RVOC October 2010 : Page 170

food drink | Trends Big Bites in Little Saigon Navigate the flavors of O.C.’s top ethnic enclave with our insider guide | By Miles Clements | Photography by Rick Poon | Vietnam’s regional cuisines are universes in themselves, each born of a unique culinary cosmology and each requiring separate exploration. Te south celebrates seafood harvested from the Mekong River’s muddy tributaries, as well as its abundance of tropical fruits— alien things armored in dull spikes and fleshy tendrils. Up the central coast, soups are slicked with chile oil, and rice flour is transformed into supple dumplings and diaphanous crepes. Noodles are ubiquitous in the north, pan-fried into beef-soaked sheets and steeped in heady chicken and crab broths. Within Orange County’s Little Saigon (with its three-story strip malls and mom-and-pop kitchens) are those very dishes. Restaurants here often specialize in regional cooking, like embassies of southern, central and northern Vietnamese flavors. Once one of O.C.’s homiest finds, Brodard (9892 Westminster Ave., Suite R, Garden Grove; 714.530.1744; brodard.net) is now a virtual temple of Vietnamese food—a vast, elegant place where incense sometimes curls through the air and devoted diners pray for a table. Brodard’s cult following comes from their nem nuong cuon, a pork-packed spring roll from Vietnam’s south central coast. Stuffed inside a moistened rice paper wrapper is a ruddy pork patty, scallion sprig, cucumber spear, lettuce, herbs and crunchy flakes of fried rice paper. Everyone comes for this dish— addicted, it seems, to Brodard’s dipping sauce, a sweet, thick, peanut-enriched mystery that nearly every restaurant in Little Saigon has tried to replicate. But Brodard isn’t a one-hit wonder. Te banh khot is as delicious as it is visually delightful—concave rice-batter cakes colored turmeric-yellow, sweetened with coconut milk and topped with a single shrimp. Wrap each mini savory cake in lettuce and fresh herbs before a dip in nuoc cham (chile, garlic and fish sauce). Out on Little Saigon’s ever-expanding periphery, chef/owner Haley Nguyen’s Xanh Bistro (16161 170 | | October 2010 far more than pho! Clockwise from top: the dining room at Quan hy; ca kho, a decadent claypot fish dish at Xanh Bistro; Brodard’s famous nem nuong cuon spring rolls; lion statues guard Little Saigon’s city limits; chef haley nguyen in her kitchen at Xanh Bistro. The city of Hue is a cradle of central Vietnamese cooking, home to a once-royal cuisine developed during its time as Vietnam’s capital. Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley; 714.531.2030; xanhbistro.com) shines with sophistication. It’s a polish gleaned from every detail: Vegetables and herbs are sourced from Nguyen’s network of local farmers and backyard gardeners, and dishes are plated with the utmost precision. Xanh isn’t bound to one regional style, yet there are some exemplary southern classics here, like canh chua, a slightly sour tamarind soup crowded with tomato, pineapple, taro stems, mushrooms, and either fish or shrimp. Nguyen’s ca kho to is peerless, tender fish braised in a savory caramelized sauce, enlivened with black pepper and a splash of white wine. Te city of Hue is a cradle of central Vietnamese cooking, home to a once-royal cuisine developed during its time as Vietnam’s capital. Ngu Binh (14072Magnolia St., Suite 107, Westminster; 714.903.6000) is Little Saigon’s foremost envoy to those often-fiery flavors. Chef Mai Tran’s continued...

