Vietnam :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Vietnam

Eating Hanoi – Green Tangerine

Jun05

Restaurant: Green Tangerine

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 30, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: A tad too experimental

Our final meal in Vietnam. Cry.

Green Tangerine serves what its website calls “French food with a Vietnamese twist.”

The usual big menu.

Shrimp salad.

Duck pastry mixed with eggplants, tomatoes, curcuma, onions on a red berries sauce.

Sliced beef cooked in oven topped with 2 kinds of chutneys: red pepper and pineapple in curry, served with homemade pastas and Gouda cheese.

Fish in saffron rolled with bacon served with rice noodle: “Cha ca” style, Green Tangerine way.

Chicken in mango, rum and cardamon sauce served with a tart of spinach enhanced with mango slices.

Lasagna of fishes cooked in white wine served with vegetables and a trio of mousses: red fruits, parmesan cheese, and basil leaves.

Mango stir fried with passion fruits sauce, in crumble served with vanilla ice cream.

Only some of the dishes here “worked.” They all looked pretty, but a few of them had weird flavor combinations that just didn’t quite get off the ground. They weren’t bad, just the truth is, none had the intensity and liveliness of good straight-up Vietnamese. Sometimes you can get too experimental — or perhaps lack the skill to pull it off.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-vietnam, French Cuisine, Green Tangerine, hanoi, Mango, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Eating Hanoi – Madame Hien

Jun03

Restaurant: Madame Hien

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 29, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Excellent neighborhood Italian

For our final dinner in Vietnam we head out to another “high end street food” restaurant, this time part of a group of establishments run by Didier Corlou a French chef who married a Vietnamese woman.

The chef says:

This restaurant is a dedication to my wife’s grandmother and to all Vietnamese women of the past and the present. It is also a tribute to their way of cooking, their ancestral culture and the artisanal and regional knowledge of over one thousand years. The rich diversity of Vietnam, found in its two deltas, fifty four minorities, three thousand kilometers of coastline and many natural resources (rivers, forests, mountains and oceans) is reflected in its cuisine.

The location is in a lovely colonial courtyard.

Fresh spring rolls.

Banana flower salad. These salads are amazing. I think this one had chicken and believe it or not, mortadella!

Pupu platter. Well, for lack of a better name this appetizer sampler comes with all sorts of good stuff. Fried spring rolls, fresh ones, pickles, softshell crab, omelet.

More spring rolls, tofu sticks.

This is a fried softshell crab and crab salad.

And steamed Chinese broccoli with garlic.

Duck breast.

Sliced lamb, I think. Like most Vietnamese meats, scrumptious.

Overall, this was the tastiest meal we had in Hanoi, and probably in the top three of our trip. The chef had a great palette and the execution was very sharp.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-vietnam, French Cuisine, hanoi, Madame Hien, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Eating Hanoi – Club Opera

May28

Restaurant: Club Opera

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 28, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Upscale take

Our second night in Hanoi brought us (accidentally) to an even more upscale take on Vietnamese cuisine. Of course, it still had the giant menu.

And fresh spring rolls. Just here, you get an individual sauce on a spoon!

Or these Friend Spring Rolls Hue Imperial Style impaled on a coconut.

Or these other fried spring rolls.

Mango Salad with Grilled Australian Beef. These are always great.

This was a kind of rice ravioli. It was a little bland.

Seafood rice noodle. There are glass noodles in there and all sorts of seafood including fish, shrimp, and squid.

Grilled Australian Beef tenderloin with lemongrass and chili.

Grilled pork ribs with Mandarin sauce. Apparently, like Mandarin oranges, Mandarin sauce is well… orange (and sweet).

Grilled Duck in Tamarind Sauce. Yum.

Grilled prawn with lemongrass.

Steamed prawn in passion fruit sauce. Great over rice.

Overall, things were quite tasty here, but the level of formality and “rigidity” of the place didn’t really fit the vibe we had grown accustomed to in Vietnam. It also wasn’t actually “better” than the good casual places. Sure, presentation was a little more elaborate — and it was still an on point kitchen — but I don’t think it was worth the price hike.

