Mandalay

Vietnamese cooking has seen a resurgence and now falls into the ‘cool’ arena for Los Angeles foodies. Mandalay however has always had certain panache with an interior that’ll take you straight back to Saigon. The entrees are innovative like sea bass in garlic and basil sauce and more traditional like chao tom, a grilled shrimp pate wrapped around a sugar cane and served with peanut sauce and rice paper. However, unlike chao tom which can be bought cheaply from a street vendor in Saigon, you can probably purchase the street vendor’s entire cart for what you’ll pay for it at Mandalay.