Usher in the spring with Mo Mong's spring rolls

By Sasha Schoch and Allie Schaich     3/6/12 6:00pm

On a suggestion from our native Houstonian friend, we ventured off the METRORail to try Mo Mong, a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant. Though at first we were skeptical about dining at a restaurant that was almost empty at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, within 20 minutes of our arrival, the restaurant was alive and bustling with all different types of people.

Mo Mong prides itself on being an urban hideaway that creates delicious Vietnamese food from traditional family recipes. The decor has a very modern feel; we were led upstairs to a dining area with booths and tables. The restaurant is very dark and gives off a nightclub vibe, but the intimate setting would work well for a casual date. Modern art pieces by local artists hang from the walls, available for purchase. The downstairs consists of a patio bar and bamboo garden for sunny days or a warm Houston night. Open for 10 years now, Mo Mong has garnered fame for their delicious spring rolls and curry.

We started our dinner with an order of grilled-chicken spring rolls and vegetarian fried-egg rolls. The spring rolls were delectable, and one order was more than enough to split between two or more people. They were covered in a clear, rice-paper wrapper that was neither too chewy nor too thick, and filled with chicken, lettuce and vegetables. The rolls came with a peanut sauce that added to their otherwise bland flavor. The vegetarian, fried-egg rolls were also absolutely delicious. A very popular dish, Mo Mong neither over-fried nor under-battered the egg rolls. The appetizer came well-proportioned, with four rolls and fish sauce for dipping. The sauce was very light and simple but complemented the egg rolls.

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We ordered the Cambodian Beef, which was listed as an appetizer, for one of our main courses. The Cambodian Beef included beef skewers marinated in coconut curry and served with Vietnamese sweet rice and peanut satay dipping sauce.

Along with an appetizer, this dish can be made into a meal as it offers a lot of variety. The beef was tender and juicy, and when dipped in the peanut sauce, the skewers were mouthwatering. The coconut curry was not spicy at all and added only a mild flavor to the meat. The Vietnamese sweet rice was something we had never tasted before. It was bright yellow and very sticky. Although this rice would be too sweet on its own, it complemented the mild flavor of the beef. We would highly recommend this meal, especially to fans of red meat.

We also ordered the sesame chicken entree. It came with chicken, rice and steamed broccoli. The white meat chicken was very tender and tasty. The sauce was a little bit sweet, but it mixed well with the broccoli and rice. The steamed broccoli worked well with the chicken and the rice was well cooked.

All in all, our experience at Mo Mong was definitely worth an adventure off the METRORail.

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