Another mysterious observation. Having grown a bit sick of beer, I went to the wine list. It was mostly French, but there were no German or Alsatian wines. And very few whites, maybe a Sancere or two. Nothing that really goes with this cuisine (I was looking for a dry or slightly off dry Riesling). Lots of Bordeaux, which the Vietnamese seem to like but which I think clashes terribly with the complex and slightly sweet flavors of the food.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-vietnam, hanoi, spring roll, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Oxymoron? – Upscale Street Food

Apr25

Restaurant: Nha Hang Ngon

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 27, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Great Upscale Street Food

Our third city in Vietnam is bustling Hanoi — and I mean bustling. This city has the pounding pulse of a jack rabbit on speed.

Our investigations brought us to Nha Hang Ngon which is a small chain of upscale street food (again!).

The setting is a cool old colonial courtyard house.

If anything, this menu is even bigger than some of the others!

Crispy pork and shrimp spring rolls. These were the best fried rolls I had on the trip. Fabulous.

A fresh spring roll variant, I think with roast pork and crab. Also great.

Fried pork wontons. Delicious, but tasted of fry (big surprise!)

Egg pancake stuffed with shrimp. This was rolled with vegetables in rice paper too.

An accidental order was this duck soup, which was a sort of egg drop.

Beef Pho. A more classic beef pho with noodles, beef, herbs, etc.

Green papaya salad. These fresh Vietnamese salads are incredibly delicious.

Salad with shrimp and fiddler crab.

Green salad. Sort of a western version. No dressing was apparent.

Coconut and shrimp salad. Somehow that shaved stuff is from the coconut tree. I don’t know what part.

Vietnamese BBQ Beef (Nha Trang Style). This apparently is a classic. The beef was tender and tasty. There is an incredibly salty fish salt and optional french bread to put it on.

Steak frites. I thought this was a Banh Mi, but it ended up being a pan fried filet mignon and fries. Not bad though.

And it came with bread, and various dipping sauces. The orange one was hot (and good).

Grilled sea-bass in banana leaf. A nice grilled fish.

Fried squid. What passes for calamari here. Pretty good though.

Shrimp. I don’t remember what kind but they were extremely tasty.

Vermicelli with shrimp. Delicious, as most Vietnamese noodle dishes are.

Wide rice noodles with beef.

Pad Vietnam. I made up the name, but this dish is essentially Pad Thai. It was delicious. You still the ingredients together. We ordered it twice.

Taro Sticky Sweet Soup with coconut milk. The concept is weird, but it was pretty delicious.

Jelly, water chestnut-tapioca pearls and coconut milk. A bit strange, but pleasant enough.

Fresh persimmon? Very interesting complex flavor, like an apple pie.

bundles of noodles

This place was great and we had a fun time. The food wasn’t quite as on point as at the other two upscale street food restaurants we found, but they have a monster menu and it was super tasty.

Apparently the woman is a famous Vietnamese model. Evidently she likes the place too.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-vietnam, hanoi, Street Food, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Adventures in Street Food

Apr18

Restaurant: Morning Glory Street Food Restaurant

Location: Hoi An

Date: March 25, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Super Yum

Everyone always talks about how great the street food is in Vietnam.

Things like crab fritters that have been sitting out for hours in the heat and humidity.

Or miscellaneous stuff waiting to assemble.

Our tasty maggot air dried meats.

Well, those of us who aren’t quite THAT adventurous (or don’t fancy a reasonable chance at several days glued to the toilet) might consider stepping up to $10-15 a person and the glory that is Morning Glory Street Food, a more “upscale” rendering of the classics.

The local beer. They don’t really like to sell you anything else. You can ask, but you’ll earn a snarl.

White Rose Dumplings. Famous soft steamed rice flour dumplings filled with ground shrimp. As promised, these are lighter than the traditional Chinese (Har Gow) variety.

Barbecued Pork with Rice Paper. Marinated BBQ pork with peanut sauce, fresh herbs, star fruit, and green banana.

As usual with these dishes, you roll up a spring roll.

Cao Lau noodles with marinated pork. The “classic” Hoi An dish with Japanese, Chinese, and French influences. Thick, homemade rice noodles with tender marinated pork, fresh herbs, and croutons in a light brother.

Not quite as good as the version we had the night before, but still delicious.

Banh Mi with Hoi An Sausage and marinated pork. A local version of the classic Vietnamese sandwich.

Fresh Mackerel in Banana Leaf. Cubes of marinated fresh mackerel with chopped wood-ear mushrooms, mung bean vermicelli, fresh turmeric and spices wrapped in banana leaves and chargrilled.

Very interesting AND tasty.

