Hai Phong crab spring rolls from La Nhau Viet Kitchen & Bar, at 108 Murray Street, Ottawa, ON
Every month there is usually one dish that refuses to leave my brain. Not the most expensive thing. Not the most elaborate thing. Just the thing that keeps resurfacing days later, nudging aside newer meals and reminding you who actually won the month.
This month, it was nem cua bể, the Hai Phong style crab spring rolls, at La Nhau Viet Kitchen & Bar in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
A friend had read an enthusiastic online review, which I decided to follow as a guide. Normally, I prefer making my own mistakes, but this seemed like a reasonable exception.
One of the first dishes to arrive was the spring rolls. I thought little of it. Spring rolls rarely announce themselves as the best thing you will eat all month. Then these arrived.