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Daikon rice cakes at East Borough

East Borough, which recently opened in downtown Culver City, brings something new to the fast-growing area: Asian food. And not just any Asian food but amped up Vietnamese. John Cao and Chloe Tran, who own a more casual version of East Borough in Costa Mesa, teamed up with Paul Hibler, owner and creator of Pitfire Pizza and Superba Snack Bar, and Jason Neroni, executive chef of Superba Snack Bar, to create this new concept, which focuses on traditional Vietnamese flavors and dishes while also re-imagining some of them.

The menu starts with appetizers familiar to those who know Vietnamese cuisine. The Imperial Rolls made with pork and taro and fried to a bubbly crispiness are flavorful and well-balanced, as is the banh xeo crepe, which in this case is stuffed with lots of crab.

Imperial Rolls

Banh xeo

The daikon rice cakes (pictured above) served with eggs, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro and spicy soy sauce are dense and kind of a mouthful, but the flavors are nice. Actually, there is a lot of richness at East Borough. The nuoc mam sauce reduction makes the cauliflower and long bean vegetable dish really strong, and the Phocatini, a playful take on Vietnamese pho and Italian bucatini, is almost too rich. The oxtail, hoisin and Sriracha combination nearly make for too much flavor, but it’s still one of the most interesting dishes on the menu.

Phocatini

The cocktails here are serviceable, but I wouldn’t say they were some of the best I’ve ever had. The Mo Bourbon, with bourbon, Averna, St. Germain and apricot was on the sweet side for me, but I do like the mix of bourbon with stone fruit. At least the drink prices are reasonable: $9-10.

Mo Bourbon, left, bourbon sour and The Golden Axe

Note: This meal was hosted.

Cream and rhubarb at Red Medicine. Photo by Jordan Kahn.

Red Medicine, Chef Jordan Kahn’s ode to late-night, post-restaurant-shift eating, is undergoing a transformation. While the restaurant has focused on serving Vietnamese-inspired food, kind of like what Kahn and his work buddies would eat after service was over, Red Medicine is now phasing that menu out to make room for new, innovative creations inspired by what he finds foraging — on the beach, in his neighborhood, even in his backyard — in a “new naturalist” style dependent on local availability.

Kahn’s dishes have always looked like pieces of art, and his new ones are no exception. From the exotic-looking “cream and rhubarb” to the surprising “bread and cheese” (the simple names don’t do the dishes justice), the plating looks like it must be a painstaking task. Every cluster of food, be it vegetables, cheese or some kind of protein, looks like a beautiful little garden captured in a whimsical moment in time. I half expected to see elves peeking out from behind the cluster of veggies and flowers on my plates.

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Photo by Brian Goodman

The Spice Table in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo is a welcome distraction from the neighborhood’s Japanese food. The restaurant at the corner of 1st Street and Central Avenue combines Singaporean and Vietnamese flavors, the culinary heritages of chef and owner Bryant Ng and his wife Kim, respectively. Ng, a former Mozza chef de cuisine, serves Southeast Asian-inspired sandwiches by day and all kinds of grilled satays, fried vegetables, noodles and more by night.

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Banh beo

The first time I saw the “No Reservations” episode in which Anthony Bourdain eats some banh xeo in Ho Chi Minh City, I nearly freaked out. What the heck was that savory concoction that was part crepe part Vietnamese seafood delight? I must have this dish, but where to find it? Other than banh mi and pho, I knew hardly anything of Vietnamese food. So I turned to my blogger friends who specialize in Vietnamese cuisine, and Wandering Chopsticks pointed me to Quan Mien Trung in Rosemead to get my banh xeo fix.

Now, this restaurant specializes in central Vietnamese food, so the banh xeo would be different from the southern Vietnamese version I saw on television. Nevermind — I trusted Wandering Chopsticks to make a good recommendation, and she did a great job. I also learned about other dishes along the way, too, as she (and Anisha of Food Is My Nish) was kind enough to accompany me to lunch one rainy Saturday afternoon.

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