Northern Vietnamese Cuisine at Vien Dong (Garden Grove, CA)

To raise money for the earthquake relief efforts in Japan, Wandering Chopsticks led a North to South Vietnamese tour in Little Saigon. I joined her and her readers who had each donated $50 to specific charities for the first parts of the tour. We started at Vien Dong in Garden Grove for Northern Vietnamese food.

While waiting for WC's other readers to arrive, we ordered some Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring/Egg Rolls). The cha gio here is made with rice paper, which is both crispy yet maintains some chewiness when fried. This is the traditional wrapper used in Vietnam.

Being a long and late day, I had to get some Ca Phe Sua Da. They brought it out in a mini coffee press laying on top of a cup of condensed milk. It wasn't until then that I realize just how much condensed milk is in this drink! No wonder it's so tasty...

We shared an order of Banh Tom which are Vietnamese Shrimp and Yam Fritters with a turmeric batter.

Most of the dishes we tried here were new to me, and among my favorites was the Cha Ca Thang Long (Vietnamese Hanoi-Style Turmeric Fish with Dill)

The best part with going to eat Vietnamese food with WC is of course the knowledge you gain from her. She said that dill is mostly not used in Vietnamese food other than in the Northern part, and this dish originated from a restaurant in Hanoi which became so popular that the street is now named after the restaurant (Cha Ca). Apparently non-Northerners consider using dill strange, but I certainly liked it!

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BoHo Gastropub: A Little Life in Hollywood and Highland

When BoHo moved to their new location on Hollywood and Highland, they also placed a new chef in charge and revamped their menu. I remembered enjoying the oyster po' boy sliders and their desserts in my visit to the old location, but this new incarnation apparently holds a nice surprise from the current executive chef Wesley Pumphrey (previously a sous chef at the first BoHo and had worked at The Bazaar before that).

I had missed their opening event, but they invited me for a tasting of their menu. The restaurant is tucked behind The Grill and had maintained the same bohemian look as the previous location. After chatting with the general manager, we decided they should just send out what they think are the highlights of the menu.

Our first dish was perhaps my favorite:
Veal sweetbreads, gorgonzola bread pudding, red wine demi-glace ($14)

The gorgonzola bread pudding was moist with a strong cheese flavor, but it was light and airy enough. And one might think that combining two rich items like sweetbread and bread pudding would be overkill, but the sweetness of the demi glace brought the two together perfectly.

Their list of 20-something craft beers on draft ($6-9 per pint) are organized under "light and easy", "bigger and bitter", and "bold and dangerous". Feeling challenged, I started with a Hofbrau Maibock from the third category and then moved to a Unibroue Ephemere (a Belgian wit with apples) from the first.

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Fast and Cheap at Bawarchi Indian Kitchen (Culver City)

I don't think most people run into this problem but somehow we find ourselves spending $50-70 for two when we go eat Indian food. He likes variety, he says, so we order 4-5 dishes, plus rice and mango lassi. Well, I've found a solution at Bawarchi Indian Kitchen.

For $9, you get your choice of plain or garlic naan or tawa roti (wheat), saffron basmati rice or pilau rice, and three dishes. It also comes with salad and raita/yogurt.

The only drawback for me is that this place is vegan, but for the most part I don't really miss the meat when having an Indian meal (with the occasional tandoori cravings).

The vegetable dishes change daily and are displayed in the buffet containers so you can point and choose. The guy with the turban behind the counter (Chef Sabharwal's son, apparently) will guide you through it all.

With this setup, two people can taste six dishes, two different types of naan or roti and rice!

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