Nothing shmancy going on here, just some good old Vietnamese fare coming in the form of Xoia Vietnamese Eats [pronounced soy-yah]. Chef and owner Jose Sarinana grew up in Echo Park and felt inspired to bring a taste of something new to an area mostly devoid of Vietnamese restaurants. So, Sarinana took over the old Par Paint space and turned it into this simple, no frills cafe pictured above. He plans to cook rustic dishes from Hoi An, a historic harbor town in central Vietnam, but will also offer staples like the requisite pho, banh xeo (crepes), and banh mi.
The menu gets a bit more interesting with regional dishes such as my quang, a yellow noodle shrimp and pork entree accented with fresh mints, but the house specialty is cao lau, a pork noodle dish made with al dente short noodles only found in Hoi An. Because these noodles are difficult to source, the dish will only be available on a limited basis, and when Sarinana runs of the noodles he will serve the same soup with a different type of noodle so guests have something to try even if it's not the real thing. As for an opening, final inspections are taking place this week, and if it all runs smoothly, Xoia will open on June 25.
·Xoia Vietnamese Eats to open this month in Echo Park [LAT]
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