Vinh Loi Tofu — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The owner lost a HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY by never calling me back -- and this after already having been so impossibly rude to me.

I am a super happy and very friendly and polite human being, and I was throwing a massive birthday party for myself and possibly as many as 200+ guests. In fact, the party was going to begin at 1:30 in the afternoon and run until 10:30 at night. I decided to have TWO meals during that immense time-period, and a dear, dear friend -- someone who swore by Vinh Loi Tofu, and especially the owner -- suggested I make arrangements WITH the owner to have two substantial orders either be delivered and/or picked up twice during the day, all of which would go to a large sanctuary located on Haskell Avenue, in North Hills.

When I phoned -- and the owner was EXPECTING my phone call -- I reached an incredibly sweet and well-spoken woman who said he was just finishing up taking an order from some guests. I suggested she take my name and number, so that he, in turn, could ring me back when he was finished. But she said it was all right, if I didn't mind waiting. I again said I certainly didn't mind his calling me back... but just then, she said he had just finished taking the order and was, in fact, walking directly towards her and the phone. So she asked me to hold "a second," and then I heard her put the owner on the phone.

I happily introduced myself, knowing full well he'd been expecting my call. His manner was shocking. He immediately stated he was "in the middle of an important meeting," and had no time to speak with me. What?! So I began to say that that was not a problem, with my intention to ask him to return my call when he was finished with his "meeting." Instead, he rudely interrupted me and said, "Name! Number!" He already had both of those from my two emails from the evening before. But, no problem. I gave both to him, carefully spelling my name and stating my entire phone number. He again said he was "in the middle of a meeting," then nastily hung up the phone on me.

He never, ever rang me back. Not that day. Not the next day. Not the day after that. And never, ever again.

The thing is, he was openly caught in a blatant and horrible LIE. There was his wife, stating that he was taking an order from customers, and then she stated that he'd completed their order-taking, and was now walking towards her and the phone, and yet -- when he heard it was I on the phone -- he LIED.

WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?

Now, a total of over 130 guests came to my all-day/all-night birthday party. That is one hell of a lot of human beings who could have and would have eaten -- and enjoyed (???) -- all his food, right? But they never got that chance, did any of them? And why IS that? Why did this foolish man lie? Why did he turn down such a HUGE and WONDERFUL opportunity to prepare and have 130 individuals consume food of his, not once, but TWICE, in one long day? And he would have had so much FREE advertising, because surely he would have been sure to have had his business cards, maybe even menus, distributed to all these guests (many of whom do not live in the immediate area where his restaurant is located).

For instance, I reside in Santa Clarita, so lots of my friends also live in that area. Additionally, many others live in Los Angeles. ALL of these fine guests would have been first-time customers of his, and surely at least half of them would have been FUTURE customers of his, correct?

And he could have easily prepared DIFFERENT meals for each of the two services!

What a foolish, foolish man!

On top of that, he will never have ME as a customer, nor will he have any of MY friends as customers of his, because why would I ever choose HIS restaurant as a place to dine??? And then there is the fact that I have already told SO many people exactly what happened when I tried to speak with this owner ABOUT having a double service for my huge birthday party. And I am nowhere finished yet, believe me. It takes a very long time for someone of my temperament to get...

In an unassuming shopping plaza stands Yelp's 67th best restaurant in Western United States: VINH LOI TOFU.

For over 20 years, this vegan Vietnamese restaurant is in the top one hundred. Wow! Family owned and run, it has made LA's top ten lists of eateries numerous times. In case you're wondering, there are approximately 30,000 restaurants in Los Angeles.

Owner and chef Kevin Tran's unique creations are coolinary wonders. It's unabashed vegan cooking that is brilliantly presented and delicious. His staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and supportive.

Servings are large. Soups, salads, spring rolls, and stir-frys are rich and flavorful. Chef Tran creates with vegetable "meats" as a traditional chef uses animal proteins.

When Kevin downs his "host hat" he has a stash of off-menu dishes. Just ask Kevin to make you something special. He'll ask you what you like and don't like, and create a dish especially for you. I've done it many times. He and his staff have never missed.

Vinh Loi is also a carryout restaurant. We've enjoyed take-home meals with friends. Their response is always the same, "I never knew "vegan" could taste like this."

For example: When ordering traditional Vietnamese soup, an assortment of freshly cut vegetables and garden spices are separately supplied. A container of rich hot broth, that has simmered for hours, is included. Depending on which soup you order, veggies and/or vegan meats, are parcooked in the broth. At home we reheat the broth, then add the fresh veggies. The result is pure warm pleasure.

Vinh Loi Tofu carries a selection of specialty vegan products. I often buy the Original Vegan Jerky, and poach 4 or 5 slices in a vegan beef broth with julienne peppers, onions, and a touch of olive oil. When the jerky softens, place the veggies, softened jerky, and a bit of the gravy into a toasted French roll and enjoy a "beef" au jus sandwich. Served with a cup of the remaining gravy creates a French dip. It's not in Chef Kevin's league, but it's sure satisfying.

STUFF: Wheelchair accessible including a gender neutral bathroom. Free wheelchair accessible parking in the tight front lot and in the lot to the North. Phone/Internet orders may be picked up or delivered...

Came here after picking up my wife from work. I was craving vietnamese food and indian food, and when I found this on Yelp, all I read was duck fried rice. We get to the place and my wife mentioned it's a vegan place and I was thoroughly confused for a second because 1, I didn't read that it was vegan and 2, my stomach was committed to eating duck fried rice.

The second we sit down, the waitress advised that it was a vegan restaurant, and I responded like an imbecile "but you have duck?". She chuckled and smiled a bit and said, it's "vegan duck". She did t take offense but asked if we still wanted to eat there. I said, "Why not?" It had great reviews, and I was intrigued about this vegan duck. The waitress (didn't catch her name) kindly suggested that she bring us out an appetizer and a plate to start off with that. I agreed instantly without realizing I didn't order their duck fried rice. I thought I could always order it later.

The dishes come out, and to my surprise, she brought out the duck fried rice and what looked like a spam spring roll looking appetizer with a tamarind flavor dipping sauce. The spring roll was what we attacked first. It was very tasty. Lots of flavor and the dipping sauce with the hot sauce they provided were great. After obliterating the first half of my spring roll, I tried the duck fried rice. It was also very good. You get this bbq-ish flavor from the duck, which you can barely tell that it's not duck. For a vegan dish, I was surprised that I didn't really miss the actual protein. It tasted like it was real duck fried rice. The skin on the "duck" also looked like duck skin. After we stuffed our faces, I asked for dessert. The waiter (yes, male and different from the lady we started with) asked if we wanted dessert. I said yes, and he kindly asked where I'm from. I said the Philippines, and he came back out with this halol halo looking drink with coconut milk on top, some coconut jellies of different colors, and chia seeds.

The restaurant is a little small and located on a small plaza off Sherman way. I highly recommend trying it out if you are vegan or would like to try a vegan dish for...