Sept. 3 marked the grand opening of White Orchid, a welcome addition to Charlottesville's small pool of Vietnamese eateries. The restaurant, located on West Main Street (in the old Station venue) is the creation of a Vietnamese chef who operated a popular restaurant in Paris until selling it to move to Virginia only a few months ago.
Structurally speaking, White Orchid has retained Station's stripped-down "service-station" feel (a pair of garage doors open out onto a European-style patio, and steel pipes twist along the ceiling). This sparse framework allows for easy wait-staff flow and ample booth seating. The simple votives and Christmas lights reflecting off the wood tables and tile walls combine with slow-turning ceiling fans and framed photos of Saigon to create a kind of surreal Vietnamese ambience.
White Orchid's staff is an eclectic bunch, a refreshing throwback to the kind of colorful, highly-personalized restaurant service that appears mostly in the movies. The owner, for example, greets his customers with a playful cheekiness and proceeds to reappear sporadically throughout the evening to provide menus, bus a few dishes or uncork a bottle of wine. The chef, too, emerges from her kitchen to chat with guests.
These atmospheric quirks only add to the restaurant's gastronomic quality. The House Meat Ball is, simply put, meaty in the best possible way. Packed with black mushrooms, delicate cellophane noodles, sprouts and peanuts and complemented with a miniature dipping-bowl of the fish sauce so ubiquitous in Vietnamese cuisine, the compact dish also boasts a remarkably complex texture.
In fact, none of the appetizers disappoint: the My Tho soup is a generous combination of rice noodles, shrimp and pork colored with trademark Vietnamese magenta pigment. Obligatory spring rolls are spiced up with a unique peanut dipping-sauce enhanced by a surprise coconut infusion. The result is an exotic (if slightly perfume-y) twist on a predictable formula. The lemongrass beef skewers are also true appetite-whetters and an excellent preview of the grilled meat to come.
It is perhaps a testament to the chef's background in the notoriously decadent French culinary world that White Orchid's entrées are unapologetically rich. The La Vong-style fish, for example, doesn't skimp on the yellowy lemongrass-infused oil; it seems more deep-fried than grilled, as advertised in the menu. But when the recipe yields such tender, flaky morsels of fish that melt in your mouth with a trace of sweetness, there's no reason to complain.
Also delicious is the Hanoi-style grilled pork. Meat is White Orchid's forte, and this meat -- cooked to smoky, slightly-charred, barbeque-flavored perfection -- could stand on its own. Instead, it's served in the house broth, a drinkable marinade simultaneously sweet, peppery and garlicky. The soup is flanked by a colorful array of Vietnamese staples: white rice noodles, pickled orange carrots, green lettuce and cucumbers.
White Orchid keeps things simple with a two-item dessert menu. The chilled flan is a winning interpretation of custard, the popular Vietnamese dessert. Although it lacks the satisfyingly crackable "crust" of crème brulée, the flan's subtle coconut flavor complements the heady sweetness of the caramel essence that pools around the custard.
While it loses points for long waits between courses, White Orchid more than compensates with its classy, aesthetically-pleasing presentation style. Bright green herbs -- cilantro and spring onion, in particular -- feature prominently in the appearance as well as flavor of most of the dishes. Some entrées also are garnished with unexpected herbs, like dill (with the fish) and mint (in the spring rolls). Each dish is served in a clean, modern style, making it all the more appetizing.
And while Charlottesville's newest culinary venture is considerably (but reasonably) more expensive than typical Asian fast-food (appetizers start around $3 and entrees run $11 to $17), White Orchid's menu, ambiance, presentation and location are certainly worth their mid-range price tags.
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