In 1983, on the age of 5, Vail Rajamountry escaped war-torn Laos by crossing the Mekong River into Thailand. Three years later, he got here to the USA as a refugee. And in 2018, as an American citizen, Rajamountry returned to his native nation to marry Malaythong Vongdala, whom he had met via a godsister. Vongdala says she knew from the start that she and Rajamountry have been meant to be.
The couple began Bella Asian Food (aka Bella Lao Meals) final July by launching a meals truck that they’d saved up for by promoting face masks on Etsy. They began the enterprise, partly, after recognizing a necessity for Lao delicacies in Columbus. Whereas many Thai eating places within the U.S. are run by Laotians, their native delicacies usually will get overshadowed, leaving few alternatives to eat genuine Lao dishes. Vongdala, who grew up as an orphan on the streets in Laos, has dreamed of proudly owning a restaurant her complete life.
With Vongdala as chef and Rajamountry as supervisor, their meals truck constructed a following round city by working at occasions. However their ambitions have been greater. This previous February, the couple launched a delivery-only restaurant inside CloudKitchens, a house for ghost kitchens on Essex Avenue.
“To start with,” Rajamountry remembers, “we had nothing. We needed to hustle. We’re right here as a result of we hustled.”
The restaurant, which has meals accessible for pickup and thru third-party supply apps (which generally function a extra expansive menu than Bella’s web site), focuses on spicy Lao avenue meals. Thai chile peppers are ubiquitous all through the menu. “Some folks just like the spice,” says Rajamountry. “And a few folks don’t. In Asia, we like spice. No spice? No good.”
The meat jerky and sticky rice combo ($11.99) is value exploring and is among the hottest gadgets on the menu. The sweet-and-spicy snack is served alongside sticky rice—a staple of Lao delicacies—and consists of thinly sliced beef that’s marinated, dehydrated and flash-fried.
In the meantime, the spicy hen curry ($10.99) delivers make-your-nose-run warmth. With a souplike consistency, the coconut-based purple curry showcases boneless hen, onion, basil and two forms of peppers. When served atop the accompanying steamed rice, it makes for a hearty entrée.
The noodle seafood salad ($12.99) is among the finest dishes on the menu. This chilly, ramen noodle-based salad will be ordered with 4 completely different spice ranges, with “delicate” nonetheless packing a punch. The salad brings Southeast Asian flavors to life with tail-on shrimp, imitation crab meat, tomatoes, cabbage and peanuts wearing a mix of fish sauce and lime juice.
And the banh mi sandwich ($11.99) is a must have and an excellent possibility for folk in search of one thing decrease on the Scoville scale. Served on crusty, foot-long bread, the pickled carrots, cilantro, brilliant greens, jalapeños, pork and pâté ship an distinctive sandwich.
Extra:Finding the Perfect Banh Mi in Columbus
Issues are trying brilliant for Bella. If the ghost kitchen does properly, Rajamountry and Vongdala plan on opening a drive-thru restaurant, with the aim of franchising at some point. It simply may be meant to be.
1282 Essex Ave., Milo-Grogan, 380-888-9448
This story is from the Could 2022 concern of Columbus Month-to-month.
