Nongla Cafe: Soul Soothing Vietnamese on Sawtelle

One of my favorite things about getting to work in West LA this year are the fantastic lunch options - having just come from Burbank, I was in absolute heaven.  Especially to be so near to Sawtelle Blvd, which has continued to expand its diversified Asian offerings beyond Japanese.

A Vietnamese place that has become a favorite for me is Nongla Cafe - I know I can always rely on them for good, clean, soul-soothing noodle soups. It's received some flak for not being completely authentic - but it makes a lot of sense from a business perspecitve - afterall, part of having good business sense is knowing your audience - and on the Westside, people are adventurous 'to a point'.  Office workers close by may consider themselves fans or even knowledgeable food lovers of ethnic cuisine, but they don't necessarily want to go 'full fear factor' during their lunch break.  All things considered, it's fantastic to have their version of classic Vietnamese dishes so accessible - of course you can get more 'authentic' versions in the SGV, but if you work in West LA and only have an hour for lunch, where else are you going to go to get a good bowl of pho or bun bo hue?!

So, while the Bun Bo Hue here doesn't have any pigs blood or pork knuckles - it is a perfect balance of layered, complex yet light and clean flavors: fragrant lemongrass beef soup served with vermicelli noodles, pork patty and beef, topped with red onions, green onions and cilantro.  I get this 'mild'ly spicy as I belong to that group that can't handle my spice (and disclaimer: I haven't had a lot of Bun Bo Hue before so I don't really have any good frame of reference).  But I do love that everything tastes super fresh, addictively delicious here and healthy as a bonus benefit with no MSG.

Chicken Pho - free range chicken and noodles in chicken broth.  This is my coworker Mims' favorite - again clean, light and beautifully complex flavors, simply served.   

 

Nongla also offers Vietnamese spring rolls, bahn mi (sandwiches) and rice dishes, which we haven't even gotten to yet since we love the noodle soups above so much and it comes in generous portions which arevery filling for lunch. 

As for the decor in the restaurant - it is also clean and modern, with counter as well as table seating inside and on the patio.  It does get airly crowded at lunch so service can be spotty just due to the limited staff trying to keep up with all the tables.  (Including all the spillover from Tsujita - those who can't stand the long wait there often opt for Nongla instead) They are super friendly and obviously trying their best though - and the whole space has a very cozy neighborhood vibe.

East Coast transplants often say they miss distinct seasons and varied weather - and I usually beg to differ. Beautiful weather most of the year is the way I like it.  But, Nongla's noodle soups almost make me welcome rainy days, just for yet another reason for a return visit.

On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 5.5 bites
Ambience - 5.5 stars
Service - 5.5 stars
Overall experience - 5.5 bites
Price - $ (1 bite mark)
Probability of return visit - 100% 
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Nongla
2055 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles,CA 90025
Ph: 310.268.1881

Parking: free valet on Mississipi Ave.

Website: Nonglacafe.com
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Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa: Pigging out on Pork Meatballs / Banh Beo

Pho is amazing. But there is so much more to Vietnamese cuisine than that, that I'm still discovering. Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa is probably my new favorite place for going 'beyond pho'.

Growing up in Hong Kong, my exposure to Vietnamese food is largely HK style: lemongrass pork chops (yum!), the ubiquitous rice paper spring roll, and yes pho as well.

But foodie friends in LA have introduced me to a whole new collection of amazing dishes - and the best of my recent favs are from Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa in Rosemead. 

From the moment we set foot in the place I felt I would love it.  I always appreciate it when a restaurant takes care to create a nice environment, in addition to turning out good food.  The dining room was airy, sunlit and soothing with a sage color scheme, and rustic dark wood tables and chairs.  And we were seated in minutes - good start to service.

They had a bilingual menu, but since my friend 'Designer' had been there before, she served as food guide.   We kicked off the meal with Dac Biet Banh Beo Chen ($5.99) - a giant plate with a dozen tiny single serve dishes of steamed rice cake. Topped with ground up dried shrimp, chives and some sort of crouton.  With a bowl of fish sauce for flavor.  I've had this at one other place, Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa, before and didn't see what all the hype was about.  But at Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa, it was love at first bite.  The rice cake tasted fresh made - amazingly smooth, light and so soft it came away with the smallest flick with your plastic spoon.  And I loved that it was perfectly counterbalanced with all the toppings for textural contrast.  The fish sauce was a skillfully controlled blend of savory, sweet and tart.  Everything worked perfectly together.  Once we had our first bite basically all you then heard and saw from us were rounds of quickly emptied, spotless dishes flying from mouth to table. 

