If you would have told me YEARS ago that there would be a GOOD (actually GREAT) Vietnamese VEGETARIAN (actually VEGAN) place… I think I would have asked you to lay off the coke, crack or any other recreational substance known to man.
“This blasphemy is simply NOT possible. What do you think you are… an alchemist that can turn coals into culinary GOLD?!?!”
…
Okay, I was wrong… and EFFIN happily so! ^_^
We really love this place, so you don’t need our review. I have recommended this place to many of you guys (or YA’LL if you’re from TX ^_^)… especially all you Vegetarians. Run, don’t walk… but please finish reading this blog post… (doh… I did it again)
If you want read a multitude of reviews, check out the Yelp reviews (4.5 stars as of this post) on VINH LOI TOFU here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/vinh-loi-tofu-reseda
BUT if you want to see what we always get, here are the tasty pictures below ^_^:
Fried Chili/Lemongrass Tofu
Ham Rolls (aka Nem nuong cuong)
Bun Bo Hue (this soup’s VERY good and VERY close to authentic BEEF soup)
Pandan Leaf Soymilk (sorry if it’s blurry… btw, this is the SAME pandan we use for Pandan Vanillia Churros ^_^)
QUICK BREAKDOWN
Any of you non-Vietnamese peeps have to understand this… almost our ENTIRE cuisine is built on meat & fish (sauce). No, REALLY it is! Every soup is a kind of meat based soup, and we dip or add fish sauce to everything. VN cuisine is a lot more complex than what I’ve described, but to TRY and get flavors VERY close to or resemble their carnivorous cousins is QUITE a feat. And VLT does SUCH a great job while also infusing in their own flavors as well. It’s always a treat to stop by… PLUS he makes his own TOFU, SOY MILK and my personal fave… PANDAN SOY MILK! Man I love me some Pandan.
It’s one of the many things that makes me want to strip all my clothes off, run out into the streets and sing praises for… hot damn it’s tasty!
Don’t believe he makes his own soy? Then believe THIS video!
KEVIN = AN INSPIRATION
Kevin also = the owner and main proprietor of VLT, and I would say definitely an inspiration to us as well.
He started with 9 items and has grown it to 100! He also used to close at 7p and now opens until 9p. His walls used to be bear and now he has a signed picture of super famous songwriter Diane Warren?!?! (Doh, I should have taken a picture of that)
So he’s doing well… HOORAY!
I have to admit that Kevin & VLT are a HUGE inspiration for what we’re doing. I didn’t even realize it until I was tweeting back and forth w/ @Hanhonymous about the yumminess that is VLT.
He did something completely against the grain, and approaches with a passion and charm that he completely owns and everyone loves. And six years later, he’s got a lot to show for that perseverance too. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we hope to grow this thing w/ half as much personality as Kevin has in his pinky! haha
Seriously, you’ll come for the food, but you’ll also stay for Kevin’s incredibly welcoming personality. Like me… he likey to talkey! ^_^
I actually told him about what we were doing, showed him our LA Weekly article (w/ a stack conveniently sitting in his shop) and he thought it was pretty awesome. I even told him about the Health Dept and what happened with that, and he got a good chuckle out of that, “LOL… (arms thrown up in the air) HEALTH DEPT!”
He even gave us some great tips on how to succeed with our burgeoning restaurant (you know us Vietnamese gotta stick together! ^_^)
It’s funny because I’m SUPER backlogged on posts, but VLT is one I felt compelled to put out there especially because we’ve met SO many of you that we’ve inspired… and VLT inspires us. Go try it, say “Hi” to Kevin, befriend him on Facebook HERE and don’t forget… it’s not a joke… ALL of it is NOT meat, and PURDY tasty too!
Btw, his entire restaurant is a GAME CHANGER! :D
Xoxo,
TEAM SK
#vinh loi tofu #vegan #vegetarian #inspiration
