The academic quarter has started, meaning there's tons of undergraduates on campus walking everywhere, including in the bike path (thanks cell phone talker for making me veer quickly to the left!). With the fall quarter starting, that also means I'm starting to teach again. I have a love/hate relationship with teaching - I love science education / community outreach, but HATE the grading that it entails.
Needless to say, I fell off the bandwagon of my once a week postings, but I'm back! This weekend was jam packed with going into lab, working on teaching material, blowing and repairing my car battery, heading to the comic shop, to finally, getting to try a great vegan restaurant in Fountain Valley that has been on my "must-eats" for awhile now.
Au Lac is a cozy restaurant that showcases Vietnamese dishes with a vegan flair. They promote "humanese" cuisine, an idea coined by the chef there, which is the idea that humans and animals are all the same deep down. Hence, in order to fully appreciate life, humans need to appreciate others around them (humans, animals, and plants alike). *Note, I'm not advocating veganism to anyone, for what anyone eat is a personal choice, but just wanted to give some background on what "humanese" means.
One thing that really drew me to the restaurant was their specialty item "mam va rau" - an eggplant hot pot or seafood gumbo. This dish is so pungent. I think one reason why the dish isn't showcased in restaurants too often is because of the smell - it is very garlicky and fishy. I think you need an acquired taste to fully appreciate this dish - ask any Vietnamese person and they'll often say how much they like it, and comment on how stanky it can get. Despite the funky smell, it's so delicious. It's a very salty broth that you pour over rice noodles and vegetables and squeeze lime over to top it off - so tasty, and a great contrast of salty/sour in your mouth. The texture difference really plays well too - you have the soft sumptuous eggplant and fish that goes great with soft noodles and a medley of crunchy vegetables to top it.
I was really eager to try Au Lac's rendition of mam va rau and when I tried the dish, it did not disappoint at all. Though tame in the funky smell, the broth was very flavorful and tasted exactly like the traditional mam dish that I grew up eating. Instead of meats and fishes, this dish had faux fish and tofu. The tofu and fish soaked up the broth flavor and had this intense umami taste to them.
Really great food here. I'm sad that I don't live close enough to go here more frequently! Hope everyone's meals this weekend are as good as the one I just had!
Happy eating all!
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