Little Sister

A great modern Southeast Asian resto in the heart of Manhattan Beach. My group and I ordered dishes from all over the menu. Highlights included the: Pork, shrimp, and crab dumplings 'Bo tai chanh' lime marinated raw beef Pan fried eggplant & basil Fried sea bass On the other hand, the shaky shaky beef was scant on the meat and the noodle dishes forgettable in terms of flavors. Don't skip the desserts as the bread pudding and chocolate tart (can't remember the exact name) were excellent. Solid service and a lively atmosphere rounded out the dining experience.

Popped in with a friend on a whim, and had a fantastic dinner here. Everything was delicious, the cocktails were on-point, and the server (big arms, blonde highlights) was so damned cute that my friend and I had to try our hardest to not flirt awkwardly - we were only partially successful. Great option in the neighborhood, highly recommend!

I admit I judged a book by its cover. The decor felt forced and unoriginal. Like it was stolen from a how-to-guide for hip places, The Suburban Addition. I asked the waiter how to pronounce a dish and he said he didn't know. Is it right to serve ethnic food that you can't pronounce? The hot sauce had an image of the Vietnam war.This is usually a guaranteed sign that the food is average. I was drastically wrong. Explosions of flavor carefully balanced and complex. Textures were crafted to complement each other. The spice was just enough to tickle your tastebuds without slapping you across the face. The vegan options weren't just afterthoughts but products of master chef imagination. I highly recommend the grilled pork chop with a fat fried rice and tender greens. Quite possibly the best pork chop I've ever had. The vegan coconut noodle dish left no desire to kill a pig and the accoutrements tied everything together.

I highly recommend this restaurant. I think of Vietnamese food usually in terms of Pho and spring rolls, but this Vietnamese restaurant has so much more to offer, from Vietnamese dumplings to Vietnamese cheese (probably from the French colony era), which is a goat cheese buche, and even deliciously fried eggplant in a peanut sauce. My experience here was unique, in a good way. The pilot light in the kitchen went out so I ended up spending over 2.5 hours here. Despite one of the longest waits for food in my life, the waiter did everything he could to accommodate us, even giving us 3 extra dishes: pickled vegetables, shrimp spring rolls, and the delicious Ding Dong velvet cake with coconut ice cream for dessert. The food itself was very very good: 1. SHAKY SHAKY BEEF The beef was on the more well-done side but still very good and savory. The rice that accompanied it was really original in taste an savory as well. It was a bit crispy on the top, which I really liked. 2. EH-FU NOODLES The Eh-fu noodles were also very good, but more sweet than I expected, so be warned if you don't like sweet dishes. 3. PAPAYA SALAD The green papaya salad was amazing. It was really a burst of flavors in my mouth, coming from the dried shrimp, mango, green papaya shreds, and jerky. The salad had the perfect level of spice in my mind. 4. SHRIMP SPRING ROLLS WITH PEANUT SAUCE Very good and very refreshing. There was also some dried shrimp in them that I really liked. Overall, I would say they are the best shrimp spring rolls I've ever had. The peanut sauce was also delicate and addicting, velvety, sweet and salty. 5. PORK, CRAB, SHRIMP DUMPLINGS (YOU MUST ORDER THIS!!) So frickin amazing. HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE DISH IVE HAD HERE. The dumpings are served warm with a spicy peanut sauce and they burst with flavors and are so juicy. I love how they are garnished with fresh cilantro, which is so unique to Vietnamese cuisine. 6. THE DING DONG DESSERT (YOU MUST ORDER THIS TOO!!) I was soooo nice to end my meal with this dessert. The cake is big enough for 2 people to share. It is very satisfying to take your spoon and crack the rich chocolate shell of this dessert, and then dive into the smooth velvety, red colored and moist cake. The intenseness of the chocolate is calmed by the neutral flavors of the red velvet cake. The creamy center is delicious too. I recommend creating the prefect bite with a piece of the cake (including its chocolate shell), the coconut ice cream, and a dollop of the vanilla cream provided. Its heavenly!

I met a girlfriend for an early dinner on a Monday night. We happen to get there right on time for Happy Hour, which was a pleasant surprise. Overall I would give this place 3.5 out of 5, but since there are no half ratings, it definitely falls closer to 4. Let's say 4 -. Food: 4.5 out of 5 I've been to their sister location in Redondo Beach before, so I had a good idea of what I am in for. I was not disappointed. We started with the char sui pork steam bun, salt & pepper prawns with a cashew curry (so. so. good.) and the lemongrass beef over vermicelli. It's all tapas style, to share. I would not recommend the bun for sharing, because (at least for HH) you only get 1 per order. Or order two. It was good, just not easy to share. The lemongrass beef was really good, but the vermicelli needed a sauce or something. They just stuck together and became hard to eat with only chopsticks. Prawns were excellent, but the curry, the cashew curry is where it's at. Please add the curry as its own dish. Thank you! Lastly, we got the oxtail stew. It comes with a baguette, butter and pate. Baguette, butter and pate should be available as an appetizer. The warm bread alone is yummy. The oxtail was cooked properly and fell apart on the fork. The broth was flavorful. It is so good, that the only pic I took was blurry and I did not even notice. For two people, it was a good amount of food. And we had some left-overs. If we tried harder, we could have finished it probably. Ambiance: 2.5 out of 5 It's a cute place, with an inviting atmosphere. My complaint would be that the tables are much too close. You're sitting very close with the people next to you and that's incredibly uncomfortable. My friend sat on the bench. She had to get up to use the restroom and almost wiped off everything on the table, trying to squeeze through (she's rather petite). For the high brow atmosphere they're aiming for, the tight squeeze is a tacky move. That being said, it's also not the place to take pics of your food. I was pretty uncomfortable taking the pics I took. Service: 3 out of 5 It was fine. Not great, but not bad. The waiter was a bit "over it" but maybe he was just having a bad day. Not anything that would deter me from returning tho.