Little Sister

Im usually about substance over style in my dining (as is clear in most of my reviews) but Little Sister was just pitch perfect — I love the relaxed yet chic atmosphere, the selection of classic west coast hip hop, the attentive and knowledgeable but not overly friendly waitstaff, and the overall vibrant energy of this place. perfect for an enjoyable friday night meal with friends! we were lucky enough to score a table without a reservation, but I would not recommend it. definitely book ahead!
onto the food: I agree with another reviewer on the hit-​or-​miss aspect of fusion restaurants but this place absolutely delivers. the flavors were all there. my dining companion and I had dueling dietary restrictions that precluded us from sampling our first-​choice picks, but we landed on a few compromises. while the octopus was a tad undercooked for my liking, the salad had a the right balance of sweetness to acid and the vietnamese crêpe was, much to my surprise, a satisfying highlight. the dessert sampler was a perfect ending to our light meal.
location is great for a walk on the pier to digest your meal and enjoy the sunset and the price point is VERY reasonable for what you are getting (you can expect to pay up to twice as much for sub-​par offerings elsewhere in the area.)
I will definitely be back next time Im in manhattan beach!

Go to this place. It is amazing. Awesome service, attentive staff and chef, delicious food– made with love and attention to detail. Watching the team craft and perfect their dishes is absolutely mesmerizing. They clearly care and love the art of food and making their guests happy. I recommend the dumplings, the lemongrass chicken paired with the ‘stainless steel’ Chardonnay. My server Devon was truly outstanding and raised my experience to the next level. Very pleased with Little Sister all around. Enjoy!

Kind of interesting place. Not traditional at all. Kind of a wannabe mb post across the street. Way too loud music trying to keep the vibe up. Food was good. This is one of the only acceptable fusion style places I would ever go back to. This is the spot for white people to bring a date somewhere that’s not serving American food but too scared to drive a little east for the real thing. I have little bad to say about this place but would I go back again? Eh.

This is a Vietnamese fusion restaurant located in the heart of MB. Food is good and portions are generous. Parking is not easy here, especially on weekend but that is true of the whole strand. Would return!

Dining at Little Sister freshens up the jaded palate with its well executed take on Asian fusion. We came without reservations on a busy Friday night and the resto was packed but were seated in less than 5 minutes by the bar.
Service was pretty consistent, pleasant and attentive throughout, five stars. Cloth napkins, fork and knives with chopsticks provided together is well thought out and appreciated. Water bottles so people can refill on their own, again shows the thinking behind, excellent. Dishes are well explained when they are served.
Noise level is a bit elevated but you can still hear yourself. Ambience is pretty cool and simple, friendly.
I’ve been meaning to come to this place because of the lobster fried rice but it is no longer on the menu, I came too late. However, our chosen selections did not disappoint at all.
The duck sate needs to be eaten with the caramelized peaches, there is a big difference. Best papaya salad I’ve eaten so far, and I’ve tried far and wide. The crisped pork belly was both tender and crispy as promised, perfect with the red and black rice which was a delight in itself as you rummage underneath for shrimps, scallops, okra and squid. Dessert was a choice of 3 items and we opted for the panna cotta, crème brûlée, and gelato with Vietnamese coffee which packs quite a kick. While ads say it is primarily Singaporean cuisine, it is to my opinion more Asian fusion. The general impression is that the dishes are well thought out, and well executed, with a few delightful surprises that exalt it from the everyday Asian/​Vietnamese fare. Five stars.
Bill for 5 dishes, iced tea, a glass of wine, 2 iced coffees came to $ 109, not bad at all, and the food, while small in proportions, can feed 3 pretty well. Five stars.
So why I am withholding one star? It is a bit cramped, reserved for the stodgy factor of pleasant seating with plenty of elbow room. But doesn’t denigrate the more important aspects which this restaurant successfully delivers — food and service.
Bringing in the entire family next time and making reservations. And a few more friends.

