What should I order at Vietnamese and Indian restaurants?

Cafe Society
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I went to a Vietnamese restaurant for the first time the other day, and ordered what looked like a good “sampler” plate. It had sliced beef, some sort of meatloaf that might have been pork, a big fried egg omelette, and some mysterious but tasty brown meat, all over white rice, along with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber slices. It was all very tasty, particularly the beef. I ordered vermicelli instead of rice, but they brought me the rice, and it was the same price so I didn’t feel like sending it back.

Anyway, it was all very good, and I’d love to sample more since my city (Orlando, FL) has a large Vietnamese population and a district with many Asian restaurants and shops. I’ve also gotten good bahn mi subs at an Asian supermarket before, which are made with a variety of mysterious sliced processed meats, veggies, hot peppers, and cilantro. I assume there are other kinds of bahn mi, but that’s the only one this supermarket makes. In the future, what else can I order that’s good? I’ve heard great things about Vietnamese pho soups, but it has been so hot here, not exactly the best hot soup weather. When it comes to food, I’ll try anything once.

I’m also fascinated by Indian food, which I’ve only had a few times ever. I’ve liked just about everything I’ve tried and don’t mind a little heat, but I always get intimidated by all the selections, and never know exactly what to order. I’ve had lamb curry that was great, but mostly stuck to items on lunch buffets. Does anyone have favorites, or recommendations? I should mention that I would eat every sandwich for the rest of my life on naan bread if I could. (I know we did an Indian food thread on the Dope last year some time, but I’m always up for fresh voices and opinions.)

I should note that my friends are not very adventurous when it comes to food, so whenever I want to sample hole-in-the-wall restaurants and exotic, ethnic cuisines, I have to make solo missions. This is never as much fun as sharing a new culinary experience with other people.

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At an Indian restaurant, be sure to try the saag. It defies explanation how I can love it so much when I hate spinach.

3

Indian food, where to start …

My favorites (quite mild):

  • Chicken Saag (sometimes spelled Saagwala, sometimes pronounced as “sog”, sometimes as “shog”) = chicken in a spinach sauce

  • Chicken Korma = chicken in a creamy sauce with almonds

  • Papadum = crispy wafers made from chickpeas

  • Naan = flatbread; best with onion, IMO

  • lamb samosas = really bad for you; but really tasty; fried dumplings filled with minced lamb, onions, peas, etc.

4

oops–papadum is lentils, not chickpeas; still great.

5

Saag paneer is one of my favorites. Spinach and cheese never tased so good. Or hot.

Korma is good, vindaloo is good. With any kind of meat, save one: Beef. Never ever ever order beef at an Indian restaurant.

For tasty appetizers, try samosas or pakoras. Mmm, deep fried goodness.

Tandoori meats are good, but I only really like shrimp, dark meat chicken, and the sausage thingies.

Not to everyone’s taste, but for a good drink give lassi a try. The sweet version tastes like a milkshake. The salty version tastes like piss. I prefer the sweet.

6

Ooh, I’ve had lassi and it goes perfect with the spicy food, but I’ve only tried the sweet kind. I know I’ve had lamb curry, chicken tandoori (and even attempted it myself at home), something brown with chick peas, samosas, naan, different chutnies (sweet tamarind, spicy tomato/onion, and cooling mint), and gulab jamun for dessert.

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Gulab jamun? Did you like it? If so, you are the other person in the world that actually likes it. I could eat a plate full, but most people think it’s too sweet.

There’s a 4th chutney that Indian restaurants will provide, but only if you ask for it specifically. I guess they don’t think Americans would like it. It’s a yogurt based thing. Anyone know what it’s called?

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I’d recoment Mutta Panneer which is peas and cheese over saag panneer since the peas add a sweetness that goes well with the spicy sauce. It is often worth getting the high price thali in an Indian restaurant as this lets you sample many things together.

