cha or the vietnamese version of pork sausage-​ish. The number 1 special comes with shrimp banh cuon, pork banh cuon, and these pieces of fried dough with mung beans and prawns. They are very starchy, but yummy when soaked int he fish sauce.
I’ve never tried anything else, but why would you? It’s called BANH CUON Thang Long for a reason. This restaurant is a staple in Eden Center!
Oh…and $ 6.50 for a small plate is a steal and awesome cheap lunch

Solid place for banh cuon! My co-​worker (an older Vietnamese-​Chinese lady) treated me here for a late lunch. It’s been many years since I last frequented Banh Cuon Thang Long. I feel that this corner is the forgotten wing of Eden Center. Back when I was a kid, this was the «new» wing, but nowadays, it’s mostly karaōke bars and not much else.
Being an older generation Vietnamese, my co-​worker knows what’s best and insisted I ordered their #1, which is a combination of the ground pork rice crepes, shrimp rice crepes, cha lua, and banh cong. I am generally not a fan of dried shrimp, but here it’s finely minced and has a nice flavor with none of the weird rubbery texture expected of dried shrimp. Also, their banh cong is a must-​try. Banh cong is a muffin-​esque fried fritter made from mung beans, taro root, and prawns. I don’t recommend eating a lot ot once, as they tend to be heavy on the starch from the taro root. I definitely have the «itis» now. (In fact, it took me over 4 hours to write this review because I laid down for a «quick» nap.)
Their nuoc mam (fish sauce) that you’re supposed to drizzle on your banh cuon is on the sour side and what my co-​worker calls «flavorless,» so I recommend doctoring up yours with some chili paste, some sugar, and a little soy. I didn’t believe her, but when I tried her version, it was greatly improved.
The «small» portion is good enough for an average sized-​person. For bigger appetites, request the «large» portion.
Very clean. Cash only!

I really wanted to love this place, especially since I’m a big fan of banh cuon, but I found it’s signature dish to be lacking, which is why I didn’t give this place 5 stars, but it’s mostly due to personal preference. It’s good enough, but had the banh cuon been more to my preference, I probably would have put this on my list of places that I visit everytime I’m staying with my family.
This place is tucked into the back of the far right indoor «mall» area of Eden Center. Walking in, it’s very much the cafeteria style, business-​only layout of a good Vietnamese place. After my experience at Saigon Crepes, I felt reassured. Service was really good here for a Vietnamese place. Our server was attentive and patient with us as one person was having trouble deciding what she wanted to order. We ended up getting two orders of the combination banh cuon and one order of grilled pork over broken rice.
The grilled pork was okay, but it still doesn’t compare to my home base for grilled pork, Phở So One in Richmond.
The banh cuon was obviously freshly made, tender, and thin, which is a nice change from the gummy pile of mushiness that other restaurants usually serve. The flavors of the banh cuon filling were good. My issue with the dish mostly comes from the treatment of the toppings. The banh cuon here comes with mostly bean sprouts on top, with a sprinkle of fried onions and cilantro. I prefer my banh cuon with a nice pile of cucumber slices and cilantro, along with bean sprouts and fried onions (Bonus if there’s some basil on the side). I think cucumbers really help to make the dish refreshing and more balanced between light, fresh flavors and savory flavors.
The iced coffee here was really, really good. I ordered it after I saw how dark the coffee looked coming out of the filter at the table next to mine. Plus I needed something to make me forget the watery mess at Saigon Crepes. Despite the condensed milk, you could still taste the complex flavor of the coffee. It was definitely better than what I could get at my usual Vietnamese places in Richmond, which is probably a good thing because I’d probably become addicted otherwise. It was a perfect way to end the meal!

This hole in the wall is tucked away in the back corner of the Eden Center. Navigate through the maze of what seems to be the same stores (geez, they all look the same!!!) and you will find this small gem. With bright lights and cafeteria style seating, it always seems to be busy… and with good reason. The menu is simple, Vietnamese Crepes aka Banh Cuon and some other choices of broken rice and bun noodle soups. But let’s be honest, you should come here for the Banh Cuon and nothing else! I opted for the number 1 special, which includes Banh Cuon with minced pork filling and another variety with shrimp filling. It’s topped with Cha Lua (pork patties), fried shrimp cake, bean sprouts, cilantro and fried onions. Douse it with fish sauce and you have perfection. The combination of tender rice crepes, fish sauce, and crunchy bean sprouts make for an awesome flavor/​texture combo.
There are no signs but it’s CASH ONLY so be sure to hit the ATM beforehand.

Finally, The restaurant opened, It was closed on Tuesday.
Family style Vietnamese restaurant as same as another in Eden Center, but more cleaner, no sticky table.
Banh Cuon is good as everyone said, the rice crêpe is tender, not too thick, less oily, stuff shrimp, minced pork with wood ear mushroom just right seasoning, and crispy shrimp with mung bean so delicious.

Anson’s Guide to Ethnic Dining: the Abridged Version
1) Walk in
2) Don’t ask any questions
3) Order the combination plate
4) Eat
5) Pay and leave
So far, these set of guidelines haven’t let me down. Get the number 1 (the combo plate) with cha lua (Vietnamese ground pork patties), fried shrimp cake, rice crepes with various fillings, fried onions, and bean sprouts. Tasty. Warning: if you’ve eaten here the right way, you should be reeking of nuoc mam (fish sauce). They have a big jar of it on the table. A good way to find out if you are with your soulmate is if they kiss you after eating here. Just try not to get the stuff on your clothes.
Service is quick just like at any phở place. Cash only like almost all places at Eden. Watch out though, they do close pretty early. I’ve definitely gotten here around 6 pm and they have been closed. Note: Eden during the day seems a lot different from Eden at night. I saw old people and what looked like the cast of Jersey Shore. Scary.