Double the goodness

ED MURRIETA; The News Tribune
Published: January 13th, 2006 02:30 AM

JANET JENSEN/THE NEWS TRIBUNE Le-Le owner Le-Le Tran, left, visits with customers, including Matt Fox, while refilling water glasses at her new restaurant in Lakewood. Fox said he has enjoyed Tran’s original restaurant in Tacoma, and since he works in Lakewood, he decided to check out the new spot.

When Le-Le was reviewed in these pages in 2001, the Tacoma restaurant’s Hilltop location was questioned. It apparently was too urban for some tastes.

I feel the opposite toward the location of Le-Le’s second restaurant, which opened in Lakewood in October. It seems too suburban for my tastes.

But I enjoyed it, for the same reasons I enjoy the original Le-Le: Both serve fresh, well-prepared Vietnamese and Thai dishes in pleasant surroundings. Portions are big. Prices are reasonable.

In recent visits to both locations, service was shaky but friendly. Arriving 15 minutes after closing time in Lakewood, my party of two was welcomed, seated and promptly served – perhaps too promptly, as our entree arrived minutes after appetizers. Hurried delivery marked previous visits at earlier hours.

At both locations, duck curries mysteriously transmogrified into beef curries.

A long wait to place my order in Tacoma on a slow Saturday afternoon ended with an apology and an offer of a free spring roll. I declined, not just over ethical implications but because, dining solo, I had ordered two entrees, which at Le-Le translates into a lot of food.

Both menus are identical and large (Lakewood prices are 50 cents higher than Hilltop’s, thanks to higher rent in the ’burbs), featuring more than 50 entrees, including beef-and-noodle soups, curries, fried rice, meat-and-veggie stir-frys, and my favorite among Vietnamese dishes, barbecued meat served over vermicelli with fresh vegetables and herbs.

The latter aren’t really dishes – they’re bowls, priced $7.99 to $9.99 depending on whether you order chicken, pork or prawns. I kept finding big pork nuggets in my bowl after I thought I was left with only noodles and bean sprouts.

Caramelized chicken wings – the bony, pointy parts, not the meaty drumettes – were almost more than I could eat. Eight pieces ($6.99) were crispy and punchy in a garlicky, peppery marinade. They were a tad greasy and hot to the bone.

Fried egg rolls and fresh spring rolls ($1.75 for two) were the right size for appetizers. The latter were served with one of the better peanut sauces I’ve encountered – mahogany in color, smooth in texture and enriched by bean paste, chili, garlic and honey.

Boiled duck soup with bamboo shoots and vermicelli was more than I bargained for. The rich broth had a mere floating hint of fat and was chock-full of green onions and tender bamboo shoots. The shoots, soaked in water for a couple of days and then boiled, were meaty; I happily mistook them for mushrooms.

I could have done without the duck, served on the side atop a zingy slaw of cabbage and mint. Accompanying dipping sauce was thick with fresh grated ginger. Although the serving was large, the duck was bony and boring.

So I’m glad two servers misinterpreted my orders for mussamam curry with duck ($9.99). Tender pieces of beef were welcomed substitutes each time. Vibrant red-orange curry was smooth and not too coconutty. Potatoes and carrots were firm yet tender. Ordered at Hilltop, the dish had visual and textural crunch from green beans and red bell peppers; ordered at Lakewood the night before, there were no green beans or peppers.

Hot and sour soup ($9.99 chicken, beef or pork; $11.99 prawns) was as thick as curry. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal fought for aromatic supremacy.

Vietnamese macaroni ($8.99 pork, beef or chicken; $9.99 prawns) was a simple change of pace, featuring a light tomato-onion-garlic sauce. Soft elbow macaroni was slightly overcooked.

I didn’t sample desserts, but slushy tea with tapioca pearls ($3.50) was a cooling treat. One waitress asked if I was sure I really wanted to order the egg fizz drink ($2.50). After draining the glass of raw egg yolk, condensed milk and club soda (think Vietnamese eggnog), I was sure I wanted another. * * *

Le-Le Restaurant 11006 Bridgeport Way S.W., Lakewood, 253-584-4622, and 1012 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253-572-9491

CUISINE: Vietnamese and Thai

HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays in Lakewood; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily in Tacoma

ATMOSPHERE: Tropical and whimsical

PRICES: Appetizers, $1.75-$8.99; entrees, $7.99-$11.99

SERVICE: Shaky but friendly

NOISE LEVEL: Low at both locations; at Lakewood one mostly hears a water fountain.

BATHROOMS: Nice

Ed Murrieta: 253-597-8678

ed.murrieta@thenewstribune.com