From my earliest forays learning about Vietnamese food in New Orleans, I’ve been craning my neck at restaurants for a glimpse of what people at the other tables are getting, especially when they’re speaking Vietnamese.

At Asian groceries I’m always glancing into the full carts other shoppers push down the aisles, wondering about the home cooking it will supply. What’s going down beyond the noodle shop standards of pho and spring rolls?

Visiting the new restaurant Môi in its opening days has felt like picking up an advanced course in this subject.

You’re getting pockets of tofu stuffed with pork meatballs and braised in tomato sauce (dau hu nhoi thit sot ca chua) and bun rieu, ostensibly a crab and tomato noodle soup but really a one-bowl buffet of different flavors with each dunk of t

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