Two months ago, Lien Le Hidalgo visited...

Two months ago, Lien Le Hidalgo visited her family back in Vietnam. She took the occasion to visit a lot of restaurants there in the hope of discovering new dishes she might offer at Lien’s Place, the tiny restaurant she runs in a Hermosa Beach shopping center.

She didn’t find any. When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, Lien already knows it all.

Lien has owned this plainly decorated 40-seat establishment for 14 years. In the open kitchen, diners can observe Lien and her sister, Kim, chopping fresh herbs and maneuvering sizzling saute pans. Her friendly son, Manny, oversees the dining room.

To begin a meal, most people order cha gio ($5.25), Vietnam’s version of the egg roll. For these, rice paper is rolled around chopped beef, pork, mushrooms and bean threads and then fried crisp. The traditional way to eat the rolls is to put cold noodles, cucumber and mint on a piece of lettuce, pile a roll on top and dip the whole package into two sauces; the thin one is fish sauce, the thick one is a hot red chile paste.

How hot is it? Recently I ordered cha gio to go. On my way home I found myself stuck in traffic on the San Diego Freeway, so I followed the procedure, dipped the lettuce/roll packet into the red sauce and started munching. In a matter of seconds I was frantically searching my car for water.

I actually considered abandoning my car on the freeway to look for ice water. The lesson: If anything you’re planning to take home has chile paste with it, order a soft drink too.

Soups make up a quarter of the menu, and Lien has a deft touch with them. The most popular is hu-tieu ($4.25), a chicken and pork broth chock-full of shrimp, sliced pork, crab, bean sprouts and noodles. Another big seller is canh chua ($4.25), a shrimp and chicken soup assertively flavored with tamarind and pineapples.

Among the main courses, mi xao ($6.95) is egg noodles topped with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, celery and a choice of shrimp, beef, pork or chicken. This chow mein-type dish is topped with a light oyster sauce.

Lien’s Place is at 1149 Aviation Blvd., Hermosa Beach. (310) 374-9947. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.