la.foodblogging

I’m not too proud to admit that I follow paths blazed by Jonathan Gold. This weekend we tried Nem Nuong Ning Hoa, whose banh beo chen dish, was pictured in Gold’s God Damn, He’s Toothless Counter Intelligence column in LA Weekly on Thursday.

(What was up with bad teeth last week? Did anyone else find the Meth Mouth story in NY Times disturbing? Having all my teeth knocked out with a hammer — or because I drank too much Mountain Dew — is one of my all-time nightmares.)

I have avoided pronouncing the name of this restaurant in public. But it becomes a little more familiar when you recognize that naming your place Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa is akin to calling your restaurant Boston Clam Chowder or Philadelphia Cheesesteak. Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa is actually named for the house speciality: char-broiled pork paste (nem nuong), especially popular in a region of central Viet Nam (Ninh Hoa).

But our siren call was Gold’s description of the banh beo chen:

…a Hue-style dish of tiny, slippery rice cakes steamed in little condiment saucers, a dozen to an order, dusted with bright-orange powdered shrimp and served on elegant ceramic plat-ters. (Before the remodel, the banh beo chen used to come regimented on plastic cafeteria trays, which always gave me the impression that I had mistakenly been served the lunch of an entire army of elves.) Drizzled with fish sauce, sprinkled with minced bird chiles and pried from their saucers, banh beo chen were exactly right, sliding down the throat with the lubricated panache of fresh oysters.

We ordered: Dac Biet for two people for $12.99 (pictured bottom, left). Each char-broiled item was wonderful, including the towering plate of fresh herbs and lettuce served on the side. But we both went koo-koo for the nem cap (pink eraser-sized charbroiled pork patties on banana leaf) and cha ram tom (cigarette-sized shrimp egg rolls).

Next up was the banh beo chen for $6.99 (pictured top, right). If you haven’t tried these before, try! The warm silver-dollar disks of rice flour are topped with mung bean powder, ground shrimp, and oil-moistened green onions, served with nuoc cham. They’re delicate and calming, tiny-savory little custards…

The silly astroturf outside is a reverse bait-n-switch. Inside it’s all sultry dark wood and hand-carved chairs and tables. The waitrons are wonderful, courteous and attentive. (The owner came over and asked if we came “because of the newspaper.” I’m sure I turned a bright shade of hot nem nuong.) A Vietnamese equivalent of Sade, crossed with Norah Jones, sang Vietnamese love songs over a soft sound system. (The only mild disappointment was the soda chanh. Not nearly enough lemon. Just go with a nice, cold water instead.)

Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa
9016 Mission Dr.
Rosemead, CA 91770
626.286.3370