Summer Rolls

🇻🇳 VIETNAM / HISTORICAL: Two locations in the San Gabriel Valley provide a direct flight to Ninh Hòa on Vietnam's south central coast.

🇻🇳 VIETNAM
📍 9016 Mission Drive,
Rosemead, San Gabriel Valley.
🅿️ Private lot
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: There is a second location of Summer Rolls in Temple City at 5728 Rosemead Blvd.

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📆 Original Article 01 May 2019

For those used to cruising Rosemead for many years, it may have seemed like the restaurant here has changed from its original incarnation, but step inside and find that it is really only the name that underwent renovation. While "Summer Rolls" might seem fairly humdrum, they serve the same specialties. What used to be Nem Nướng Ninh Hòa now just puts it in the fine print: "A nem nướng restaurant."

For residents of Rosemead, this corner is invaluable to life, with In-N-Out Burger right next door. But Summer Rolls is the place to go for an escape to Ninh Hòa, a town in the South Central Coast province of Khánh Hòa.

The proper way to begin your journey here is always the nem nướng dặc biệt special for 2 ($35, above). You can of course get them pre-wrapped in smaller quantity and go for Central Vietnamese specialties like bánh bèo, small steamed shrimp rice cakes, but on a first visit do as they do in Ninh Hòa and have all the components placed in front of you.

As seen here, the platter includes more than just nem nướng. Those grilled pieces of sweet pork are the bulky charred bricks on skewers, but the plate also comes with chả ram tôm, thin cigar-like egg rolls with shrimp; nem chua nướng, the small fermented pork sausage seen at the top; and nem cap, more pork wrapped in banana leaves.

While it is perfectly acceptable to eat it directly, the magic of the spread is the DIY nature of making your own rolls. A plate of rice paper comes ready to be dipped in water and wrapped around your choice of meats and greens from the mountain of herbs and lettuce that accompanies it.

The orange dipping sauce called tương nếp comes standard but is thick and sweet. There is also a tasty fish sauce-based nước chấm, but this may have to be asked for, and your cousins in Central Vietnam will probably look down on you for doing so. Either way, prepare for a feast and enjoy.

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