The Gossiping Gourmet:

What a pleasure it is to be able to dip into the treasure trove of restaurants that is Little Saigon. For those of you who have never tried the delights that await you there, we hope to tempt you. For those of you who know it, we hope to point you to new finds. The food is not only scrumptious, but affordable as well.

One of our very favorites is Xanh Bistro, tucked into a strip mall at the edge of Fountain Valley. This storefront restaurant is small and casual, decorated with photographs of Vietnam. The kitchen is presided over by Haley Nguyen, chef and cooking teacher, who also conducts local market tours of Little Saigon. She seems to be on a mission to expose and educate people to the joys of healthy Asian food.

Her cuisine is traditional Vietnamese with a contemporary touch. We find the appetizers and salads so irresistible that we are tempted to make a meal of them. The rice flake shrimp has a very light coating of crunchy rice flakes, reminiscent of Rice Krispies without the sugar — thoroughly addictive. The good-sized shrimp were very fresh and juicy. They come with a tangy, sweet plum dipping sauce, which was very tasty but not even necessary because the shrimp themselves were so good.

Classic is the deep-fried combo of shrimp and yam. We have had this mixture elsewhere “tempura”-style, but here it is simply deep-fried without batter, making it lighter. Once again, the excellent shrimp appear, this time nested in perfectly crisp shoestring yam fries. The way to eat this is to compose a “wrap” with a large lettuce leaf, adding shreds of pickled turnips, carrots and Vietnamese mint leaves. Roll it all up and dip it in the special light fish sauce, seasoned with sugar, garlic and chili.

We were particularly impressed that the dish was virtually greaseless for something deep-fried.

The juicy lime leaf chicken skewers are simple yet complex. The chicken is covered with kaffir lime leaves and then grilled. The leaves impart a unique aroma and special flavor to the chicken, a little like lime zest but more subtle.

Lightness is the hallmark of Vietnamese salads. No exception is the banana blossom salad with shrimp and pork. Banana flower may be unfamiliar to some of you, but it has a very delicate, slightly fruity taste and a wonderful, crunchy texture that, when paired with a lime cilantro dressing, is truly superb.

The shredded blossom is combined with thinly sliced shrimp, ground pork, pickled daikon, carrot, Vietnamese mint, sesame seeds and chopped peanuts, creating a refreshing and delectable mélange. The salad is served with a crispy, black sesame seed rice cracker.

Another excellent salad is the classic green papaya and mango salad with shrimp. The papaya and mango are julienned strips of the unripe fruit. They provide crunch and a mild, fruity, acid taste. Carrots, peanuts and basil create accents. The house coconut-lime vinaigrette is light and a little sweet. It provides a perfect balance.

The mustard green and chicken dumpling soup was a disappointment. The dumplings turned out to be bland chicken meatballs and the broth lacked depth.

Unfortunately, the lime and honey Cornish hen that we had been looking forward to had been sold out at lunchtime.

Instead, we selected the Thang Long fish and dill platter. You may choose a small or large size of this or several other of the entrées.

The small order was a sizzling platter of two ample white fish filets that had been marinated in fresh tumeric and galangal (very similar to ginger). Accompaniments were dill, crispy thin-sliced shallots, peanuts, rice noodles, special shrimp sauce and rice crackers to crumble on top. The fish had a lovely glaze and was tender and moist.

The shrimp and crab noodle bowl is prepared with clear mung bean noodles. These are similar to rice noodles, only lighter.

A generous amount of chunky and shredded crab and a few shrimp are sautéed and then tossed with the noodles.

The thin and flavorful sauce is mostly on the bottom, so remember to stir it up.

The promised salad that comes with all their noodle bowls is only lettuce.

The dessert menu is more extensive and inventive than usual in Vietnamese restaurants. Fusion reigns. Crème brulée is made with coconut milk; molten chocolate cake is very American, but it is served with ginger ice cream for a touch of Asia. Then there is the durian parfait with mango sauce made with that odiferous fruit that Westerners are afraid to try.

We did try an interesting hodgepodge: layers of coffee and chocolate mousse on a bed of sticky rice, topped with chocolate-flavored sauce spiked with cayenne. All garnished with chunks of pineapple. It just didn’t work for us.

If you are new to Vietnamese food, this is a great introduction, and if you are familiar with Vietnamese food, we are sure you will be pleased to discover Xanh Bistro.

It’s perhaps a bit more expensive than some, but still very reasonable and very good.

Xanh Bistro

Where: 16161 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley

When: Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; closed Tuesday

Prices: Appetizers $4.95 to $10.95, entrées $9.95 to $14.95, desserts $5 to $7, wine $15 to $25 by the bottle, $6 to $7 by the glass

Contact: (714) 531-2030; www.xanhbistro.com

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com.