I’ve been waiting for 1938 Indochine since its coming was announced in fall of 2017. The targeted opening in 2018 came and went, and after that, whenever I ran into owner Kevin Aoki, I pestered him with the question: “When?”
With its promise of Southeast Asian street food, it was one of the most exciting restaurant projects on the horizon, but setbacks started with permitting issues, and by the time Aoki was ready to open in April, the pandemic had added another delay. It was enough to give any restaurateur and potential customer pause.
But Aoki persevered, and after a month of trial runs, the restaurant officially opened last Wednesday, though without the fanfare that would have signaled this milestone in normal times.
Knowing the backstory, I was relieved when the restaurant exceeded my expectations. Aoki has brought the streets of Southeast Asia indoors with a collection of vintage motorbikes, window shutters, teak decor and other artifacts that give the new space an antiquated charm. It feels like the room has been standing at least 100 years.
Aoki’s fascination with the food and culture came after he graduated from New York University and went to work for his dad, Benihana of Tokyo founder Rocky Aoki. When Benihana expanded into Asia, Kevin volunteered to open outposts in Pattaya and Bangkok, Thailand.
“I fell in love with the food, the culture and the architecture,” he said. He proceeded to found the Aoki Group — including Doraku sushi restaurants and Bluetree juice bars — but never forgot his Southeast Asia experiences. About six years ago he began collecting artifacts for Indochine and its sister restaurant, Qing Mu, which opened just before the state went into lockdown in March.
The restaurant’s format takes pandemic conditions into account. So pay attention to this next part if you want to eat here.
First of all, there is outdoor and indoor seating. A casual, a la carte menu is served outside; a 10-course tasting menu inside, starting at about $50 per person.
Reservations are recommended for outside seating, and are necessary indoors, which helps with inventory at a time when most restaurateurs are unsure how much food to stock, given that dining room shutdowns could come soon.
It was sad to fall in love with a grilled cheese scallop with calamansi dressing and baby-back pork ribs, only to find when trying to order a second round that every dish had been claimed. In this pandemic age, scarcities are real, but this works out for the restaurant if it brings customers back with a craving another day.
In the kitchen are a trio of chefs from Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, creating dishes true to the contemporary flavors of Southeast Asia, including a fusion of French influences. Those who dine outside will find a menu of greatest hits from dishes introduced in the tasting dinners, where new menus are introduced every two weeks.
Current favorites include more traditional Laotian chicken laap ($9.75) which, like the more familiar Thai larb, combines the protein with a fish and lime sauce, along with minced veggies and red onions to be enjoyed as a lettuce wrap. Similarly, glass-noodle shrimp ($9.95) comprises a quartet of lettuce cups filled with a salad of cellophane noodles tossed with calamansi dressing, veggies and mint, capped with a jumbo shrimp and the crunch of garlic chips.
Better than typical spring rolls are the Imperial rolls ($10.95) with the crisp texture of deep-fried rice paper wraps and a colorful, well-textured filling of minced pork and vegetables.
More Western influence shows up in dishes of chicken pate on baguette slices ($8.50) and crabcakes ($10.95), cute buttons comprising blue crab, dill, eggs, mustard, Sriracha sauce and red peppers. They’re topped with slivers of fresh ginger and accompanied by a Dijon aioli.
One of the most unique offerings is the Ohh La La Rice Field Chicken ($14.95), delicious if you can get past the fact that the “chicken” is frog legs. I’ve always contended that frog thighs taste like chicken, while the calves are more stringy and fishy. Our waiter postulated that perhaps the difference between muscle development for jumping and swimming led to the textural and flavor profiles. At any rate, they’re deep-fried and spiced with enough Thai chiles and garlic butter to cancel out much of the difference.
On the indoor tasting menu, dishes likely to show up frequently are some form of shooter, whether of scallop, oyster or beef; chicken pate; and 1938 Crazy Fried Rice, a combination of three types of rice in both soft and Laotian-style nam khao crispy textures. I’m not a big rice fan, but the leftovers were worth taking home to enjoy another day.
Among dishes from the tasting menus that I’m hoping will reappear on the a la carte menu are chicken pot stickers with a tsukune-like filling, and citronelle rib-eye, the thin-sliced steak perfumed with lemon grass and encased in stalks of lemon grass cut to open like a paper lantern.
More Southeast Asian desserts would be welcome, but I’m glad Aoki never gave up on his dream. Certainly these are dark times, but this is a bright spot on the dining scene and a sign of optimism that it is possible to adapt to the new viral landscape.
1938 INDOCHINE
602 Ala Moana Blvd.
Food: ***1/2
Service: ***1/2
Ambiance: ****
Value: ****
>> Call: 955-1204
>> Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays
>> Prices: A la carte dining about $25 per person without drinks; tasting menu about $50 without drinks
>> Precautions: Temperature check, hand sanitizer, hot towels, social distancing, masks
Ratings compare similar restaurants:
**** – excellent
*** – very good
** – average
* – below average
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
