Rejoice! A tasty vegan specialty is back on the scene in Silver Lake with the re-opening of Vietnamese Soy Cafe. Known for their tasty vegan options and weird hours, the Soy Cafe had closed it’s doors a while back, leaving those of us craving vegan bahn mi sandwiches on the east side in a lurch. Thankfully those days of being left wanting are over, as not only is the shop open once again, but they’re keeping much more normal hours now too.

Located on in a teeny, tiny hole in the wall on Hyperion Ave., the Vietnamese Soy Cafe has no sign (other than a cool yet hard-to-see converted drum in the window) and is practically hidden by a big tree in between shops and residences… blink and you’ll miss it. Their menu is a scaled down version of what they used to offer (R.I.P. soy nugs), somewhat limited in vegan options but with enough to get you good and full, and pleasantly satisfied. For now there are really only two entirely vegan items to get, so of course I got them both.

For starters, I shared the vegetarian rolls with my lovely dining companion, Miss Alix of Cute and Delicious. The Vietnamese name for these yummy rolls is ‘Bo Bia Chay’: “Vegetarian rolls with tofu, julienne vegan pork, basil, jicama, carrots in rice paper”. They come served with a delicious vegan brown sauce but are so good even just on their own. The vegan pork is great, kinda salty with a very realistic texture. It’s not overwhelming even for those who may not like faux-meats… the way it’s cut into thin strips ensures you get a nice, measured amount with each bite. I love jicama in just about anything, and here it gives the rolls a nice, unexpected crunch. The size of one order of rolls was the perfect amount to share between two people.

Next we both tried the other vegan option, the ‘Bahn Mi Dac Biet Chay’: “Vegetarian sandwich with Vietnamese vegan ham, julienne vegan pork, carrots, cucumber, cilantro”. It also came slathered with that same brown sauce. Mmmmmm… so good! The bread was fresh and just slightly toasted and again, the fake meats were delectable. While this isn’t as large or as exceptional as the best vegan Bahn Mi ever from Vinh Loi Tofu, it’s a worthy competitor, especially for those all the way across town who aren’t in the mood to schlep all the way over to Reseda. While this Bahn Mi at Soy Cafe probably won’t blow your mind like the one at Vinh Loi will, it’s a good deal for a $5 dollar lunch in a cozy cafe. As not all the food here is vegetarian, be sure to order very carefully and specifically, make sure they know you are ordering the vegan versions of everything… better safe than sorry.

They also sell homemade soy milk and offer a few different coffee & soy drink concoctions, cold and hot. The most exciting sounding ones come with condensed milk which is not vegan, but I tried the cold Vietnamese coffee with mint flavoring without the condensed milk and it was pretty good, if a bit bitter. Way more strong than I’d normally have my coffee, but that was kind of the point… and I was still buzzing off of it nearly 12 hours later even though I’d only drank about 1/4 cup of it in the morning. If you need to wake up, this is the stuff to do it!

I already mentioned the place is small, there’s only a few seats inside and couple of tables outside. The man who works the front end (is he the owner?) is very friendly and will probably sit and chat with you through your entire meal while the guy in back makes your food. If you’re not a chatter consider sitting outside or getting your meal to go. The service is very gracious but on the slow side, don’t go when you’re in a huge rush or only have a 30 minute lunch break (unless you call to place your order ahead). Visit this place when you have a bit of time for a leisurely, stress-free lunch. I imagine that once the word gets out that they are open again, there will be lines out the door at lunchtime.

The newly expanded hours are great news. Before they were only open a few hours for lunch, now they’re open Sunday thru Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm (closed Friday & Saturday). Now you can enjoy them for lunch or dinner, or both! One thing to note is that they’re going to be closed for a chunk of time over the holidays. They’ll be closed Christmas like just about everyone else. They will then be open again for a few days (sorry, I don’t have the exact dates), then closed again for about three weeks, reopening for good on January 25th. So you’ve got from now until Christmas to get your fill, then a couple of weeks to work your appetite up to go back in for more.

Vietnamese Soy Cafe
1997 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-7888
www.vietsoy.com (not much there)