Potpourri
26 Jan 2017

Tết 2017: Not Your Grandma’s Bánh Chưng (InstaPot Edition)

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Tet 2017 - Banh Chung Making Party

In preparation for Tết, my friends and I gathered this past weekend to make bánh chưng. Spearheaded by Chef Diep Tran of Good Girl Dinette, this annual tradition never fails to make me extraordinarily happy. There’s always great conversation and food, of course, but what really inspires me is preserving and celebrating Vietnamese foodways.

Tet 2017 - Banh Chung Making Party

This year’s event was particularly special because June was able to attend and participate. I hope she loves and looks forward to making and eating bánh chưng every Lunar New Year as much as her mama does.

Tet 2017 - Banh Chung Making Party

Diep kept things streamlined this year with only one filling: fish sauce-marinated pork belly with sautéed shallots and mung beans. Classic.

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Restaurant Review
19 Jan 2017

Destroyer – Los Angeles (Culver City)

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Destroyer - Los Angeles (Culver City)

When work brought me to the Westside of town last week, I stopped in to Destroyer for a late lunch in between meetings. I have missed Chef Jordan Kahn’s intricate cooking (and pretty plating) ever since his “punk Vietnamese” spot Red Medicine closed and was eager to be reunited.

Destroyer - Los Angeles (Culver City)

Here at Destroyer, Chef Kahn serves a pared-down menu that’s vegetable-forward and Scandinavian-influenced. The restaurant is only open on weekdays for breakfast and lunch.

Destroyer - Los Angeles (Culver City)

Soon after placing my order and finding a seat, the cardamom bun arrived. Not too sugary and sweetly spiced, the bun showed a kind of restraint characteristic of Nordic pastries. While I usually prefer my breakfast buns ooey-gooey and super-sweet, this delicate little number was welcomed.

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Now Closed
13 Jan 2017

9021Pho – Los Angeles

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9021Pho - Los Angeles

I appreciate a good food pun as much as the next gal (see: @DianaTakesaBite), but never liked 9021Pho because it encouraged the mispronunciation of an often mispronounced dish.

PSA: In case you’ve been informed by food puns gone wrong, it’s “fuh,” not “faux.”

9021Pho - Los Angeles

Chef Kimmy Tang opened the first 9021Pho in Beverly Hills in 2009. Since then, the mini-chain has expanded to West Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and Glendale shutdown completely.  I visited the outlet in the Glendale Galleria while at the mall for work. It was dinnertime and Thien and I were hungry, so we ducked in for a bite.

9021Pho - Los Angeles

Thien and I went halfsies on a sandwich and a bowl of pho. The charbroiled pork banh mi ($11) came stuffed with cucumber, lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon, jalapeños, and cilantro.

The baguette, lightly mayo’d, could’ve been fresher, but overall, it was a palatable banh mi. The sweet potatoes on the side were a little limp, however.

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