When I worked at Trailer Park, the company participated in a subsidized lunch program for its employees with Eat Club. When Phorage was an option, I quickly and eagerly placed my lunch order and waited with great anticipation until the day arrived when I would finally be able to taste the tasty morsels that came in the special Eat Club package with my name on it.
It’s been a few years since my time at Trailer Park and since my last in-person meal at Phorage. As I’m currently on a Vietnamese bun kick due to our upcoming trip to Vietnam, I decided to place an order for lunch pickup.
I’m sad to say that the flavor of the food has declined since my last visit. I ordered the grilled chicken with imperial roll and vermicelli noodles. I can understand that the egg roll would have lost its crispy texture during the car ride back to work. However, the flavor of the chicken was disappointedly lackluster. From what I recall, a prior iteration of this dish had a citrusy, lemongrass flavor marinaded into the chicken. That’s what gave it a more authentic Vietnamese flavor. Now it’s just grilled chicken on a bed of vermicelli noodles, shredded carrots, lettuce and bean sprouts with a side of very mild sweet & sour sauce sprinkled with a dash of fish sauce.
What I always fear with Asian restaurants is how the quality and flavor of their food diminish and decline over time, as a cost saving measure or perhaps under pressure to Americanize their dishes. I haven’t followed Phorage so I don’t know if they have a different chef or are under new management.
I was so hopeful that it would be my go-to for my Vietnamese fix on the Westside but alas, so far, Saigon Dish in Lawndale has checked off most of the boxes on what an authentic bun ga nuong should taste like. Guess a trek to South Bay is still closer and cheaper than a trip to Vietnam.
Phorage
3300 Overland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
http://phoragela.com/
Having booked our Christmas trip to Vietnam earlier this week, I was in the mood to get my palate warmed up for their food and a friend had recently recommended an inexpensive restaurant in Lawndale which had received 1673 reviews, mostly 4-5 stars on Yelp. Fortunately, I found myself in the South Bay around lunchtime so off I went.
The restaurant is in a strip mall with lots of parking spaces available behind a Spires restaurant. The interior is very casual. Each table has a number assigned to it. I had one guy seat me and another person take my order which was #28.
The bun tom cha gio thit nuong offered a sampler platter of sorts. It was a room temperature thin vermicelli noodle salad with grilled shrimp, grilled pork, a crispy egg roll, sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots, shredded lettuce, mint leaves, peanuts and bean sprouts with a side of fish sauce per the menu. Having cooked with and eaten fish sauce recently in Chiang Mai, the sauce in my dish looked and tasted milder, much like a sweet chili sauce which was the perfect sauce for the very crispy egg roll.
The bowl was massive with a lot of noodles. There was a decent amount of protein but by the time I finished eating, I likely had at least half a bowl left. The food was tangy, tender, subtly flavored, slightly charred but light. It was a very healthy dish, no oil, just raw vegetables, previously boiled noodles and grilled shrimp and pork and for $8.75 plus tax and tip, it’s a serious bargain. I strongly recommend a visit if you’re even remotely close to the area.
Saigon Dish
15725 Hawthorne Blvd., Ste. 108 (cross street Manhattan Beach Blvd.)
Lawndale, CA 90260
http://saigondish.info/?section=main-menu
Grace Gambin
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