A new Asian restaurant has opened in Dallas with a name-brand chef. Called Indochine Bistro, it's at 3211 Oak Lawn Ave. #B, a space that was previously home to Green Papaya Vietnamese restaurant.
Indochine serves authentic Southeast Asian food done in an elevated style, with a menu by Vietnamese-American chef Michael Bao Huynh, who has cooked at celebrity haunts in New York, and appeared on TV shows such as Iron Chef and Master Chef Vietnam.
The restaurant describes what it does as "the finest Indochine-style comfort cuisine, with an array of delectable fish options."
Huynh is a native of Saigon who left Vietnam in 1982, studied architecture, then opened a Vietnamese restaurant, Bao 111, in New York in 2001. Celeb diners included Brad Pitt, Usher, Naomi Campbell, and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
He went on to open about a dozen restaurants in New York between 2008 and 2013, ranging from an Asian burrito shop called Baoritto to a sandwich restaurant called Baoguette, earning a tag as a "perpetual restaurant opener" by Eater.
He came to Indochine via a connection to the team behind Green Papaya, the long-time Vietnamese restaurant which first opened on Oak Lawn in 1999. It was taken over in 2019 by Dylan Le, who rebranded it as a plant-based restaurant. When the plant-based concept did not prosper, Le partnered with Jessica Vo, to open Indochine, combining high-end style with affordable prices.
"I met Chef Michael through professional circles in the culinary industry," Vo says. "His reputation for innovative cooking and a passion for flavors immediately caught my attention, leading to our collaboration at the restaurant."
The restaurant still retains some Green Papaya dishes like peanut sauce, garlic sauce, grilled chicken bun, ga luc lac, and grilled chicken pho, but with a new Indochine style created by "Chef Bao."
Lemongrass beef short ribs at Indochine BistroCourtesy photo
It's a pan-Asian menu with dishes from Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos that includes:
- Vermicelli Bowl: Greens, bean sprouts, mint, peanuts, lime dressing with choice of Beef, Pork, Chicken, or Tofu
- Hot Crab Spring Rolls: Pork, shrimp, lettuce, and herbs in a crispy shell
- Clay Pot Ginger Chicken: Chicken, shallots, quail eggs, and coconut juice, cooked in a traditional clay pot
- Grilled Spicy Beef Salad: Beef in a pineapple and pomelo marinade, tossed with cucumber and mint
- BBQ Thai Chicken: Paired with a green papaya salad and sticky rice
- Wok Shaken choice of beef, salmon, or chicken
Other dishes include Lemongrass lamb chops, chili escargot, sweet & sour whole red snapper, and lemongrass beef short ribs.
Cocktails are by Orson Alexander Salicetti, a top mixologist from New York, who has designed seven cocktails exclusively for Indochine.
They've also updated the interior, with a better, more conventional floorplan than what they had at Green Papaya, whose primary pandemic-induced focus was on takeout. There's more square footage dedicated to dining in and a nicer ambience.
"We hope to provide a better Indochine culinary experience to both former customers of Green Papaya and new patrons," Vo says.
The Denim Danger is one of Lemma's popular specialty drinks.Photo courtesy of Lemma Coffee Co.