Tuesday, July 28, 2009
First Bite First Bite: Far East Vietnamese
Posted by Nicki Wood on Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:35 AM
The interior of Far East--the new Vietnamese at the corner of 11th and Fatherland, is a style quickly becoming familiar--clean, functional, industrial yet homey. Call it Aughties Resto.
Limes were being squeezed by the dozen at the counter, so a tall glass of the brisk sweet-tart limeade was a foregone conclusion. Starter of fresh shrimp rolls, bafflingly served with what tasted like straight-from-the-bottle hoisin topped with chopped peanuts. Raise your hand if you love hoisin straight from the bottle.
Man-size portions of lemongrass grilled chicken and fish-sauce grilled eggplant with ground pork followed. These were dinner-sized portions served with sticky rice. The chicken was delicious, with a sweet coating that caramelized over the flames. No lemongrass flavor in evidence but still nicely done. Grilled eggplant and ground pork was straightforward, maybe a little bland, so I was heaping chili paste onto it when the server arrived with nuoc cham sauce for dipping/pouring over. Nuoc cham, one of the traditional dips for fresh shrimp rolls. Just sayin. Entrées were $8 and $9 respectively.
It's worth a trip, and I hope to return for the pho, which gets high marks for its rich broth, and for the Vietnamese sandwiches.
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Been to FEN twice now. Conclusion: If one desires anything close to REAL Vietnamese in Nashville, one must head West to Charlotte Pike. That ain't what Far East seems to be about, though. They're heading in the right direction, though it would be great to see additional options for the pho (rare beef? tendon?), and yes, I agree with your comments regarding the sauces. When the beautiful lady behind the counter chastised me for not being able to finish my sandwich though, I was sold. Used to be if I wanted verbal abuse from a younger lady, I could just head back to the house. Not any more. Think I'm in love.
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