Food Drink Trends

Miles Clements

Big Bites in Little Saigon Vietnam’s regional cuisines are universes in themselves, each born of a unique culinary cosmology and each requiring separate exploration. The south celebrates seafood harvested from the Mekong River’s muddy tributaries, as well as its abundance of tropical fruits— alien things armored in dull spikes and fleshy tendrils.Up the central coast, soups are slicked with chile oil, and rice flour is transformed into supple dumplings and diaphanous crepes. Noodles are ubiquitous in the north, pan-fried into beef-soaked sheets and steeped in heady chicken and crab broths. Within Orange County’s Little Saigon (with its three-story strip malls and mom-and-pop kitchens) are those very dishes. Restaurants here often specialize in regional cooking, like embassies of southern, central and northern Vietnamese flavors. Once one of O.C.’s homiest finds, Brodard (9892 Westminster Ave., Suite R, Garden Grove;714. 530.1744; brodard.net) is now a virtual temple of Vietnamese food—a vast, elegant place where incense sometimes curls through the air and devoted diners pray for a table. Brodard’s cult following comes from their nem nuong cuon, a pork-packed spring roll from Vietnam’s south central coast. Stuffed inside a moistened rice paper wrapper is a ruddy pork patty, scallion sprig, cucumber spear, lettuce, herbs and crunchy flakes of fried rice paper. Everyone comes for this dish— addicted, it seems, to Brodard’s dipping sauce, a sweet, thick, peanut-enriched mystery that nearly every restaurant in Little Saigon has tried to replicate.But Brodard isn’t a one-hit wonder. The banh khot is as delicious as it is visually delightful—concave ricebatter cakes colored turmeric-yellow, sweetened with coconut milk and topped with a single shrimp. Wrap each mini savory cake in lettuce and fresh herbs before a dip in nuoc cham (chile, garlic and fish sauce). Out on Little Saigon’s ever-expanding periphery, chef/owner Haley Nguyen’s Xanh Bistro (16161 Brookhurst St.,Fountain Valley; 714.531.2030; xanhbistro.com) shines with sophistication.It’s a polish gleaned from every detail: Vegetables and herbs are sourced from Nguyen’s network of local farmers and backyard gardeners, and dishes are plated with the utmost precision. Xanh isn’t bound to one regional style, yet there are some exemplary southern classics here, like canh chua, a slightly sour tamarind soup crowded with tomato, pineapple, taro stems, mushrooms, and either fish or shrimp.Nguyen’s ca kho to is peerless, tender fish braised in a savory caramelized sauce, enlivened with black pepper and a splash of white wine. The city of Hue is a cradle of central Vietnamese cooking, home to a once-royal cuisine developed during its time as Vietnam’s capital.Ngu Binh (14072 Magnolia St., Suite 107, Westminster; 714.903.6000) is Little Saigon’s foremost envoy to those often-fiery flavors.Chef Mai Tran’s restaurant is a sparse place with a concise menu to match, featuring a single page pressed under each glass tabletop. Scarlet bowls of bun bo hue are everywhere. The chile-spiked noodle soup is remarkably meaty with thinly sliced beef, spongy pork loaf and delicate cubes of pork blood.Ivory rice noodles and shredded banana blossoms buoy through the lemongrass-scented broth.The mi quang is a tamer option, featuring wide, turmeric-tinted noodles entwined with shrimp, pork, peanuts, and a couple of black sesame crackers in a shallow, spicy broth. Ngu Binh’s rice-flour wizardry is something to behold: a confounding assemblage of textures best savored in the banh beo, banh bot loc and banh nam combination plate. Banh beo, slippery rice-batter pancakes sprinkled with ground dried shrimp, fried scallions and pork rinds, circle the plate. Chewy banh bot loc (translucent tapioca dumplings filled with shrimp) sit in the center of the plate.And then there’s the tamale-like banh nam, a pane of glutinous rice loaded with pork and shrimp and steamed in a banana leaf.Splash each with some nuoc cham. Quan Hy (9727 Bolsa Ave., Westminster;714. 775.7179) cultivates a more au courant atmosphere. Faux bamboo sprouts from between wooden booths and a serpentine stream trickles near the entrance. Still, the banh beo on nearly every table proves Quan Hy is classic central Vietnamese cuisine. Try the goi mit, a green jackfruit, shrimp and pork salad, or the spritely salad of slivered banana blossoms and chopped Manila clams. Northern Vietnam has produced a number of the country’s most iconic dishes including pho, which is nearing total assimilation into the American appetite.Vien Dong (14271 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove; 714.531.8253) is no less canonical.The restaurant has been a Little Saigon staple for decades. The spacious dining room features musical instruments fastened to the walls and a fish tank casts a cool, blue glow toward the door. Start with cha gio, egg rolls fried until their rice paper skins blister with beautiful little bubbles. Ten go to work on the bun cha ha noi, a deconstructed noodle bowl assembled at the table. Wiggle free a few noodles, prune the herbs—cilantro, perilla, mint and basil—and top it all with charred pork submerged in sweetened fish sauce. Bun rieu is a noodle soup of the sea with crab and shrimp (and, optionally, periwinkle snails) in a mildly sour tomato-based broth. At Hanoi Restaurant (9082 Bolsa Ave., Westminster; 714.901.8108), northern tradition continues to shine. Families pick apart the sweet potato and shrimp fritters known as banh tom. Then it’s on to cha ca thang long, catfish filets stained with turmeric, served sizzling on a bed of onions and buried under an avalanche of fresh dill. The onions slowly caramelize into sweet, sheer strands, while the grassy dill perfumes the air. Though the foreign menu items may seem daunting, taking a culinary excursion to one of Orange County’s best kept epicurean treasures is definitely worth it.

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