Chi Em Eats

I promise all the experiences won’t just be me eating, but what the fudge else is there to do right now? I will get my fill of restaurant food while the weather is still cooperating for outdoor dining. 

My mom had mentioned wanting to try a Vietnamese restaurant that opened in Emporia, Kan., about a year ago. She is retired and I am only partially employed right now so having lunch 90 minutes away from my house feels ok. 

Who knew downtown Emporia could be so hip?

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a very loose connection to the owner of this restaurant - she is the sister in law of my cousin’s husband. Follow that? Look, I’m from Kansas where we are all just two degrees of separation from anyone living in the Midwest. These ties are unavoidable. But I am so glad to have made this connection because what a dining treat in a town mostly populated by lame chain restaurants. 

The building is unassuming, but in a cool, old-town brick building in a historic downtown area. The interior is clean as a whistle and I was especially drawn to the paper cranes that hang down the walls. It was just such a refreshing space. Unfortunately the dining room is closed due to Covid, but they remain open for take out and have a few quaint bistro tables set up on the sidewalk outside the building. 

Now I want to hang paper cranes down all my walls. But it would probably just end up looking like I hung the contents of my recycling bin all over my house.

I always stalk the menu of any place I am about to eat. I don’t want to miss anything by having too many happy hour cocktails or getting caught up in gossip with my dining companions. So I almost always know what I want before I go. This was no exception. 

Very cool design. And look at those prices?! Our bill was less than $35 for two people and we got the works.

Darla is less prepared. The best part of going places with my mom is she lets me take charge and boss her around. I love taking trips just the two of us because she goes along with everything I say. She thinks I am worldly and smart. I’m not, and you should all be worried that she and I travel together so frequently. Anyway, the menu was scary to her because she kept trying to pronounce the items in Vietnamese. Darla, you are not fooling anyone. Just say “dumplings.” So I usually order all our food for us. 

Here was our order:

Pork Dumplings (6) $6

Pork Belly Spring Rolls (3) $9

Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli $9

Sesame Balls (3) $5

Vietnamese Limeade $4

I knew I wanted to try the Vietnamese Limeade. I needed to know what made the limeade Vietnamese exactly. Mom ordered water (lame!). 

There was no description with the limeade so I smelled it before I tasted it. Smelled lime-y. But the color looked more like a ginger ale. I took my swig. It was tart and salty! I was in love. This is a favorite flavor profile for me so the unique blend was a triumph. I gave Darla a sip. “It tastes like Pine Sol smells,” she said. So that was a “no” from her. But I was intrigued. I filed the question  of what was in the drink in my mind for when I went in for a refill.

The Limeade of Intrigue.

The food was all so fresh and light. And pretty! I imagine the presentation is much more impressive during non-pandemic times when it is served on beautiful dishware in the ambience of the dining room. But the taste was equally good on paper plates.

Pork dumplings are usually the stick against which I measure most Asian cuisine places. These were probably the best I have had in the Midwest. The dough was chewy and had the right amount of sear, plus the pork was well seasoned and proportioned. Didn’t even need the soy sauce for dipping. 

Look at that perfect sear.

The Vermicelli was a solid dish. The two highlights of the plate for me were the lemongrass chicken and pickled daikon. I was told later by the chef that the chicken is thigh meat, which was surprising because I didn’t taste any of the fat - it was just moist and flavorful. I am a sucker for daikon because I grew up eating radishes straight from the garden so I am hard core about eating roughage and roots.

The daikon is hiding under the carrots. It shouldn’t have stage fright. It is delicious.

The Spring Rolls receive a similar review to the Vemicilli. The pork belly was not gristley, just a chewy blend of salt and smoke. I’ve had pork belly that I felt I had to chew for five minutes or risk choking on it but that was not the case here. The fish sauce for dipping was mellow and cool. This is the perfect late-summer dish.

I promise to up my photography game. That fish sauce was legit, though.

But gang, let’s get back to the limeade and my personal favorite dish of the trip: Sesame Balls.  I think my new rule for dining out will be to only patronize restaurants with “balls” on the menu. It doesn’t have to be balls as in testacles (though I do eat those, too) but just a really top-notch dish that comes in ball form. It will be a challenge to top these balls, though. Our server brought the Sesame Balls out about 15 minutes after he delivered our entrees so they would be toasty and fresh. This is the closest dish to a dessert Chi Em offers. The owner explained that in Vietnam they don’t serve desserts that resemble traditional American eats so she has hesitated to put many on the menu. 

Three balls won’t be enough. I want all the balls.

The smell reminded me of a funnel cake before you top it with powdered sugar - that fried dough you just want to shove in your mouth but is still hot from the oil so you try to have restraint…just me that feels that way? We cut into it before we ate it, more out of curiosity than fear. It looked like cornmeal inside. We took our halves of the ball. The fried dough was so perfect I am sad right now because I don’t have it in my mouth. But the filling- what was it? It was nothing I had tasted before. There was a savory aspect to it that balanced out the sweetness of the dough. 

What else can I eat as a ball? Seeking suggestions.

This felt like the right time to go in for a refill so I could get my questions answered about the limeade and ball filling. Mai, the owner, was near so I affronted her with my questions.

“Ok, I have to know, what is the salty flavor I am getting in the limeade? I know it isn’t just salt, but there is something familiar about it,” I said. 

She asked if I liked it. “Totally!” I exclaimed. I told her mom was not a fan, though. So what gave it the flavor? 

Fermented limes. Mind. Blown. There was a giant glass jar of it steeping on the counter and I was fascinated. This was not your Sonic Happy Hour style limeade. This was legit like you would get at an open-air market in Vietnam and I am here for it. I also want to put tequila in it. 

Next question while I had Mai on the rails, “What’s the filling in the Sesame Balls?” Get ready, friends. It was MUNG BEANS! PCHOOH! (That was my brain exploding.) The mung beans are made into a type of paste before being wrapped in my funnel cake dough, rolled in sesame seeds and fried. Mai said she used to eat them for breakfast when she was growing up. I agreed that would be tasty, but I would like to take Toaster Streudel frosting packets and squeeze them all over the balls. 

Before we left, Mai surprised us with a to-go container of her latest creation, Mango Salad. We were stuffed, but I knew that AJ would be amiable to taste testing. I gave it to him when I walked into the house as I went to wash my hands, and by the time I returned from the bathroom it was half gone. I went to get my own fork and demanded a bite for the sake of my review and he begrudgingly allowed it. Again with the spice and fruit! I am such a junkie for it. Fresh mango slices with a cayenne pepper topping? Yes, please!

While Emporia is not exactly convenient from the KC metro, anyone who finds themselves traveling down 1-35 through Kansas should make the quick pit stop to refresh with food that isn’t gluttonous and supports a small business. It is literally two minutes from the interstate so it’s probably easier to get to than Burger King. And do yourself a favor and put all the balls in your mouth while you are there. 

Chi Em Eats

11 East 6th Avenue

Emporia, Kansas 66801

620-208-6500

info@chiemeats.com

http://www.chiemeats.com