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facing my fear of fake shrimp at vinh loi tofu
12January 20th, 2009LA restaurants, vinh loi tofuvinh loi tofu is one of those addictive restaurants that’s so good, i can’t even describe it. a tofu factory in the valley run by the genius that is kevin tran, vinh loi serves up incredible vietnamese vegan food that’s like nothing i’ve ever tasted. savory soups, sandwiches, noodle dishes and salads along with the most magical tofu and fake meats i’ve ever tried is just some of the stuff you’ll find on the menu at vinh loi. i am making it a personal mission to trek out to reseda as often as possible and get as much of this food as i can.
on my most recent visit, the husband and i shared a few dishes, one of them being the veggie sub.
veggie sub: chicken or beef patty, cucumber, soy sauce, pickled radish, and carrots served on french bread. $4
when this sub arrived at our table i though, “meh, looks pretty good…” but when i took a bite of this thing i thought, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS AWESOME, I DON’T WANNA SHARE!” seriously, by looking at that picture, there’s no way you can tell how friggin’ tasty it was. the french bread was crispy and kind of chewy and the pickled radish was cold and fresh, wrapped all around the most amazing warm and salty soy chicken. mmmmmmm. i think this is one of the best sandwiches i’ve ever had. oh yeah, and it was only $4!!! wtf mate! food like this is just too good to be true.
in an attempt to overcome our huge fear of fake shrimp (something about them is just creepy), we also ordered some vegan rolls.
vegan rolls: green leaves, rice noodles, shrimp, & chicken wrapped in rice paper. served w/ peanut sauce. $4
as you can see, these rolls were packed with little faux crustaceans and strips of fake chicken. while i was a little afraid to eat these, once i got going, i couldn’t stop! it tasted nothing like real shrimp, and there was so much crispy and leafy goodness in the wrap, everything just went together soooo well. i think i’m well on my way to overcoming my fear of fake sea creatures…thanks, vinh loi!
for a large entree, we ordered the house special steamed rice with beef….and it was every bit as delicious as our starters.
house special steamed rice: steamed rice with seasoned tofu and your choice of: chicken, fish or beef. $8
not only did this come with a huge bed of salad and vegetables, but also a hearty serving of chunky tofu and a big mound of soy beef bits. so freaking good! i don’t know how kevin makes his fake meat, but it’s seriously the best ever. oh, and he has a fridge full of it in the restaurant, so you can do what we did and take several tubs of it home to be enjoyed later. you won’t be sorry.
so there ya have it, another amazing meal at vinh loi tofu. there’s really nothing i can say about this place except you HAVE TO TRY IT. it’s definitely one of the best vegan restaurants this fine city has to offer.
vinh loi tofu
18625 Sherman Way #101
Reseda, CA 91335
818-996-9779open 7 days a week 9 am to 9 pm
12 responses to “facing my fear of fake shrimp at vinh loi tofu” 
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WOW! Three knock-your-socks-off things at Vinh Loi? This definitely sounds like a place to take seriously… The idea of fake shrimp does scare me though, but I’m glad the rolls were good enough to get over the reluctance! LA is a fine city indeed.
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If you ever want a third wheel on one of your treks, let me know! 😉
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I wonder if all fake shrimp are from the same company? I had some at Garden Wok and thought the texture was like marsh mellows!
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Michelle January 21st, 2009 at 17:38
Wow, that sandwich looks soooo good- nice & simple and quite affordable. Not sure I am brave enough for fake shrimp though, never did care for the creepy crawlies on my plate.
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Nice looking food! The sandwich is one of my favorites. except instead of the 4 dollars you pay, I usually get mine for $2.50 each. I live in Wa State so maybe your guys prices are different there.
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I really like Vinh Loi Tofu. I love Kevin. I love the crisp bread on the banh mi, though I personally put in more filling in my sandwiches. Bread is awesome, definitely got rice flour in there. Yeah, it’s pricier than the usual veggie banh mi (I live in OC and Banh Mi Che Cali is like $2 I think) but I like to support Kevin so what the hey.
I like the soups but I have to admit, the veggie pho at Thuyen Vien in Garden Grove has it beat. That said, Im not sure the veggie pho is vegan. The owner said everything is, but someone told me that the mock meats might be suspect. Even so, I personally feel Thuyen Vien’s viet food is very, very good.
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Dude!!!! I love, Love, LOVE this place!!!!! I want to eat there every day! This is one of my new favorite restaurants!!! It’s also really close to the our new home! Yahoooooooooooo!!!
🙂
rubyredvegan January 20th, 2009 at 15:55