This low-frills dining room—one of the most visible storefronts in the Eden Center—offers cooking several cuts above what you’ll find at many of the eateries in the lively Vietnamese dining and shopping mall.
Chia gio, or shrimp-and-pork spring rolls, are hand-wrapped and extra-crispy, while lotus-root salad with pork and shrimp has a pleasing earthiness and crunch. A dose of black pepper counters the sweetness of caramel pork, and roasted quail is elevated to star status with a lime-salt-pepper dip you may want to put on everything. Before you order, make sure you have cash—the place doesn’t take credit cards.
Also good: Fresh garden rolls; caramelized pork chops; shaky beef; caramel shrimp; grilled beef with lemongrass.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