Chicken with ginger sauce. Stir fried chicken with ginger, onions and celery. Sort of like a Chinese American dish.

Papaya Salad with Sesame Beef. Shredded green papaya and fresh herbs topped with crispy dried roasted sesame beef. These “salads” the Vietnamese make are amazing.

Roast Duck Leg served with five space and shallot dressing and sticky rice. Yum!

Smoky eggplant with minced pork. I’m not usually a big fan of this kind of “mushy” eggplant, but this was great.

Prawn Curry. Five elements: sweet, sour, hot, bitter, and salty. Prawns, eggplant, poatoes, onions, lime leaves, lemongrass, and coconut milk.

Overall, this might have been the best meal we had in Vietnam, certainly in the top 2-3. While the cuisine isn’t “fancy” the combination of ingredients and fresh flavors came together in a spectacular way.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: dumpling, eating-vietnam, Hoi An, Street Food, Vietnam

Eating Hoi An – Riverside

Apr15

Restaurant: Anantara Hotel

Location: Hoi An

Date: March 25, 2014

Cuisine: International

Rating: Great Location

Our second hotel, in the scenic “ancient city” of Hoi An is the Anantara Hotel (a great hotel in general). Like most resort hotels, it features a buffet breakfast.

The second floor setting is amazing. A lovely breeze blows off the river beyond.

Various (semi) exotic juices.

Including this one I’ve never tried.

Lots of fresh fruit. Vietnam is a very wet and green place, and full of silty rivers, which means its fabulous farmland.

Fresh rambutans.

And Dragonfruit!

Not your everyday fruit salad.

The bananas here are little, but tasty.

Fresh yogurts.

Salad.

Cheese.

Cold cuts.

Packaged yogurts.

Cereal.

Pad Thai. On different days, this was different noodles and the like.

Congee again, and the requisite toppings.

Chicken.

bacon (two kinds).

Baked beans again, I guess for the Brits. And chicken sausage.

Pork sausage and pancakes.

An omelet bar.

Pickled vegetables (very good actually).

The Pho station! It’s never too early for Pho.

Here is the result.

Oh, and being a former French colony, Vietnam has great pastries.

And coffee.

Overall, this was a pleasant breakfast. If we hadn’t just come from the amazing Saigon Intercontinental one, it might even be great.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asia, eating-vietnam, Hoi An, Travel and Tourism, Vietnam

Eating Hoi An – Brothers Cafe

Apr05

Restaurant: Brother’s Cafe

Location: Hoi An

Date: March 24, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Great setting, Great food

We move on from Saigon to Hoi An, a small “ancient” city in the middle of Vietnam’s long coast. Hoi An is know for, among other things, its excellent food.

The oddly named Brother’s Cafe isn’t really a cafe, but a large riverside restaurant located in this scenic colonial style building.

With a rather picturesque garden and riverside seating.

The menu, like most in Vietnam, is epic.

Cao Lou. This is the quintessential Hoi An dish, noodles with a bit of saffron, pork, various vegetables, and a delicious savory “sauce.” This was the best version of this spectacular dish we had on the trip. Apparently you can only really get it in Hoi An, as unless the sauce is made from the local well water, it isn’t “real Cao Lou.”

Hoi An deep fried spring rolls. Delicious and crispy.

Vietnamese pancake with shrimp and pork. Sort of like a Vietnamese omelet.

As you can see, it was eaten rolled with vegetables in rice paper.

Tofu with minced pork in spicy sauce. This is the Vietnamese version of Ma Po tofu, one of my favorite Chinese dishes. It was good, although not terribly spicy like this amazing version. The Chinese have been in Vietnam for over a thousand years and certainly left their mark.

Roasted boneless duck. Yum.

Prawn curry, lemongrass, eggplant, and coconut milk. Very tasty, but not enough shrimp.

Red snapper steamed with ginger and vegetables.

Banana flambé with chocolate sauce. I don’t do bananas, but I was told they were good.

Creme Caramel. Mysteriously, this seems to be a popular (in fact omnipresent) Vietnamese dessert. No complaints here as I love the stuff.

Brother’s was an upscale place, kinda “expensive” for Vietnam (maybe $30 a person). The food, however, was great, as was the atmosphere. Certainly a great start to our couple of days in Hoi An.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

This pond came with a very loud (and charming) invisible frog

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brother's Cafe, eating-vietnam, Hoi An, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Apocalypse Dhou

Mar28

Restaurant: Ngoc Gia Trang

Location: Mekon Delta

Date: March 23, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Crispy Elephant Ear fish!

