To Live and Eat in L.A.

You’ve seen & heard me rave on about the alarmingly good food at Vinh Loi Tofu. Vinh Loi is in my opinion not just one of the best vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, but some of the best food, of any kind, anywhere. I’m so not exaggerating. The food that Kevin Tran brings out from that tiny little window in the wall behind him takes flavor and ingenuity to an entirely new level. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hardcore vegan or a guiltless meatlover, the meals being served at Vinh Loi transcend all such labels.

If you’ve been there before one of the first things you noticed was how tiny the place was. Cute and clean, but very small, with a little market area in the back. The exciting news is that all this has changed! The big counter that took up a lot of the front room has been replaced with a much nicer and smaller unit, opening up a large area of the restaurant for more tables and chairs, it’s a lot less crowded now. Also the market area has been removed, creating even more seating in the back. It’s now a really comfortable space for a sit down meal (it was ok before but this new layout is a big improvement).

More importantly, not only is there now a nice new color menu with pictures, but Kevin is also constantly creating new dishes and re-inventing old ones… for example, he is indeed now serving his very own version of vegan Pho. That’s right folks, you heard it here first! Go try it… tell me how it is, I haven’t had it yet. See all those tantalizing looking dishes up on the wall? Those are just some of the newer dishes added since the menu was printed. The hardest thing about eating at Vinh Loi is deciding what to order!

And decide I eventually did. For this visit I picked the Curry Udon with Chicken.

The chicken, vegan of course, is made from some magical concoction which once began as a soybean. What I can tell you is that it’s unlike any sort of fake meat items you’ve ever tried, tasting both authentic and yet not so real that it’s too real, with flavors that just burst in your mouth of heat and ginger and lemongrass and multitudes of goodness unrecognizable to mere mortals such as myself. There’s no point in thinking of it as a meat substitute, it’s something else entirely. And that’s only the chicken…

The curry covering these perfectly cooked udon noodles is simply not something that my limited culinary vocabulary is able to properly describe or do justice. This is by far one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, there’s no way around it, these noodles are just phenomenal. The flavor starts off for me as a Japanese style curry, but how it takes off from there in it’s entirely own directions is something of legends. This is the curry of the Gods right here. There’s plenty of veggies in there as well, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, and as you can see a giant heap of fresh and glorious cilantro. The chilies are too hot for me even though I do like things rather spicy, but if you can take the heat these will rock your socks off.

I’m telling you, this dish kicks all kinds of ass, proving once more that vegan food isn’t all pansy-hippy-granola. There’s at least 30 or more new dishes up on that wall that I haven’t tried yet… what’s a girl to do?! Vinh Loi’s also now got extended hours (open everyday from 9am to 9pm!) and a brand spanking new website as well, so click on over, then drive on out to humble Reseda to get your serious eating on: www.vinhloitofu.com

My advice? Go hungry… go very, very hungry!

Stopping by Vinh Loi Tofu for lunch on a chilly day, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try out one of their many soups. I couldn’t help but notice their incoming delivery of soybeans at the front door. What makes this a beautiful sight is that Vinh Loi uses only certified non-GMO soybeans. I knew this already (it’s printed on their menu), but seeing the bags stacked up like that at the entrance just made me feel even that much better about having a Vinh Loi addiction. It’s little things like this (well, being dedicated to using only non-GMO foods is not a little thing at all really) that make all the difference.

Of course I had to take a picture, and once I told owner Kevin what a nice thing it was to see that, he got in on the action as well and struck a pose… check out Kevin and his beans!

Now back to the soup, which I know is what you’re really here for. I ordered the #2, “Cari Chay”, which involves: rice noodles in curry broth with soy chicken. Sounds simple but don’t be deceived… this soup is rich, complex and magically delicious. You can’t really see it all in the photo, but there was all kinds of action going on inside the soup. Along with the expected soy chicken there were also some darker faux-meaty bits floating around which I think was the soy-beef. There was also chunks of tofu, carrots and other veggies and the topping of fresh cilantro.

Served on the side were the rice noodles, bean sprouts and lime to put in the soup. The curried soup flavor was thick and pungent and amazing. Not too spicy but not too mild. All the many flavors and spices were soaked up nicely by the noodles. This is one of those two-fisted meals where you’ll want to go at it with a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other. You see, we take eating seriously around here. Proper tools are essential.

I always end up getting my usual favorites when I got to Vin Loi Tofu, so on this visit I opted to try something new. I was very intrigued by the ‘Chao Bao Ngu’ which is a soupy porridge with soy abalone, faux shrimp, shitake mushroom and Chinese donut. Truth be told, it was the unknown thrill of what the Chinese donut might be all about which made up my mind to order this. Sounds like something naughty and forbidden, doesn’t it?