Pretty upmarket and pricey restaurant serving Southeast Asian cuisine. While we liked the ambience, my party felt that the food was lacking. The dishes sounded impressive but when served, we were pretty disappointed. We tried a variety of items recommended, and the only ones I enjoyed were the Myanmar okra curry (goes well with their Jasmine rice) and the papaya salad. Everything else was either too bland, salty, oily, or nothing special (yet so pricey). Definitely did not meet expectations. I believe there are places serving much better Asian food at a more affordable price.
Items that stood out (in a bad way):
— the duck sate was highly recommended, but wasn’t good. It tasted more like plain grilled chicken, and was so dry!
— the sa-​po dish is a red oily soup with a whole bunch of seafood. The broth had no distinct flavor, and the seafood were also really bland
— lemon grass chicken was way too sour

I’ve been to Little Sister a couple times for dinner and decided to stop by for lunch. Had the Green Papaya salad, Bahn Mi, and Pan fried noodles.
Food was good but the service was SO SLOW. There were only 5 tables and the place could not accommodate the customers. My hot dish came out first and we had to sit and wait over 35 min in the same seating to get the cold dishes!

Review ⁶⁸⁄₃₆₆
With so many good restaurants in the heart of Manhattan Beach, Little Sister stands out by offering great service and Vietnamese Asian fusion fare.
I came here with my parents last night for an early dinner. I was a bit surprised to find the restuarant half full at 5:30pm. Since we didn’t have reservations, the hostess seated us at a large communal table that seated maybe 12? Since we had some dietary restrictions within our party, our waitress was very patient circled the menu items that fit our restrictions and/​or they could modify. The food is served family style and they recommend ~2 dishes pp. In the end, we ordered the following:
Grilled Pork Spring Rolls
Grilled Prawns Papaya Salad
Red-​braised pork belly
Sea bass
Vietnamese Crêpe
E-​fu Young noodles
Although all the dishes were very good, myy favorite were probably the red-​braised pork belly and the e-​fu young noodles. The pork belly was tender and melted in your tongue– they rendered the fat and crisp it up so you get the tenderness from the meat, and the crispiness from the fat. the pork belly comes in 4 pieces and sits on top of a cream colored sauce, all topped off with some crisp shitake mushrooms.
The E-​Fu Young Noodles looked like thicker egg noodles, w/​a slightly sweet/​savory sauce. It comes w/​a marinated soft boiled egg (like the ones you’d find in your ramen – I think it’s called «Ajitsuke Tamago»).
I’d probably pass on the Seabass. While it was good, the seabass was so disintegrated, I wonder how much seabass was even in there to begin with.
Overall, while competition among restaurants is fierce in the Manhattan Beach area, Little Sister stands out with is Asian Fusion offerings and great service. Definitely swing by and check it out.

Fusion foods are usually a hit or miss; but with the rave reviews, an innovative menu and drool worthy photos, my husband and I stopped by during our trip to LA.
We were quite particular with the dishes we ordered and I think that highly contributed to our positive experience. I steered clear of the dishes that DIDN’T stray too much from the traditional version (Vietnamese crêpe, shaky beef, caramelized pork and egg, and papaya salad to name a few). If I had wanted an authentic dish, I would have gone to Little Saigon and gotten it for ¹⁄₃ of the price :) We ended up getting the phở cuon, pork belly w/​leak fondue, lemongrass chicken and e-​fu noodles. The food was delicious and we were so thrilled with our choices. They were creative and different while still remaining very much Asian. The dishes appear to be Vietnamese based with touches of Chinese and Thai. We were also pleasantly surprised with the large servings; for this type of establishment we were expecting smaller. Given the portions, the prices are rather reasonable. The service and atmosphere was great. Awesome place for date night. They also have a decent drinks menu.
Cons: parking is bit difficult to find being in downtown LA. The predominant flavours in the dishes we ordered were sweet, salty and spicy so the flavours can get a bit redundant after awhile. Some of the dishes are very spicy and this is coming from someone who puts hot sauce on everything. They don’t warn you on the menu either.
Overall we really enjoyed our visit and would definitely come back if we were in the city.

Over all it was decent. The salads were my favorite part. We tried 2 different salads, a vegetable dish, a rice paper wrap, and the fried dish Bahn Mi. I wasn’t disappointed but I won’t be hurrying back.
The atmosphere was nice and the service was great!

