Hannah's Cheap Eats: Cam Huong
Hannah Husain
Issue date: 10/16/08 Last update: 10/18/08 at 4:49 PM PST
Section: Features
On a busy street in Oakland's Chinatown, about 5 blocks west of the Laney College campus, lies a non-descript hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese "deli restaurant" called Cam Huong. Oh, Cam Huong, how your tofu sandwiches and spring rolls fill me with spicy delicious joy!
I am certainly not the alone in finding great pleasure from their scrumptious cuisine; During lunch hours, the narrow hallway in front of the hot trays of stir-fries, noodles and other goodies is crammed with briefcases, youngsters, and many people of the Asian persuasion drooling in anticipation for the delightfully fresh French bread with yummy stuffing such as tofu, sardines, fish patty, and various types of meats alongside shredded cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers.
The small restaurant also has on display many items that you'd be likely to find on the streets of Hanoi: "Crispy Snack Seasoned Anchovy with Sesame Seed" and "Coconut Candies", (which resemble pastel earthworms to me), seemed most intriguing to me. In addition, Cam Huong offers a huge selection of obscure and authentic chilled beverages and smoothies for under $2, just slightly less than their average $3 entrée. I personally dig that the place seems to be run almost entirely by women, who never fail to give me a pleasant, if not harried, smile as I squeeze out the door.
The setup can be really hectic and confusing, (at best), but the restaurant is certainly one of a kind and very easy on the wallet. A full nutritious meal will cost around $5 dollars, and your taste buds will be titillated by the flavorful condiments laid out on the tables in the back. Go for the tofu sandwich--with peppers if you are so daring--You won't be able to resist going back for seconds!
I am certainly not the alone in finding great pleasure from their scrumptious cuisine; During lunch hours, the narrow hallway in front of the hot trays of stir-fries, noodles and other goodies is crammed with briefcases, youngsters, and many people of the Asian persuasion drooling in anticipation for the delightfully fresh French bread with yummy stuffing such as tofu, sardines, fish patty, and various types of meats alongside shredded cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers.
The small restaurant also has on display many items that you'd be likely to find on the streets of Hanoi: "Crispy Snack Seasoned Anchovy with Sesame Seed" and "Coconut Candies", (which resemble pastel earthworms to me), seemed most intriguing to me. In addition, Cam Huong offers a huge selection of obscure and authentic chilled beverages and smoothies for under $2, just slightly less than their average $3 entrée. I personally dig that the place seems to be run almost entirely by women, who never fail to give me a pleasant, if not harried, smile as I squeeze out the door.
The setup can be really hectic and confusing, (at best), but the restaurant is certainly one of a kind and very easy on the wallet. A full nutritious meal will cost around $5 dollars, and your taste buds will be titillated by the flavorful condiments laid out on the tables in the back. Go for the tofu sandwich--with peppers if you are so daring--You won't be able to resist going back for seconds!
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