The Gossiping Gourmet: Hong Hai sets high bar for Vietnamese cuisine

I’ve been feeling lucky these days in that I have found a number of small new restaurants that serve excellent food.

The latest is Hong Hai Viet, located in a minimall in Fountain Valley just south of the 405 Freeway. In Vietnam, Hong Hai Seafood is a renowned and elegant restaurant. The Fountain Valley restaurant claims it is “grounded in the Hong Hai tradition of authentic Viet dishes.”

This branch is quite casual, and the décor is serene and uncluttered. The space is attractive in its simplicity. It has black booths and tables, and the brick walls are black halfway up. The very pale yellow walls are studded with large, pretty photos of vegetables and other ingredients.

My dining companion and I found the staff to be very pleasant and attentive. Our waiter recommended the crispy egg rolls, and we were delighted that he did because they were the best we have encountered anywhere.

For one thing, they were crispy without being the least bit greasy. They were stuffed with minced pork sausage and served with sweet pickled carrots, vermicelli noodles and big pieces of lettuce, which you use to wrap around the rolls with the carrots and noodles so you can pick them up and dunk them in the classic sweet, light, Vietnamese dipping sauce. They come five to an order and are not to be missed.

The only dish that we found a bit too bland were the shrimp and pork spring rolls. They were rescued somewhat when dipped in the tasty, soy-based peanut sauce.

We loved the fried chicken wings, which were served with a delicious little bowl of thin, spicy dipping sauce flavored with garlic butter and salt. You can get the same dish with drumsticks if you prefer. The wings are served with grilled veggies. It’s easy to fill up on this yummy appetizer.

The menu offers six fried-rice entrees, and we selected the one with shrimp, crabmeat and calamari. The calamari was tough, but the rest of the dish was excellent. The rice is not fried to a dark brown color, just lightly fried, which ensured that it would not be at all greasy. Scallions, onions, eggs, green and red peppers and chives added bursts of flavors. Another version features Vietnamese sausage, carrots and peas.

Vietnamese Bun are rice vermicelli entrees that feature the thin noodles with a variety of toppings. We selected the grilled pork. All these entrees are served with greens and bean sprouts, carrots and cucumbers that have a light, sweet pickle taste. The noodles are usually lukewarm or cold. It’s one of my favorite dishes.

Hong Hai Viet also offers a nice selection of pho, the Vietnamese soup, which can be a meal in itself. Choices include chicken, filet mignon, seafood, meatballs, brisket, vegetarian and more.

The three desserts, which reflect the French influence in Vietnam, are also quite good. They include caramel flan with Vietnamese coffee, walnut coffee cake, and chocolate lava cake with berry sauce. The latter requires 20 minutes cooking time, so order it before you finish eating.

This type of cake is on a lot of dessert menus, but the version served here was one of the best I’ve tasted. The chocolate was rich and dark, and it oozed out of the warm cake. The cake itself was moist, and there was a nice amount of it. Sometimes, the cake gets lost in the melted chocolate or vice versa, but this was perfect. Berries dotted the plate.

This is one of the best Vietnamese places that I have found.

TERRY MARKOWITZ was in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at m_markowitz@cox.net.

Hong Hai Viet

Where: 18041 Magnolia St., Fountain Valley

When: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Prices:

Appetizers: $4.25 to $6.95

Entrees and specials: $5.95 to $19.95

Desserts: $3 to $5.50

Wine:

Bottles: $24

By the glass: $7

Corkage: $10

Information: (714) 968-2199 or https://www.honghaidining.com