Hong Thanh: An Enchanting Orchestra of Flavors

February 28, 2014

10:54 AM

Vietnamese food is known for its fresh, healthy ingredients and elegantly delicate combinations of herbs, spices and sauces that create a taste experience distinct from any other cuisine on the planet. And the family-run Hong Thanh Restaurant in Wyomissing does not disappoint.

Delicious Drinks, Dumplings & More

If the steamed pork dumplings (“made from Grandmom’s recipe,” according to the server) are on special when you dine out, count yourself lucky. These are so soft in texture, so perfectly crimped to hold in the seasoned pork gems, you’d have to conclude the dough was rolled out just before it arrived at the table. As you dip the dumpling into the sauce placed before you and take a first bite, the sensations of soft flour and tasty pork ball — with its bit of crunchiness from bamboo shoots and chestnut — plus the sweet-salty sauce merge in a well-orchestrated, mouth-satisfying experience.

Other enticing appetizers: many different eggrolls, including a cold veggie roll made with rice vermicelli, lettuce and mung bean sprouts. Stuffed into paper-thin rice wrappers, they’re served with peanut sauce.

As salads go, there are none prettier or more interesting than the Shrimp and Green Papaya bowl. A guilt-free dish, it is super healthy. It’s comprised of a tall pile of long strips of crispy white papaya meat and carrots, with fresh basil leaves scattered throughout for that piquant taste that only basil can deliver, and with crushed peanuts atop. Tart bites of these fresh crunchies combine with small, flat shrimp lightly steamed to preserve their sea-flavor, while a yellow sauce, red pepper flakes and vinegar enhance the ingredients.

For thirst-slaking, at Hong Thanh it’s pure fun and absolutely refreshing to order a bubble drink. Gorgeous to behold, bubble drinks are served in tall glasses with a fat straw. You can see the large tapioca pearls bobbing around near the bottom, and at some unexpected point, they pop their way up into your mouth for a chewy explosion. Try the green tea bubble drink, or any one of the other flavors: honeydew, coconut, taro, milk tea or Thai tea.

The French-press coffee, too, is a real treat. The Vietnamese pride themselves on making perfect individual cups of French roast, bringing a mini-press right to your table, so that the dense aroma practically permeates the dining room. And there, at the bottom of the glass cup, below the dark brown brew, is a white layer of condensed sweet milk. Just stir and sip.

Pho Sure

The most famous Vietnamese soup/noodle dish, never even attempted by any other cuisine, is called Pho. This dish alone makes a visit to the Wyomissing restaurant mandatory. A glorious symphony of food textures and timbres, Pho has, at its base, layers of noodles in a hot, heavenly, indescribably delicious broth, layered by thin beef slices. On the side are the cold ingredients, equally important: you’ll want to drop only a portion of these into the soup just before you eat it, to feel the full crescendo of piquant basil, crunchy cold mung bean sprouts, and two sauces (staccato spicy hot or calmly bean-y). To eat this dish properly, just ask for help from your friendly servers. They’ll be more than glad to explain how Pho works; it is a point of pride, after all.

As is typical for Vietnamese food, the chef use fats very sparingly, if at all, favoring the effects of garden herbs and the diverse qualities of vegetables, seafood and lean meats. There is a steak, of course: Filet Mignon over Watercress is a specialty of the house. This dish has long been a standard favorite of patrons (some of whom have been dining at Hong Thanh even when it was located across from the Courthouse, in downtown Reading).

If you are leaning toward a stir-fry entrée, however, lean in. No matter what type you choose — vegetarian, shrimp, chicken, or other — Hong Thanh will wow, especially when you choose their fresh-squeezed lime and fresh-grated ginger sauce. Fusion seems too childish a word to describe the brilliant melding of flavors in this entrée. In the shrimp stirfry, for example, citrus tones carry into the hearty bok choy and broccoli bites, while Herculean-sized grilled shrimp lolls about next to onion half-moons and bright green whole snow peas swimming in a tantalizingly tasty brown sauce; it’s served over white rice, of course.

For dessert, the ginger ice cream is outstanding. It’s so delicate and so very good for digestion; made on the premises with just five ingredients, it’s quite pure. You won’t want to share it. With just enough ginger-root nip and ample sweetness, this particular dessert is like a warm rain on a cold day.

The bread pudding drizzled with butterscotch, blossoming with a mint sprig, is yet another wholesome gourmet finale.

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