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Food & Drink: Nom Nom brimming with fresh flavors

By Rachel Pinsky
Published: July 21, 2017, 6:05am
4 Photos
Nom Nom Restaurant & Grill offers up Vietnamese flavors with fresh salad rolls, tofu fries and Nom Nom Bowl.
Nom Nom Restaurant & Grill offers up Vietnamese flavors with fresh salad rolls, tofu fries and Nom Nom Bowl. Photo Gallery

My first visit to Nom Nom Restaurant & Grill was before the official Grand Opening. On that day, a young man threatened to jump off of the Interstate 5 Bridge, the highway was shut down, and most of the Nom Nom staff were absent. The space was half full with customers, but it was total chaos. It felt like an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. I expected to overhear Gordon Ramsey shouting profanities. After 90 minutes without food, my friend and I cancelled our orders and left.

A few weeks later, I planned to meet the same friend. This time, she called 30 minutes after our meeting time to cancel. Fortunately, feeling that Nom Nom was some type of personal Bermuda Triangle where people or food go missing, I had already ordered. I had the fresh salad rolls with barbecued pork and shrimp. The rolls were freshly made — the rice wrapper stretchy and fresh, the lettuce and herbs in the wrap were crisp and herby. The pork added meatiness and the shrimp added sweetness. The peanut sauce was smooth and sweet.

I also ordered the Kaopoon Nam Gai soup. The bowl that the soup came in was more swimming pool than soup vessel — filled with luscious, slightly spicy, red curry coconut milk infused soup with a twirl of vermicelli rice noodles, shredded cabbage, carrots, cilantro, mint and bean sprouts and topped with shredded chicken. I slurped down my soup and miraculously the bowl never seemed to empty. Was this some type of foodie soup nirvana?

On another visit, I enjoyed the Nom Nom bowl (rice vermicelli noodles, shredded lettuce, carrots, cilantro, and cubes of fried tofu with a sweet chile sauce) and tofu fries (crispy strips of tofu with peanut dipping sauce).

Nom Nom is a vast space with high ceilings, natural light pours in from all sides illuminating the blond wood tables and booths that flow along the edges. There are tables crammed together in the center (avoid those). The walls alternate between Nom Nom orange (a darkened cantaloupe) and slate gray. Black uppercase letters spell the words Nom Nom to the left of the bar — a reminder of where you are in case you imbibe too many Saap Lais (spicy lychee cocktails). On each visit, the service was efficient and the food arrived quickly.

One time, love songs by Boyce Avenue wailed mournfully from the speakers. If I was a rom-com heroine recently ghosted, this may be my jam; but, it isn’t what I wanted to hear while devouring good food. On another visit, the music was turned up to an annoyingly loud volume and Mariana Pracharova belted out Rhianna covers. Why couldn’t I have Rhianna singing Rhianna songs? The volume of loud chatter crept up over the music until the room was so noisy I wanted to leave. Great food, cool space, better music and less noise and I would be a regular.


Rachel Pinsky can be emailed at couveeats@gmail.com, or followed on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @couveeats

If You Go

What: Nom Nom Restaurant & Grill.

Where: 801 C St., Vancouver.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Information: 360-718-7360 or www.nomnomnw.com

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