Digging the noodles and sprouts of Southeast Asia

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis, who has authored “The Friday Feast” since November, is reviewing 30 locally-owned and/or operated restaurants across five categories: American, Asian, BBQ, Mexican and Date (establishments to impress your date, spouse or both). Each Wednesday through late August, The City Wire will post Lewis’ review of two restaurants. That’s a review of 30 restaurants in 16 weeks for those keeping score at home.
 

Week 1: Taqueria la Guadalupana, and Las Americas Too
Week 2: The Cuban Grill and El Rodeo
Week 3: El Milagro and Restaurante Salvadoreno Norita

by Peter Lewis

After three weeks of seeking out the delights of Latin America, we’re shifting gears to explore the respective delights of southeast Asia. Our first stop in the journey is a pair of Vietnamese restaurants. While one might think that they would be quite similar given that they are both Vietnamese, it is not the case. The broad similarities between the two end there. For those that might be a bit confused by this, it is no different than the differences between an “American” joint in northwestern Georgia slinging burgers & fries, etc., versus one in Baltimore that supplements their menu with fresh crab.

Regional locations affect not only the language you hear in a restaurant, but what’s featured on the menu. This quirks are just as alive in other cuisines as they are here in the states.
   
GREEN PAPAYA
There are a number of appetizers featured at Green Papaya. Chief among them are the spring rolls. While there is some contention on the naming of these rolls, I don’t have enough authoritative weight to cast a vote one. Whatever the moniker, they are a very enjoyable start to a meal. The rolls are an amalgamation of ingredients (meats, veggies, herbs, etc) rolled up in rice paper. They are served cold with particular sauces. While they are delicious, they are, of course, a much lighter and healthier option to the more traditional fried egg rolls. These particular rolls, though a bit heavier and a bit more unhealthy, are also wonderful.

In my dining experiences at Green Papaya there was only one appetizer option that was a bit of a flop, the fried calamari. Perhaps one should suppose that this would be the case, given the vast distance between the high seas and the river valley. Distance or not, I was disappointed with the fairly chewy bits of fried octopus SQUID meat.

If there were a king of fried rice, the throne would be located at 1210 Ingersoll Road in Fort Smith. While there are many delectable dishes at the Green Papaya, the fried rice holds precedence. Fried rice is, in many respects, a very simple dish. The homemade soy sauce sets the rice at Green Papaya apart from others. Using the very tasty sauce both highlights and very much accentuates the pleasing rice dishes (there is a choice of meats or tofu from which to chose).

One of the signature dishes at Vietnamese restaurants (and often part of the restaurant name) is phở. While there are slight differences between restaurants, the product is generally the same. Which is to say that it’s a large bowl filled with noodles, thinly sliced meat (your choice) and supplemented with piles of sprouts, peppers, and other sauces.  The phở at the Green Papaya is quite excellent, which seems to be the general rule of this family-run restaurant.

Beer & wine are served at the Green Papaya. This makes them one of a just a handful of restaurants with a license to vend such liquid pleasures. Those pleasures also helps facilitate the widening smile of this particular reviewer.
   
PHO VIETNAM
Phở Vietnam was recently featured in The Friday Feast. My experience there received glowing praise then and there has been nothing in my subsequent visits to alter my positive opinion of this small establishment.

They bring an aesthetic flair to their dishes that is rarely seen in this region. That they are such a low-key family-run restaurant only heightens the depth of these (seemingly) small touches. It is this sense of aplomb that pushes them over the top and into the rare guild of high quality restaurateurs in this area. The irony within all of this is the oddity of the contrasting kitsch that decorates the walls of Phở Vietnam.

Unfortunately, there are no (loaded) liquid treats here. While diners are provided with (complimentary) jasmine tea, it falls short of widening the smile of this reviewer. For me, tea is best left with the Brits. I’ll stick to ice cold H2O in the meantime.

While the aesthetic flair most certainly sets Phở Vietnam apart from the crowd, another distinction are their sandwiches. Since occidental nations are such sandwich cultures, most people would not associate tasty sandwiches with southeast Asia. Sandwiches, however, are one of the many vestiges of colonial rule in southeast Asia. This vestige is, of course, quite a bit more positive than some of the others. These sandwiches use the Vietnamese version of the French baguette to great effect. Phở Vietnam has quite a few varieties from which to choose, all of which are delicious.

Fried rice is one of the few areas in which other restaurants generally excel, while Phở Vietnam seems to be somewhat lacking. This is, perhaps, partially due to its relative blandness in comparison to a rich dish like the vermicelli noodles with beef and shrimp. The larger issue was the general tepidness of the fried rice. Any number of things can happen in a kitchen to slightly mar a dining experience, so I’m not going to write off the rice just yet. Especially since it was the only exception to my otherwise overly positive dining experiences there.   

While my previous recantation of the food related treasures of Phở Vietnam largely steered clear of the titled dish, my silence must end now. Just a few inches north of here, I was extolling the virtues of another Vietnamese establishment’s take on phở. I must take this moment to again speak of the wonderfulness of this signature stew.  While both places experience great success with their respective takes on the dish, there is something about the phở at Vietnam which (in my mind) vaults it over the top.  It’s what the French might refer to as that certain “je ne sais quoi.” Which, I was once informed, is a nice way of saying “beats the hell out of me.”

While the translation might be a bit lazy, I can assure you, my efforts to divine the unique differences between the multitudinous offerings of phở in the Arkansas River Valley will be anything but lazy. My detective dietary vigilance will continue unabated.

An explainer note from Peter
Having such cultural diversity within easy reach is one of the many dining pleasures in the River Valley. As we continue to explore the different cooking styles throughout the area, I hope it will spur you into trying something new. Broadening horizons is as old as time itself.

Peter can be reached at [email protected]