MARY FURR -- Dining Out

At Vien Huong, nothing is what it seems. The food at this excellent

vegetarian restaurant -- on Magnolia Street and Garfield Avenue in the

Kmart center -- is meatless, but the “duck” is so good, you won’t believe

it’s soy bean and wheat gluten.

You positively bloom with good intentions while eating your vegetables

and relaxing your soul in the calm atmosphere and pleasant service, as we

did on one visit. But when the restaurant becomes busy and there is an

inexperienced serving staff, as happened another time, it is a different

story -- service is slow and servers are unfamiliar with the menu.

Fortunately, the kitchen, cooking from owner Kim Quynh’s recipes, is

consistently good. On one visit, we chose orange “chicken” with brown

rice from among the $5.95 lunch specials. A crisp coating covered the

soft mock chicken, and it had a mild spicy orange sauce. The citrus

flavor was pure and strong, with thin threads of peel. The chicken was so

real that I had to keep reminding myself it was made from mashed soybean

curd and wheat gluten.

Pho, the soup that comes with lunch, is very light with no oil, salt or

monosodium glutamate, but with carrots, celery, bok choy and cilantro.

It’s cooked slowly overnight to enhance the sweetness of the vegetables.

Many Vietnamese, according to our server, prefer soup for breakfast as it

is so nourishing and “light on the stomach.”

Spicy “beef” with peanut sauce (lunch $5.95, dinner $7.95), which took

Kim nine years to perfect, is made of spicy “beef” strips combined with

peanuts, mushrooms and water chestnuts and served over very thin thread

noodles. A bright green broccoli spear and carrot coins are laid across

the dish. The beef has a slow burning heat that warms the throat and

somehow the vegetables here seem brighter.

On another visit, we began with spring rolls with plum sauce ($2.95).

They were four of the fattest I’ve seen, with a skin so transparent that

the carrot and mint colors shone through. Spoon the pungent dark peanut

sauce into the rice center of the roll and let it seep into each bite.

It’s cold with a taste that is distinctive -- delicate and refined,

unlike more traditional egg rolls.

Sauteed “duck” in ginger sauce ($6.95) provides still another taste with

an unusual appearance. It combines mock duck slices with lots of thinly

sliced mushrooms and long cubed strips of tofu that resemble French

fries. Mixed with the sauce are pieces of mint and pockets of spicy

fragrant ginger.

Dessert can be lotus pudding ($2.50), a mix of coconut milk and tapioca.

But equally refreshing are some of the drinks, such as young coconut

juice ($2) with lots of ice and coconut milk topped with two thin slices

of snowy coconut meat. Another cool version is Vietnamese iced coffee

($2.50), an ice-filled strong coffee drink with sweetened condensed milk.

Vien Huong, which opened two months ago, is truly a gourmet vegetarian

treat -- all the dishes are vegan -- as well as being a great

introduction to Vietnamese food.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or

suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

o7 VIEN HUONG

f7

WHERE: 19171 Magnolia Ave., Suite 3, at the south end of Kmart center.

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

CALL: 964-5411 or 964-2611

MISC.: Credit cards accepted.