Shelley Taylor

A few months ago, everyone was asking me, "Have you eaten at Kim's Vietnamese restaurant?" So, back in January, Greg and I finally got there.

I was planning on doing the piece for January or February but found that Kim would be closing down for several weeks while her cook visited Vietnam for Tet. I'm sure there were a lot of disappointed patrons who went to the door - only to find it locked with a note.

Now, they're back and

open for business.

Kim, we found, is friendly and open to conversation.

Kim moved to Sequim with her American husband about 40 years ago, and it was interesting listening to my hubby and Kim converse about Vietnam; especially since my Greg served and also returned three times in the early 1990s. Kim promised to look up his Web site, www.vietnam

journeys.com, which has lots of pictures from his trips.



Art for sale

The restaurant interior is spacious and clean. The "Sunny Sequim" buttery yellow walls are hung with Vietnamese art for sale; exquisite hand-embroidered Asian themes of galloping horses and sanpans, I was told, usually are made for royalty or decorating temples.

On each table, something that warms the cockles of this Virgo/overly organized heart: a woven basket of sauces with little dishes, a stainless steel basket of utensils, ceramic Asian soup spoons and chop sticks. And bendable straws!

There's a fairly large

menu, so it took us awhile to make a decision. You'll find the following menu sections: Appetizers (Khai Vi) and Soup (Pho, but pronounced Fa as in do re mi fa ...). Try the combo, pho dac biet: steak, flank, fatty flank and tendon - if you're adventurous enough.



Oodles of noodles

There are Stir Fried Noodles (Mi vang xao), Stir Fried Rice Noodles (Mi Trang), and a rice platter with grilled meat with or without egg roll. The rice and noodle dishes can be ordered with chicken (ga), pork (heo), beef (bo), shrimp (tom). Mix and match as you prefer.

For the vegetarian, chay khong thit includes several choices to pair with stir fried egg or rice noodles and tofu.

One thing I promise: You will leave with a doggie bag. Absolutely huge portions! I couldn't finish it all, and that's saying something 'cause I can eat a horse in

one sitting (Note to PETA: not a real horse!).

Beverages are particularly interesting. Coconut juice (I'll try that ... next time when I have room to put it!), soybean juice (uhhhh ... this one I might have to pass on), "Life" waters and the "entertaining" bubble tea; basically tapioca smoothies with mango, mung bean, papaya, taro, watermelon or strawberry.

For those with allergies, the menu notes they do not cook with peanuts unless requested. And they use small amounts of MSG - unless requested otherwise.



Several selections

We couldn't settle on just one main course. And since we didn't realize the portion sizes, we ordered several items:

I went absolutely wild and ordered ... fried rice with chicken (No. 21). It came with peas, carrots and onions, but I had them include broccoli. And it was sprinkled generously with a mound of fresh cilantro. Mighty tasty and flavorful indeed!

Greg started off with a Vietnam staple, Pho; soup with vermicelli noodles and chunks of steak and brisket that was slightly sweet. The noodles were sooo long, I felt like I was in that famous spaghetti scene in "Lady & the Tramp." Pho comes with a bowl of bean sprouts, lime and slices of hot pepper.

Another appetizer followed: Vermicelli with shrimp and eggroll (No. 33). Skewered well-seasoned shrimp atop a mountain of vermicelli noodles. The other half of the large deep bowl was filled with fresh head lettuce topped with cucumbers. The spring roll is filled with fresh veggies rolled up in a translucent moist crepe.



Not in Philly anymore

For his main course, Greg ordered No. 55, The Chef's Special: marinated steak with onions, bell peppers and steamed rice, com bo luc lac or "shaking beef" because it's tossed in the wok.

Greg commented it's just like a Philly cheesesteak - except without the cheese and without the roll! You go ahead and make sense of that one.

Sooo much more adventurous than I, Greg asked Kim for ngu oc mam (nook) - a pungent fish sauce. Kim couldn't believe he asked for it, "Americans usually don't like it!"

After our food was served, I spied an interesting-looking dish being brought to a patron at the table across the aisle. It was an omelette, banh xeo, a Vietnamese speciality. The omelette, filled with sauteed vegetables, meat and seafood enveloped in an egg and rice flour shell, arrived looking kinda like a Vietnamese taco.

I had a moment of Lucy Ricardo at the restaurant. "Oh, that looks so good, maybe I should have ordered that!

Next time. And there will be a next time.

Shelley Taylor and her husband relocated to the peninsula from California and are active in property tax reform issues. By her own admission, Taylor likes to eat.