The huge bowl of soup arrived and you can imagine how exciting it was to delve in with a spoon to figure out what all was swimming around in there! The porridge/soup is thick and has an interesting texture similar to really watery oatmeal hot cereal. It’s filled with chopped bits of the fake abalone, shrimp and (real) mushrooms. For those who aren’t too hip to the taste of seafood, don’t worry. I don’t like things that taste fishy either and this soup isn’t that, the flavor is very mild. There’s also a healthy topping of fresh cilantro and crispy onions (they don’t have that gross raw onion flavor, instead they just give a nice crispy, chewy texture to the already very texturized soup). The flavor, consistency and just about everything else about this soup is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before… which is generally a good thing. It was delicious and the owner (hi Kevin!) told me that it’s the best thing to eat when you’re feeling sick or under the weather… he claims it will take care of whatever ails you.

The soup came served with a large serving of bean sprouts, lime and the most delicious fried bits of dough which apparently are the Chinese donuts. I’m pretty sure that the sprouts and dough were meant to be put into the soup, but the donuts were too good for that and I just ate them straight off the plate with my fingers. The lime juice spritzed into the soup was the perfect finishing touch, consider that lime juice makes just about anything taste that much better. The verdict is: the porridge soup rocked and has now been officially added to my list of Vinh Loi favorites. If you go, definitely give it a try… take a friend and share it because there’s more than enough to feed you both. Since you’ll be sharing, it’ll free you up to order something else and not feel like such a piggy about it. If you’re there with me though, don’t even think about bogarting my donuts.

This is the delicious salad at Vinh Loi Tofu.

So good and fresh on scorching hot summer day. “Fresh green leaves with tofu, vege beef, vege chicken and coconut sauce”. As you can see, it’s actually much more than their humble description would lead you to believe. Along with the greens there are also bean sprouts, cucumbers, shredded carrots and radish, cilantro, mint and those yummy crispy onion bits. Aside from being fantastic, it’s also huge, they don’t skimp on anything here.

These are the vegan “shrimp & chicken” rolls at Vinh Loi Tofu. I’m not sure what exactly is in the dipping sauce, but I can tell you it’s damn good (especially when mixed with the chili paste!), as are the rolls of course. Along with the fake meaty bits, they are stuffed full of rice noodles, cilantro and other green leafy veggies.

This will be my last post for a few days as I’m heading back up north to the Bay Area for the holiday weekend. Rest assured there will be plenty of fantastic food from the exotic lands of Oakland and San Francisco to share with you upon my return. Have a great Memorial Day and long weekend!

This is the vegan Bánh mì (veggie-sandwich) at Vinh Loi Tofu. The traditional Vietnamese version is usually made with chicken, egg or pork but the yummy rendition at Vinh Loi uses all vegan fake meat (I think this is their mock-ham) and the classic vegetable stuffings of carrot, daikon and lots of cilantro.

You might be able to spy the green chilis poking out near the edges there… those little buggers were so damn spicy, WOW! Too spicy hot for my delicate palate I tell ya (and I’m not very delicate at all). I had to pick them out after the first unwitting bite because it was just too much… my lips and tongue were burning long after I’d finished eating. Order it without the chili unless you are a hardcore heat lover (they will ask you when you order if you want ‘em or not). Don’t let my warnings scare you off from trying this though… it’s delicious.

These are one of the various versions of vegan spring rolls they serve at Vinh Loi Tofu. They were interesting but a bit too dry. The funky looking drink behind it is made from basil seed. It’s really tasty (and full of sugar).

This is the “House Special” at Vinh Loi Tofu. It’s an all vegan soup with a delicious and very spicy broth, rice noodles, vegan fish, shrimp and beef, crispy garlic, cilantro, mint and probably other stuff I’m missing. It was served with the toppings shown in the next picture.

Toppings served with the soup.

Today’s amazing culinary adventure came from Vinh Loi Tofu, a vegetarian (mainly vegan) Vietnamese Tofu shop in Reseda. Not only do they serve outstanding vegan dishes prepared with fresh ingredients, but they also make all their own tofu and soymilk in their own factory, adjacent to the restaurant.

Pictured here is the Udon stir-fry dish, with lots of noodles, sprouts, carrots, tofu, crispy onions, cilantro and vegan “beef”. Looks like a lot of food, huh? It was. AND I ATE IT ALL!

Vegan spring rolls stuffed with mushrooms, greens, vegan “ham” and some other yummy stuff I can’t remember or couldn’t identify. The dipping sauce was slightly sweet and peanuty. Delicious.