Hundreds of miles of snaking river was like a circuit cable plugged straight into…

A good meal.

Low and behold, after snaking up the (now) bucolic byways of the Mekon delta, we come across (well, our guide takes us to) this lovely little luncheon (and a low water table, good thing its not mosquito season).

We got the special lunch.

The specialty here is the crispy Elephant Ear Fish. I’ve never quite seen this prep, pinioned up for display.

Like the fish we get at the good Vietnamese place back in LA, and much of Vietnamese cuisine in general, it’s intended to be eatern wrapped in rice paper with various condiments: basil, mint, baby banana, onions, etc.

You take this, roll it up tight, and dip it in fish sauce.

The fish might look like a piranha, but the human piranhas sure got to it.

The soft rice paper rolls are filled with crispy pork skin and the meat is a delicious roast pork. Awesome.

On the left are Vietnamese tater tots, or more specifically, fried sticky rice balls. On the right are fish balls (like gefilte fish) coated in puffed rice.

Special soup, which is a simple broth with fish balls.

And one adds these fresh noodles.

For dessert, a small local breed of banana.

Overall, an unexpected (and delicious find deep in the jungle).

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-vietnam, fish, Fish sauce, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekon Delta, Mekong Delta, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc

Mar26

Restaurant: Hoa Tuc

Location: 74/7 Hai Ba Trung, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Date: March 22, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Fresh flavors

For our first real dinner in Vietnam a friend of ours sent us down the street to this upscale Vietnamese place (imagine that — in Vietnam no less!). Although, actually, there does appear to be a wide variety of Japanese, Chinese, and other cuisines in Ho Chi Minh City.

The interior is nice and there is a lovely patio outside for those willing to brave the 80 something evening.

The menus here seem to be gigantic.

Shrimp chips take the place of bread on the table.

And in true Vietnamese form every dish comes with its own sauce. Left peanut, top tamarind (with chili), right sweet, fish chili, on the bottom salt and lime.

Fresh spring rolls with pork and white rice noodle. In America, we’d call these Saigon spring rolls. Well, how apropos. Here they are delicious. An immunologist I know told me to stay away from any leafy washed vegetables — but since that would meaning eating only Pho, we throw caution to the wind and enjoy these delicious puppies (with the peanut sauce).

Fresh homemade tofu pan fried in light batter with mint, chili, and lime. Very light and fluffy.

RYO – char grilled beef in betel leaves with white noodles and rice paper. A bit of each of the wild collection of greens, some noodles, and one of the beef rolls are all assembled in a sheet of rice paper, rolled, and dipped in the fish sauce. In that pile are baby banana slices, star anise, mint, basil, cucumber and more. The combo tastes great. Very fresh and bright.

Mini rice and coconut pancakes with shrimp and spring onions. Another pile of greens! Also very soft and interesting flavors.

BBQ sea bass with avocado mango salsa. A nice light fish.

Chicken wings in a sweet chili sauce. Yummy, like Vietnamese fried chicken.

Braised duck leg in mandarin zest and ginger sauce. Tasty, but a little hard to saw the meat off the bone.

Prawns fried in “green rice” with passionfruit dipping sauce. The green rice turned out to be puffed rice, much like rice crispies!

Passion fruit custard. Yum!

Red bean and black sesame rice balls. Very asian, warm and sticky.

Banana fritter with vanilla ice cream.

Overall, a tasty meal full of bright delicious flavors.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: bbq, eating-vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoa Tuc, Saigon, spring roll, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Good Morning Vietnam

Mar23

Restaurant: Hotel Intercontinental Saigon

Location: Saigon

Date: March 22-24, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese / International

Rating: First rate buffet

Having arrived at 2am, my first meal of the trip was breakfast, in this case at our hotel, the Intercontinental Saigon. Right off the bat the buffet looked impressive.

Fresh squeezed juices.

Cane sugar syrup for sweetener!

The French presence in Vietnam may have been miserable for the country, but it did leave them an excellent baking tradition. The custard stuffed beignets on the left were particularly delicious.

Cereals.

Bread.

A selection of nice meats and cheeses.

Including pate (at least two sorts).

Smoked fish.

Various salads, including kimchi.

