Banh Cuon Luu Luyen

We’ll cut to the chase: Banh Cuon Luu Luyen serves Orange County’s best banh cuon rice rolls, a Central Vietnamese delicacy filled either with grilled pork or fishcake. But whether it’s the best place for you to try them will depend on when you want to visit, and whether you want to sample anything new and great beyond this singularly impressive specialty item.

Banh cuon (pronounced bah-n coo-n) rice rolls are handmade, substantially thicker than the translucent disc-shaped rice paper that’s used in spring rolls, and typically filled with a heavier portion of meat or fishcake than vegetables (such as bean sprouts). Sold here as sets of three thick rolls for $12 to $12.50, they’re heavily garnished with fried shallots, then sliced in fifths or sixths. Each piece is intended to be dipped in a bowl of sweet and spicy fish sauce, which you customize to your liking as you wait for the slightly warm yet decidedly fresh rolls to come out of the kitchen.

Luu Luyen’s name and business depend on these rolls, and they always arrive both picture-perfect and packed with flavor. If you’re a minimalist, they have enough inherent umami and salty appeal to enjoy with no sauce – the protein quality here is that good – but in our experience, tweaking the fish sauce to your preferred spice level expands their appeal dramatically.

Our only note of warning: Luu Luyen doesn’t offer banh cuon options other than pork or fishcake in pre-rolled form, so if you’re seeking beef as a protein, you’ll need to look elsewhere. However, roll-it-yourself versions with shrimp, pork, mung bean shrimp cake, tofu, and/or ham are available here, each in the $11 to $12.50 range. Additional sides for customization range from $1 to $6, spanning pork floss, egg rolls, and extra proteins; 15 different drinks ($1.50 to $5) include Vietnamese coffee, Thai teas, lime drinks, and pennywort juice.