Close to one year ago, I wrote a post entitled "Vietnamese, Please" featuring three, outstanding, Vietnamese restaurants in California. In this post, I will share more fantastic, California restaurants that serve a variety of delectable, Vietnamese dishes.
Little Sister
I'll begin with Little Sister, which opened its first location 11 years ago in downtown Manhattan Beach, California. With bold flavors and a constantly evolving menu, Little Sister quickly gained popularity, capturing the attention of Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer for the Los Angeles Times.
Today there are a total of four Little Sister restaurants in Southern California, and maybe five if you count the Michelin recognized, Little Sister spinoff, LSXO (short for Little Sister Extraordinary) restaurant and speakeasy in Huntington Beach. The restaurants are run by Chef Tin Vuong who creates modern Vietnamese food, influenced by the European colonization of Southeast Asia. There are more than 30 dishes to choose from, so come hungry, or better yet, come with several hungry friends like I did, so that you can sample as much as possible.
Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls
We started with the fried spring rolls which were filled with shrimp, pork, wood ear mushrooms, taro, and glass noodles, and served with nước chấm, a salty, citrusy, spicy, dipping sauce.
Saigon Lemongrass Beef
Next, we had the tender, lemongrass filet mignon, served with a side of chili-lime dressing, over vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs and cucumbers.
Suon Nuong
If I remember correctly, this dish was everyone's favorite. The suon nuong, or grilled, lemongrass pork chop, had a crispy exterior and incredibly tender, moist and flavorful interior. It was served with chicken fat rice, a sunny side up egg and a watercress salad.
Fried Sea Bass
The crispy-skinned, velvety, sea bass was drizzled in scallion oil, and then sprinkled with peanuts and herbs. It was served with ginger-chili sauce and fresh lime, as well as rice and vermicelli, topped with crunchy garlic chips.
Chicken and Shitake Dumplings
Next, we had a dumpling course. The chicken and roasted, shitake mushroom dumplings, were swimming in a light, enoki mushroom broth, with black vinegar chili oil, cilantro and saffron threads.
Phở Ga
We ended our meal with soup. Little Sister serves both a traditional phở with rare beef, meatballs, short rib, tendon, oxtail, and rice noodles and they also offer this phở ga, a chicken phở. The soup came with chicken meatballs, poached chicken, rice noodles ...
... and various condiments including fresh herbs, onions, and jalapeños. We added all the condiments, some oyster sauce and sriracha, and enjoyed this Vietnamese staple. And on that note, we ended an epic meal at Little Sister.
AnQi
The second restaurant I'm reviewing is An Qi, part of the "House of An." The House of An has six, Vietnamese fusion restaurants throughout California. The first of those started as a small, Italian deli in San Francisco. Surprised? I was.
"An's Famous Garlic Noodles" and Shrimp
When Helene and Danny An left Vietnam in 1975, they moved to San Francisco. Danny's mom purchased a small, Italian deli and it was there that Helene started serving her version of spaghetti, which is now famous. This is not just because the noodles are called "An's Famous Garlic Noodles" on the menu, but because they have an almost cult-like following across all of An's restaurants, starting with the upscale Crustacean in San Francisco, where I first tried them.
Some of the famous fans of these garlic noodles include Lady Gaga, Heidi Klum, Magic Johnson and Harrison Ford, all of whom you might catch devouring them at the Beverly Hills location. The noodles are made with roasted garlic and a "secret sauce." Give them a try of course, but please don't stop there. There are so many other wonderful items on the menu, including the ones below.
Tombo Tuna Tacos
These tacos are served in a fried, wonton wrapper, with albacore tuna, Hass avocado, macadamia nuts, white truffle, tobiko caviar and yuzu kosho. They are a great appetizer option.
Roasted Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts
Along with our entree, we shared a side of the roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts, which were seasoned with turmeric, garlic and lime.
Lemongrass Grilled Pork Shoulder
For our entree, we ordered the Spanish Ibérico Secreto, a particular cut of pork, that resembles skirt steak. The meat comes from between the shoulder blade and loin of the prized, Iberian pigs (see my Barcelona post for more on this.)