And exotic (and not so exotic) fruits.

Stewed fruits.

Enough with that healthy stuff, onto the seared pork products.

And the omelet station.

But it’s really the Asian fare I came for.

Baked beans!

Two kinds!

Then corn and chicken.

And Vietnamese beef stew.

Indian curry.

Stir-fried noodles.

Veggies and Char Sui (fatty BBQ pork). Great pork BTW.

Chicken and veggies.

Special coconut sticky rice.

Glazed ham.

Every Chinese’s favorite breakfast: congee (rice porridge).

With the toppings…

like thousand year old egg.

And this other pickled egg.

Or pork bits. No grubs though (a favorite in China).

Pork meatballs with fish sauce (excellent).

Condiments for this soup station.

And two kinds of noodles for the soup.

And wantons.

Which all combines like this. Really nice.

For the Japanese, some sushi (mostly various pickles).

And chicken teriyaki.

Tamago (Japanese omelet).

Then a build your own miso station. This buffet loves soups!

Tofu with mince pork.

And various trimmings.

The result tasted lovely, Very interesting blend of fresh and savory flavors.

Condiments for beef rolls.

More.

And more.

The actual beef rolls themselves.

And assembled with all the trimmings on the plate. You pour fish sauce over this and eat.

because we haven’t had enough soup (or choices), the Pho station.

Which comes out like this. Fresh noodles, beef, and lots of sweet and sour flavor!

If you’ve any room left, there is always some dessert!

What you can only partially tell from the photos is that this is a buffet managed with meticulous care. Everything tastes great!

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asia, eating-vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hotel Intercontinental Saigon, Travel and Tourism, Vietnam

Phong Dinh – Hedonists go Vietnamese

May28

Restaurant: Phong Dinh [1, 2]

Location: 2643 San Gabriel Blvd Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 307-8868

Date: May 19, 2013

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Excellent!

The parade of culinary adventures with my Hedonist club continues as we hit the San Gabriel Valley again, this time for some authentic Vietnamese.

The interior is nothing to write home about.

From my cellar: 2011 Domaine Collotte Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. This is one of my go-to roses, as it’s all Pinot Noir from Burgundy. A wonderful sunny weather wine, it paired very nicely with the sweet and sour tones of the food. There were a few rose-haters as usual, but this really is a great wine, bright and full of strawberry flavors.

Shrimp and pork papaya salad.

1990 Poniatowski Vouvray Moelleux Aigle Blanc. Medium golden color. Rich with glyceral palate feel, pear-like fruit, not too sweet, adequate acidity, and just a touch of sherry on the finish. Holding up very well and a real bargain although it lacks the complexity and zingy acidity that the best wines of this vintage possess. Far from dull though.

Baked catfish.

There are various condiments. Mint and basil.

Veggies.

And these rice paper “pancakes” that are softened in hot water. Not pictured are two kinds of fish sauce and thin rice noodles (you can see them below).

You put this together as you like and do your best to roll into a pancake. It’s scrumptious, absolutely delicious, but messy.

Don’t eat me!

2009 Domaine de la Denante St. Véran.

Crispy squab. Very tasty, almost sweet.

From my cellar: 2005 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Pèzerolles. Burghound 91-93. This is an extremely stylish wine that combines both elegance and purity with precise, supple and rich flavors underpinned by obvious minerality, all wrapped in penetrating and transparent finish. I very much like this and while it’s not overly dense, the purity and transparency are impressive.

Our leader, Yarom, shot up some pheasant the day before and brought it in for cooking.

Here they are plucked. Yuck!

But tasty enough cooked up in wine sauce almost like a coq au vin! So pheasant au vin!

Someone even found a bit of leftover buckshot!

2006 Flowers Pinot Noir Frances Thompson Vineyard. Burghound 86. An interesting nose of fresh red berry fruit with nuances of cinnamon and clove introduces rich, round, supple and attractively intense flavors that display an unusually sharp acid tang on the short finish. Perhaps this will round out but I have my doubts.

Chicken salad.

2008 Flowers Pinot Noir Andreen-Gale Cuvée Sonoma Coast. Better than the older bottle, with a bit of a bacony vibe.

Sweet and sour crab. Really first class crab. The sauce was fabulous and it was very tender.

Cabbage Chinese style. Pretty tasty too, even for a vegetable.

