Enjoy full flavors of ‘broken’ specialty

Classic Vietnamese flavors and contemporary sensibilities combine in flavorful pho, beef, pork and chicken dishes at Broken Rice, which officially opened in Kaimuki on March 1.

About the food: The rice really is broken.

“I joke that there are children in Thailand breaking grains of rice,” said Ron Tran, eldest son of owners Minh and Lai Tran. But no, the whole grains are actually cracked, or “broken,” during milling.

Because the grains are no longer whole, finding the right rice-to-water ratio for cooking required some trial and error, Tran said, and the restaurant has it down. The rice is perfectly tender and has a delicate sweetness that balances the proteins’ bright and bold flavors.

Broths for the spicy beef lemongrass soup ($14), and chicken and beef pho (both $13) are made separately, not taken and flavored from a mother pot, Tran said. Pho broths are simmered for two days, while the lemongrass beef broth is simmered even longer.

About the business: Minh and Lai Tran were popular manicurists for 25 years but wanted a change of pace.

Friends regularly raved about how “Minh made the best pho, and we felt it was, too,” Ron said. They decided on a restaurant venture, with help from sons Ron and Randy, who both work in accounting.

The space the family found, formerly BC Burrito and Verde, is steps from Vietnamese restaurants that are Kaimuki institutions, including Hale Vietnam, Saigon’s Restaurant and local chain Super Pho.

“We didn’t want to be that guy that comes into an area and competes. … We just thought it was uncool to do that,” Ron said. So the decision was made to have a unique but also familiar menu. Nobody is doing broken rice, they thought, so that became not just a key food item, but the name of the restaurant.

What to order: Broken Rice’s most popular dish is Shaking Beef ($19), tender, cubed rib-eye steak stir-fried with garlic and soy sauce, among other seasonings. Another top seller is the Special Broken Rice ($16) with grilled pork chop, chicken, shredded pork and clear noodles, Vietnamese-style eggy meatloaf and vegetables. Entrees come with salad and a generous portion of broken rice.

The beef lemongrass soup, another top seller, looks as though it might be flaming hot, but the heat is relatively mild and can be amped up on request. The chicken and beef pho are vibrantly flavored and come with a small plate of greens for adding to the hot broth. Additional vegetables can be requested at no charge.

Savory crab fried rice, vegetarian options and favorite Vietnamese dishes such as spring rolls and tapioca dessert are also on the menu. The Trans plan eventually to add dishes that demonstrate their chops in the kitchen, Ron said.

At Broken Rice no sauces or spices are placed on tables, so you won’t have to deal with condiments left out for an unknown duration, or containers made sticky by previous users. Any sauce or seasoning typically found in a Vietnamese restaurant can be requested.

How to order: It’s best to call in takeout orders, Tran said. The food is not scooped out of a steam table, but is made to order.

Grab and go: Metered parking can be found on the street or in the municipal lot behind the building, but at peak mealtimes, tag-team pickup, with a driver waiting or circling the block, is a good way to overcome a tight parking situation.

Grab and Go focuses on takeout food, convenience meals and other quick bites. Email ideas to crave@staradvertiser.com.