The pork was marinated in lemongrass and then grilled on an extremely hot slab of sizzling rock salt (seen above). I have never seen this done before. It was served with a rich, peppery sauce.
Truffle Hainan Rice
We enjoyed the entree with some rice cooked in chicken broth, seasoned with truffles, ginger and scallions, and then topped with a poached egg.
Ube Cake with White Coconut Cream
For dessert we shared this ube (purple yam) cake made with coconut cream and garnished with a chocolate tuile and purple yam powder. It was served with a dollop of berry compote and a scoop of lemongrass ice cream.
To get a taste of Smithsonian-recognized chef, Helene An's food, visit Thanh Long in San Francisco, Crustacean in San Francisco or Beverly Hills, Tiato in Santa Monica or An Qi in Costa Mesa.
Brodard Chateau
Brodard, owned by the Dang family, is one of the most successful, independently-owned franchises in Orange County. The original restaurant opened in the city of Westminster, which has the largest, Vietnamese population in the U.S. Since, Brodard has relocated and expanded its original location to Fountain Valley, opened up a Brodard Express at Orange County Airport, and Brodard Chateau in Garden Grove, where I dined.
Chạo Tôm Cuốn
While all of their food is outstanding, Brodard is known for their rolls. Unlike most Vietnamese restaurants that feature one fried and one fresh roll, Brodard has 14 different rolls to choose from.
The first rolls I selected were the chạo tôm cuốn, which are grilled, shrimp spring rolls. Inside the soft, rice paper wrapper, is a grilled, shrimp cake rolled with lettuce, carrots, cucumber and cilantro.
In addition, there is also a crunchy substance (fried wonton wrapper perhaps?) which was a pleasant surprise to me. Until my visit to Brodard, I had either eaten rolls that were deep fried in their entirety, or rolls that were "fresh," meaning that none of the ingredients were fried. This hybrid roll was such a nice balance and was absolutely delicious. The roll is meant to be dipped in the accompanying "chef's special sauce." Though I tried, the server would not give up the ingredients.
Chả Giò
The second set of rolls I tried were the chả giò, or the crispy rolls that you will find at most Vietnamese restaurants. At Brodard, they are stuffed with pork, crab, shrimp, mushrooms, and glass noodles.
These delights are often referred to as egg rolls (wheat-flour based), but they are not. Chả giò are smaller, lighter and are wrapped in rice paper, which becomes very crispy when fried. Additionally, chả giò are served with lettuce, mint, cilantro, and a chili-lime sauce (nước chấm). The crispy rolls are intended to be wrapped in the lettuce and herbs.
Once the crunchy lettuce and fresh herbs are hugging the roll, just dip the fully assembled chả giò in nước chấm and enjoy. On this visit I was only able to try two of Brodard's remarkable rolls, but rest assured, I will be back with a larger appetite and more friends, to try many more.
PhởHolic
PhởHolic has three locations in Southern California, and all three are usually packed. The restaurant has been recognized by Michelin for its high quality products. PhởHolic is unique, in that they allow you to choose the type of noodles you would like in your soup.
Phở Tái Bắp Đuôi Bò
At the suggestion of several foodie friends, I ordered the phở tái bắp duôi bò which is phở with beef shank and oxtail.
The soup came with fresh herbs (basil and sawtooth), as well as onions, bean sprouts, jalapeños, and fresh lime wedges.
Oxtail
The soup was brimming with sumptuous pieces of oxtail, which gave it a very rich and beefy flavor.
Beef
The phở also included rare, thinly sliced beef. A few minutes in the piping hot broth though, and it cooked all the way through.
Excellent phở is the sum of each individual part. First and foremost, the broth must be exceptional. The meat too, must be flavorful and tender. In light of all the other ingredients, the noodles are often overlooked. At Phởholic, that is not the case. The texture of the thin, rice noodles was perfect; not gummy or soggy, but tender and infused with the flavor of the broth.
That concludes this post featuring great, Vietnamese restaurants in California. I doubt it will be my last however, because even as I wrap up, I already have a list of additional, highly recommended Vietnamese spots brewing. I'm not sure when, but I see more restaurant recommendations for Vietnamese cuisine ahead.
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