Hungrygrrl

I work nights. Which means I have a lot of time to kill during the day. So yesterday at 11am when my friend Kyung called, I was still sitting on the couch lazily surfing the internet.

I was n the shower in 5 minutes.

I’ve been wanting to go to Green Leaf for months. It’s in the ID, a few doors down from Szechuan noodle bowl, and they recently spiffed up the interior. The walls are now a calming pale green and lit by fancy fixtures with some sort of asian writing. There’s even an upstairs.

Kyung and I were very excited about the upstairs. Until we went up there. I didn’t even know you could buy chairs that looked like wagon wheels.

But then really, when have good asian restaurants ever been about the decor?

Back downstairs in the peaceful wagon-less setting, we faced the menu, settling on a few appetizers and a salad. They have the usual suspects: pho, vermicelli. But I was looking for something a little different.

The fresh rolls came first, the usual shrimp and pork but here the pork was crispy fried. Mint, lettuce, shrimp, vermicelli and peanut sauce all punctuated by crunch– brilliant.

Chargrilled eggplant and green mango salad hit the table at the same time, the salad graced by grilled prawns, their bodies stretched taut on the skewers. They were sadly overcooked.
The salad, however, was amazing. The green mango is almost crisp and has a subtle green apple flavor. Mixed with carrot, jicama, peanuts and nuoc cham (a sweet and sour vinaigrette) , it was a perfect dish.

The eggplant was my second favorite, the smoky flavor of the grill blending with the mild flesh of the asian eggplant and again accented by the nuoc cham. Caramelized shallots were sprinkled on top, so well cooked they were almost meaty.

The vietnamese pancake (banh xeo) was our last dish. First came the plate of lettuce, mint and basil, then the bowls of nuoc cham, and finally a crispy fried thin pancake filled with beansprouts and pork.

“You wrap in lettuce,” our waiter said, demonatrating with his hands.

Unfortunately the oil tasted slightly old, ruining the beautiful freshness of this dish. Perhaps another day.

All in all a wonderful meal, a cut above the usual vietnamese fare. Oh and did I mention? They now have a bar. If you don’t mind sitting on a wagon wheel.

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Green Leaf

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