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My favorite Indian dishes that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

Malai Kofta - some sort of vegetable balls (like meatballs, but probably made of bean? )in a tangy tomatoey sauce.

Aloo Papri (an appetizer) - great if eating in, but won’t survive the trip home if you’re doing take out. It’s cold potato, tomato & cucumber in a tangy tamarind-yogurt sauce, topped by little puffed things that look like tiny poori. Yumbledy mumbledy!

Lamb Masala Dosa - a big bready pancake with lamb & potato & chutney.
Vietnamese:

Vietnamese caramel - I’ve had it with pork & with salmon - basically meat baked in a little clay pot with pepper & sugar & some other stuff. It makes a nice caramel-y spicy sauce.

Bun - a bowl of vermicelli topped with mint, sprouts, shredded vegetable, and meat. I like to get it with a combination of grilled pork & sliced fried springroll, or with lemongrass beef. Stir it up a bit, add some of the sweet sauce & a small dollop of chili garlic sauce.

Getting a Hot Pot can also be fun.

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As far as Indian, definitely try chicken tikka masala. It’s grilled chicken in (i think) a creamy yoghurty-tomato-y sauce.

I’ve also tried a turnip dish that I don’t remember the name of. I remember being impressed that turnips tasted so good.

(As a matter of fact, I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from our local Indian place…)

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Indian: saag paneer

Vietnamese: lemongrass tofu or chicken

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Vietnamese: Bun thit nuong cha gio (grilled pork on salad and vermicelli noodles topped with chopped spring rolls)
Bun bo hue (spicy soup with noodles and sliced beef)
Pho (beef soup that’s a bit less spicy, but also has noodles)

Indian: I order Alka Selzter, that stuff always gives me heartburn.

13

What I like in Indian food is the meat dishes. Without the meat. The sauce is the best reason to eat Indian, and the vege dishes just don’t cut it.

Where is Anaamika?

Amusing anecdote: About a decade ago, I went to Chinatown during my lunch hour to visit my girlfriend in the hospital. After my visit I was hungry, so I stopped into a soup kitchen. But they called it “pho.” Whatever. Looked like soup to me. As I was waiting for it, I watched other people eating. They had these big bottles of ketchup on the tables, and they were squirting some into the “pho.” “Hey”, I thought, “I like ketchup. I’ll try that!”

When my soup came, I squirted some ketchup into it. A good amount. Wanted to get it nice and ketchupy, ya know. I then tasted it to make sure that it was full of tomatoey ketchupy goodness.

Fire shot out of my nostrils. Smoke came out of my ears. As God is my witness, I swear that lava came out of my ass. Honest to goodness lava.

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Are you sure it wasn’t Sriracha hot sauce, in the plastic squeeze bottle with the green cap and the rooster on the bottle?

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Don’t know if it was Sriracha, but it was sauce, and it was hot. Actually, hot is too cold a word to describe it. What’s a word that means “Liquid Blast Furnace”? Or “Chemical Incendiary Condiment”?

Honest to goodness lava.

16

I’ve never had the tofu but lemongrass chicken is good stuff.

17

chicken tikka masala. sooooooo good.

I also like lamb vindaloo, extra spicy.

My g/f grew up in the Indian ocean so she really introduced me to a ton of different Indian dishes, but these are still my fav.

If you really want to look like someone who grew up in Texas (like me), roll the rice, tikka masala, and riata in a large piece of naan–Indian fajita!! delicious, but it makes my g/f want to slide under the table so no one sees her with me. I can’t help it, all food is better when wrapped up into a fajita roll. :slight_smile:

18

Raita?

At some places the spinach-cheese dish is called Palak Paneer, rather then Saag Paneer. I have yet to discover the difference.

My favorite dessert is kulfi, which seems to be pistachio/cardamom flavored ice cream.

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Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull fame) is a big fan of Indian food.

Here’s his advice.

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Sure sounds like it (hehe). Mmmm… Sriracha. I love that stuff!