Friday, May 29, 2009

Lunch - Day 2 (LA)

Day 2 - we had a late lunch after visiting the scoring stage to watch my cousin Larry work on a new film. Since we were in the area, we decided to meet up with Peter at Golden Deli (a vietnamese cafe) in San Gabriel. We shared several dishes family style.

I had this coconut noodle dish - banh tam bi - for the very first time. Thick round rice noodles (slightly smaller & less dense than udon) served with shredded bits of pork, crispy fried spring roll and a hunk of deep fried shrimp paste. The noodles were covered with a generous helping of a thick savory/sweet coconut sauce. The combination of the coconut sauce with all the sides & a portion of nuoc mam viniagrette was absolutely one of the best things I've had in a very long time. The viniagrette added a nice bite of sour/refreshing that cut the heaviness of the coconut, making it easy to keep coming back for more.

I'm going to have to seek out this dish back home. I think it may be a southern vietnamese dish.

No comments: