Kim and her family immigrated to San Francisco in the 1980s seeking a better life, like many immigrants from Southeast Asia (particularly Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia) escaping war, poverty, and political instability. Over time, a large number of first- and second-generation immigrant families settled in the Tenderloin, establishing the neighborhood’s “Little Saigon” and bringing many Southeast Asian restaurants, cafés, small grocery stores, and sandwich shops. Mong Thu is an anchor in this community: Weekday lunchtime brings regulars catching up on neighborhood news while sopping up the last bit of banh mi xiu mai (juicy pork meatballs in a heady tomato broth) with fresh baguette. My go-to is the hu tieu nam vang, a clear vermicelli soup topped with sliced pork, bits of crispy pork rind, plump shrimp, basil, chicken, mint, scallion, and fried shallots. Kim’s broth, scented with charred onion and anise, is good on both sweltering and shivery days. But the real star of this dish is the golden, crispy pancake, with hunks of skin-on shrimp, that sits on top, accompanied by homemade nuoc mam, a fish sauce–based dipping sauce. Bring cash, and steady yourself for the heart-pounding punch of the iced Vietnamese coffee.
