Look to your right for a tan building with bold blue letters spelling out "Huong Binh" above large windows and a glowing "OPEN" sign-nestled right in the Ding How Center strip mall.
Let me take you back to 1993. Imagine the buzz of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District-honking cars, the scent of fresh herbs, and sizzling meats wafting from shops tucked beneath neon lights. That’s when Lien Dang opened Huong Binh, a cozy little spot where the flavors of Vietnam’s central region would come alive. She built it from scratch, probably sweating a little from both the kitchen heat and the pressure of bringing her homeland’s recipes to a brand-new city. Now, here we are, all these years later, standing among the echoes of laughter, clinking chopsticks, and the “slurp” of brothy noodles.
Picture bowls piled high with silky duck noodle soup, steaming congee speckled with the rich flavors of blood sausage, pork tongue, liver, and-if you’re brave enough-pork ear! And let’s not forget the crepe-like bánh bèo, gently dusted with shrimp flakes, or the springy dumplings and the legendary bún bò Huế, with beef so tender it almost tells you its own story. There’s a feeling here-you can almost sense aunties in the kitchen, arguing over who makes the best jellied pancakes. Lien Dang passed the torch in 2019, but Huong Binh’s spirit stays alive, filling hungry bellies and curious hearts, one fragrant spoonful at a time. Hungry yet?
