Tasting Journal

Green Papaya
4922 Elm Street
Bethesda, MD 20814
Tel: 301.654.8986
http://www.greenpapayabethesda.com/

Open for lunch Monday through Friday. 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
Dinner Monday through Friday 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.;
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Sunday, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Nick and I had dinner at Green Papaya with his family last night for the first time. Michael and Elaine Phan, the owners of this exotically attractive restaurant, aim to take Vietnamese cuisine to another level. The serene décor is easy on the eyes; and visually exploring the beautiful artwork can help pass the time away if there is a wait… which there was last night. The restaurant’s artwork was provided by Michael’s father, Thien Phan, an artist who is currently residing in Vietnam.

Green Papaya’s menu offers a nice variety of Vietnamese dishes. The items are numbered for your convenience, just in case you are unable to pronounce the name of your entree in Vietnamese. We started dinner off with a couple of appetizers: Cha Gio (Number 1), fried rice paper rolls with a mixture of shrimp, pork, crabmeat, bean thread, and scallions; and Cuon Tom (Number 4), soft rice paper rolled with prawns, rice vermicelli, and mixed greens, served with a peanut sauce.

I’ve heard many good things about the “caramel” dishes at Green Papaya, so I decided to give one of them a try. I ordered Ga Kho Xa (Number 37), simmered pieces of tender chicken in a caramel sauce with spicy lemongrass. I wasn’t too impressed… the chicken pieces were drowned in the sauce which, in my opinion, was too sweet. However, Nick and I made a bet that I couldn’t finish the entire dish, so of course I couldn’t let him win… so right now my stomach is still aching from last night…

Nick father’s ordered Ga Kho Gung (Number 36), simmered pieces of tender chicken in a caramel sauce with ginger. This dish was pretty similar to mine… I don’t think he liked the dish any more than I did because he kept eating off of Ben’s plate. Ben ordered Mi Xao Lac, a noodle entrée, stir fried with beef, chicken, shrimp, scallops, and mixed vegetables. I think Nick and his mom ordered a couple tastier dishes. Nick’s mom had Bo Luc Lac (Number 24), stir fried cubes of tender beef with fried potato and onions, served over mixed greens with black lemon pepper sauce. Nick ordered Ca Kho Tieu (Number 34), a filet of Chilean Sea Bass simmered in a black peppery sauce and scallions, and served with steamed broccoli.

I was extremely full by the end of the evening… but I DID win that bet! We were all too stuffed for dessert this time, however on my next visit I am going to try and save some room for the fried banana flambé! Other dessert items to choose from include: flan, mango ice cream, ginger ice cream, and the combo platter with banana and ginger ice cream.

restaurants, food, Bethesda, MD, Vietnamese food, Tasting Journal