2003 Clouds Rest Pinot Noir. 92 points. Extremely smooth, with resolved tannins on the palate. Tart, but not too tart cherry flavors. Certainly characteristics of the Sonoma Coast, but not with a ton of minerality. That smoothness sets it apart from some of the stonier Sonoma Coast wines that I’m used to (and like). Very hearty. I also picked up brighter, lighter fruits as I drank more: strawberries and raspberries.

Snails in curry. This spicy coconut curry cream sauce was amazing. You had to suck the meat out of the snails, which was cool, and there was plenty of sauce to drip over rice.

2008 Monte Ducay Cariñena Reserva. 85 points. Ruby, medium body, balanced much better than typical Spanish red in that price range. Medium dry without a trace of the catchy sweetness which is so appealing to less sophisticated wine drinkers. Reminiscent of Cotes-du-Rhone. Goes well with any food except for very delicate fish and sea food. Will never overwhelm, but rather complement most meats.

Crispy deep fried quail. Really tasty.

Chinese broccoli.

2005 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape. Parker 95+. The 2005 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape, this estate’s strongest vintage since 1998, has put on serious weight since last year. Dense ruby/purple-colored with an exquisite perfume of black raspberries, kirsch, ground pepper, and incense, this full-bodied, powerful, concentrated wine reveals fabulous purity as well as a finish that lasts over 45 seconds. Purchasers of this beauty will need patience.

French style beef. Tender and oh so good.

2006 Glaetzer Amon Ra. Parker 94. Deep garnet, the 2006 Amon-Ra opens with a really earthy, meaty and gamey nose scented of slightly burnt toast, tar, licorice and after a few minutes a little menthol. Full and rich, the palate has dried mulberries and spice flavors alongside very crisp acid, medium levels of chewy tannins before finishing long.

Pork curry. This had a cumin and turmeric thing going on and was delicious.

Coconut gelatin dessert. Cool and refreshing.

There was also a dessert Gewürztraminer that I forgot to photo. Bummer, it was very nice.

Overall, Phong Dinh was really great. Nearly every dish was excellent and some of them (like the fish, quail, and snails) were through the roof delicious.

Afterward, some of us sobered up nearby over a cheap (but good) foot massage and this amazing “Mango Snow Drift.” It’s mango, mango ice cream, and shaved ice drenched in sweetened condensed milk! Such is the Hedonist life!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or
LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Fish sauce, hedonists, Phong Dinh, Pinot noir, san Gabriel valley, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine, Wine

Taking back Little Saigon

Apr28

Restaurant: Little Saigon

Location: 6218 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044-3210 (703) 536-2633

Date: April 22, 2011

Cuisine: Vietnamese

ANY CHARACTER HERE

One of my favorite places back “home” (Washington D.C.) is Little Saigon, a local hole in the wall Vietnamese place with absolutely stellar food. I reviewed it once before, but I’m back again for more.

This is just a page of the 6 page menu, for the whole thing look at the older review.

A nice sparkling wine goes well with Vietnamese.

My dad also brought this old cab. But it was corked, and probably not the worlds best wine to begin with :-).

Table condiments.

This is marinated raw beef, soaked in fish sauce, with onions, chilies, and basil. Not a typical American flavor, but amazing nonetheless.

These are an interestingly different take on these classic soft Vietnamese rolls. Besides some of the usual veggies (lettuce, mint, bean sprouts, vermicelli, shrimp, etc) they also have a bit of spicy pork sausage.

With the crucial dipping sauce. These are really tasty.

This is a four person portion of the rice noodle pork soup with some kind of dumpling. There’s also cilantro, scallions, peanuts and who knows what else. But it’s certainly delicious with one of those complex flavor and texture profiles that is typical of good Vietnamese.

The individual bowl (approximately a quarter of the first bigger bowl).

Chicken wings sauteed in butter and garlic. Basically Vietnamese fried chicken. Sweeter and crunchier than the American equivalent and way strong on the garlic. Very good for sure.

Crispy orange duck. This must be Chinese inspired, but it’s amazing, totally amazing. The duck is perfect, and the sweet/bitter tang of real orange peels (not to mention the schechuan peppers) delectable.

Mixed seafood (all the S’s – shrimp, scallops, squid) in lemongrass sauce. Nice tasty subtle flavor to the sauce. This is a fairly exotic taste, but really good.

Little Saigon never disappoints. And this whole meal was like $80 for four!