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If a dish can tell a story, then the deep-fried shrimp paste at Dân Dã—the Vietnamese restaurant that sisters An and Thao Nguyen opened on Aurora’s East Colfax Avenue in April—weaves a full yarn. The crispy-edged envelopes, composed of rice paper spread with shrimp paste and then fried, brim with notes of shallot and garlic and the springy texture of their namesake crustacean. For me, when the fried shrimp paste is tucked into a spring roll and dipped in the accompanying sweet-tangy nuoc cham sauce, it’s a drive-across-town-worthy snack. But for chef An, the pockets are a nod to the past.

5280 September 2024
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Thao and An Nguyen. Photo by Sarah Banks

Her mother, Ha Pham, created this recipe for New Saigon, which opened on South Federal Boulevard in 1987. The Denver institution, which the family ran for decades before selling it in 2017, is where many locals first fell in love with Vietnamese food. (It ultimately closed after 37 years this past February.) Chef An also served the dish at West Alameda Avenue’s Savory Vietnam, the 500-seat restaurant she debuted in 2019 but shuttered this past December.

Like the shrimp paste, many of Dân Dã’s dishes reach back in time. Take the steamed clams: While the cherrystones had meat that was too big and tough for my liking, their vibrant topping of sautéed garlic, lemongrass, fish sauce, and chiles is a citrusy, spicy flavor bomb that prompts diners to request a to-go container for even the smallest remaining dribble. “Even if people don’t know that Dân Dã is our restaurant, they recognize the sauce and track it back to New Saigon and Savory and say,  ‘I know this sauce; now I know who you are,’ ” says Thao, who runs the front of the house and oversees the cocktail program.

This, in many ways, is the point of Dân Dã (pronounced “yuhng yaa”), a Vietnamese term used to describe rustic, comforting, traditional dishes that impart a feeling of warmth and togetherness. Despite opening only five months ago, the casual, 50-seat restaurant, whose centerpiece is a wall-to-wall mural of a modern woman wearing a non la (traditional Vietnamese hat), already bustles with fans looking for a taste of restaurants past. That’s OK with An, who welcomes the opportunity to cook family recipes while also crafting her own. This fervor, however, can yield long waits during lunch and dinner if you don’t have a reservation.

Dân Dã’s three-page menu is tiny in comparison to New Saigon’s or Savory Vietnam’s, which listed hundreds of dishes, but it’s still overwhelming. So much so that my husband took one look and laid his menu on the table in surrender. However, Dân Dã’s helpful, if slightly overextended, servers (two of whom are An’s and Thao’s husbands) help the unfamiliar navigate the roster of starters, spring rolls, clay pots, salads, and other specialties. While the early menus have relied heavily on staples from New Saigon and Savory Vietnam, An intends to add fresh dishes as the restaurant matures.

The spring roll platters­—three-tier towers you’ll see at the center of most tables—are Dân Dã’s showstoppers. Heaped with herbs, crisp veggies, and rice noodles as well as marinated, grilled, and fried proteins, the layers allow you to assemble flavor-packed parcels. A minor quibble: While the setups are dazzling, they emphasize the awkward height of the tables, which are too tall for the low-slung chairs. Diners can partially solve this problem by ordering the bo la lot. The savory nuggets of betel-leaf-wrapped beef, redolent with lemongrass and allspice, come with DIY spring roll fixings—minus the tower.

Dân Dã’s ca hu kho to (clay pot with bone-in fish) swims in a sauce enriched with palm sugar and aromatics. Photo by Sarah Banks

Some of An’s favorite dishes to make are salads because of the interplay of texture, flavor, and aroma. The goi thap cam, which loosely translates to “special salad,” is a masterclass in this juxtaposition. Crisp pickled lotus root, daikon, carrot, and a crunchy Asian veggie similar to celery are tossed with rich steamed pork belly, poached shrimp, and sliced squid and jellyfish. The whole bowl gets a dousing of fish sauce vinaigrette and a shower of basil leaves and crushed peanuts. Dig in and everything—crunchiness, chewiness, acidity, saltiness, sweetness, brightness, umami—happens at once.

The clay pots, polar opposites in terms of texture, are no less delicious. These stews were available at New Saigon, but here they are served in mini clay pots, a touch that elevates the experience. The bubbling sauce (made from cooking down palm sugar and water with fish sauce and aromatics) will sear the bejesus out of your mouth if you’re not patient. Spoon some of the salty-sweet liquid and braised protein—I had the tender bone-in fish, but prawns and pork are also available—over rice and let the steam dissipate. Then dive in for soothing, caramelized-sauce-covered bites that are the very definition of the comfort food Dân Dã was named for.

This dish and others are proof that memories are on the menu at Dân Dã. Longtime Denverites may be nostalgic about the eateries that once were, but An and Thao are intent on offering a new experience—one that is more intimate and ever-evolving. “I’m following my mom’s recipes,” An says. “There’s a legacy, but I now get to stand at the walk-in [fridge] and add ingredients.” 9945 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora

In Summary

  • The Draw: Hits-all-the-right-notes Vietnamese food from one of Denver’s most important culinary families
  • The Drawback: Tables are too high for the chairs; service can be harried during peak hours
  • Noise Level: Medium
  • What To Order: Any of the spring rolls; clay pot with bone-in fish; steamed pork belly, shrimp, squid, and jellyfish salad

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Temaki Den. Photo courtesy of Werk Creative

Temaki

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Bo Ssam

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