Wichita restaurant owner hopes diners will say ‘Ooo LaLa’ to a new trend he’s introducing
It’s hard to say what will be more fun at the new Vietnamese restaurant that’s set to open in late June or early July in the former Chuyitos Birrieria space at 1415 W. Pawnee.
Will it be the food — a new experience for Wichita diners that will allow them to cook their own Vietnamese pho soup at their tables in a stone bowl filled with boiling broth?
Or will it be saying the restaurant’s name: Ooo LaLa Stone Pho?
The restaurant is owned by Vu Nguyen, who used to operate a restaurant in Oklahoma City, he said. It will focus on a trend known as stone pot pho. Customers will get the boiling stone bowl of broth delivered to their tables then will be able to add toppings like rare strips of beef, noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro and jalapenos themselves.
The purpose of the stone bowl approach, Nguyen said, is to get a bowl of pho that tastes “more fresh.”
“You can boil your own meat and boil your own noodles,” he said. “The soup is poured in the stone bowl, and the bowl helps keep the soup hot.”
Ooo LaLa will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Nguyen said. Besides beef pho, the menu will be limited but will also include things like chicken pho, lo mein, chow fun and ribs with rice. The restaurant’s Facebook page also includes a picture of a banh mi, which is a popular Vietnamese sandwich served on French bread.
The restaurant also will have a bar, Nguyen said, and seats will line the bar.
Nguyen said that he will share the grand opening date when he firms it up. Opening day will include dragon dancers at the restaurant, and the first 100 customers through the door will get 30% off and receive a free gift.
Chuyitos Birrieria, which opened in the space near Pawnee and South Seneca in 2020, closed earlier this year and is in the process of relocating to a new space at 511 N. West St.
This story was originally published May 25, 2023 at 2:39 PM.
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