Then there was the awesome lunch special for two, which was not only a great deal but lots of DIY fun: Dac Biet Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa ($15.99)  which included Nem Nuong (charbroiled pork meatball skewers), Nem Cap (charbroiled pork patties wrapped in banana leaf), Nem Char Nuong (charbroiled sour pork patties), and Cha Ram Tom (shrimp egg rolls). 

Basically you get all the ingredients you need to make your own pork rolls! Starting with a plate of the charbroiled meats and shrimp rolls...

...a plate of Banh Trang va Rau Song rice paper, a bowl of hot water, and a bowl of bright orange nuoc cham sauce for dipping (I think it's made with shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice, chili peppers, crab paste)...

...fresh veggies and herbs including cucumber, carrots, basil, lettuce, and mint.

Then comes the fun part for two ladies who like to think of themselves as crafty. You dip the rice paper disks (which are hard like chips to start with) in the hot water to soften it, then lay it out on your plate like a tortilla, ready to stuff with other ingredients on the table. 

Take a piece of pork meatball of your choice from the plate, then a fried shrimp roll, then whatever veggies and herbs you like.  (Remember though if you pick the ones wrapped in banana leaves, to remove those first, they're not edible!) Then just pull up the sides of the rice paper and roll - and you're ready to dip in the nuoc cham sauce and eat!

As you can see - I need a lot more practice with the rolling.  But it was fun to get the hands-on  DIY experience / play with our food.  And the rolls were tasty and amazing.  Light, but very filling as well - and the pork meatballs had an amazing, rich, juicy, sweet and porcine flavor that made us food-drunk when paired with that beautiful smokey char.  I was addicted and couldn't get enough - the take home rolls also still held up very nicely the next day. 

All in all, we had a blast, enjoying a fun, budget friendly and delicious lunch.  The nem nuong lunch special was an awesome deal at $15.99 for two people (I think we made about a dozen rolls and took some home), and the banh beo was fantastic as well.  I still dream of both and can't wait to go back for a second pig fest.


On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 5.5 bites
Originality - 5.5 bites
Ambience - 5.5 stars
Service - 5.5 stars
Overall experience - 5.5 bites
Price - $ (1 bite mark)
Probability of return visit - 100%

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Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa
9016 Mission Drive Rosemead, CA 91770
Ph: 626.286.3370

Parking: Free lot attached to restaurant

***Cash only****

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Nom Nom Truck - Offal Sandwich Extraordinaire

It was my first few weeks at the new job on the Westside - and I was going to say I was 'still' in my honeymoon phase, but with this one I think that feeling is going to last!

On top of the excitement with new responsibilities, I was also happy about the whole new world of lunch options that are now open to me - and that is not just about restaurants, but extends to food trucks as well (some of which did not make their way to the Valley, at least not by my old office!).

When I saw that Nom Nom Truck (which Food Network fans might recognize from The Great Food Truck Race) was by my new work one day, I practically leaped out of my chair. I had tried their infamous Bahn Mi (Lemongrass Chicken) before, and while it was good, it wasn't mind blowing. What I really wanted to try was their Deli Special sandwich - packed with a combination of things that would make my non-foodie friends cringe, but which sets my Spidey Foodie Sense a-tingling!

What's in it? According to their menu description: Vietnamese head cheese, meatloaf, ham, pâté. The last time I encountered Nom Nom Truck, they had been out of this. Ever the optimist, I set out that day hoping to catch the Deli Special for lunch.

And: cue triumphant music: they had it!! Perched in a 'cookie cutter', all-business-business-park that day, I was pretty much the only one in line that was excited to give the offal sandwich a try. The 'suits' loss, my gain.

So what exactly is head cheese? It's definitely not dairy or, in people's worst imaginations, some form of mucous-y extrusion from the cabeza of a four legged beast. It's just a well-intended but misguided and epic fail of an euphemism for a cold cut made from various bits of meat taken from the head of a cow or pig - if you like beef or pork cheek, that's one of the bits of meat you can get from the head.

I loved the sandwich, with its intriguing mix of various textures: cold cut of head cheese, slightest crunch, with more hefty tasting bites of meatloaf and juicy smooth ham with creaminess of pâté (mousse made from duck liver). And the signature flavors of Vietnamese cuisine with savory and sour and sweet all coming through at the same time, all in balance with each other. All in a fresh and delicious baguette.

LOVED. Can't wait til Nom Nom Truck comes back around again.

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Nom Nom Truck
All over Los Angeles (and in San Francisco too!)
Follow on Twitter:
@Nomnomtruck

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http://onemorebiteblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/nom-nom-truck-offal-sandwich.html