Read the review from Valerie A. She’s the one I came here with.
5 stars. Food was good, love the ambiance, but the thing that stood out to me was service!
We were seated promptly. The restaurant is fairly small so it’s nice when you make a reservation that there’s actually a table for you when you get there. Our waiter was super attentive… (I wish I remember her name.) and was very well informed to help me with vegetarian items and was willing to discuss was much as we questioned about the menu. She was overly helpful to make sure we were ordering great items. Part way through our meal, the manager came over and asked us to move tables to accommodate a larger party coming in. For helping she offered us some free dessert. We probably would have moved if you just asked us, but the free dessert was so sweet. She thanked us, our waiter thanked us, and the manager came over one more time before we left to thank us again. WOW, seriously, it makes you feel very valued when they know they have interrupted your meal. Valerie told me that they called her the next day too to make sure that our meal was satisfactory. Possibly the best service I have ever received. Hats off, you know how to make your patrons feel special!
Now… to the food!!!
Imperial Rolls: I thought these were delicious. Comes with 3, good for sharing!
Myanmar Okra Curry: Take me back to Asia! Really good. This maybe was my favorite. a little spicy, so be careful if you can’t handle the heat! So much flavor. I’ll def be ordering this one again!
Shaky Shaky Beef: I didn’t eat this, but the rice was BOMB! haha, Valerie said it was really good and my husband loved the leftovers. Probably a great dish for your carnivores out there!
Panfried Noodles: Came with pork which I didn’t eat… This was just ok, but I’m sure if you ate with the pork, it would be way better.
Dessert plate: Don’t even remember what was on this one… but all were really good!!!
Great selection of wine. Great food. Great ambiance. OUTSTANDING service.
I will be back!

You know, I think I should just steer clear of «Asian Fusion» places, because I’m often disappointed. I always compare the dishes to the original, and usually I prefer the $ 7 version you can get in the San Gabriel Valley.
We went with Unilocal recs and got the Imperial Rolls and the Lobster. Tasty, but you guess it — would have much preferred getting spring rolls at Phở 99 or the garlic lobster/​crab dish at Newport Seafood.
Tip: If you like cracking your own lobster, go for it. OR, if you want to save your time and hands (and clothes, if you’re my hubby), you can just pay the $ 5 and have the staff remove the meat for you and make you a tasty, much easier to eat fried rice.
Service was great and the restaurant is cute. And I always like taking a walk in MB to help digest. Just probably won’t be back here any time soon.

Must do an update since it’s been a while.
This is still a gorgeous restaurant to me and the food is still great.
The menu has changed: Smaller plates with smaller prices.
I just need to give a 4 star instead of 5 because although the servers are always pleasant, we just go far too long with empty glasses. I mean, completely empty with server no where in site. I finally just got up to «go to the restroom» but really wanted to bump into her to say (nicely) get your ass over there already. We shouldn’t have to do that… and it’s every time. Also, they ran out of one our favorite dish *again* … the lemongrass beef.
This is still a «special occasion» restaurant for me, but not a five star.
Server needs to actually turn her head and *look* at her other tables instead of walking away and disappearing.
Also– why in the hell do half the chairs need to be hard as rocks and the other half padded? So half of us are uncomfortable? Just plain stupid. I don’t think it looks right and it sure ain’t right for the unlucky customers who get stuck with the wooden chairs. That’s always been a turn off.
This is my daughter’s favorite restaurant and it was her treat last night. If it were up to me, I’d go elsewhere because there are other 4-​star restaurants in MB (and elsewhere) that make me happier. Also, there’s been a few too many times where it was literally a freezer in there. Not last night, luckily. But, we knew to come prepared with layers! …Just in case. Hopefully, they’re getting more consistent with their temp control. No one should be forced to eat with their coats hunched over.

I don’t know why I didn’t write a review before, I’ve coming here since March 2014 (wow! I love this place so much that I remember my first time that I came here) this restaurant is one of my favorite spot every time that I go to Manhattan Beach. I love chef Tin Vuong, I’ve been to his other restaurants (Abigaile, Wildcraft, Dia de campo), all of them are absolutely great, but Little sister is my favorite. the ambience is vey cozy either if you go with friends or with your date. Every time that I go I like to be seated at the chef’s counter, it’s fun to see how he prepares the food.

Came here on a recent date night. Had been here two other times and the food is very good. We were able to get a table around 7 without a reservation but it was communal seating. We did not mind.
We ordered the fresh spring rolls with the peanut dipping sauce, the scallop and shrimp in a clay pot and the braised beef dish. Everything was so so good. The peanut sauce is super tasty, the waitress said they mix it with coconut milk. The beef was definitely my favorite dish with a spicy but slightly sweet sauce. All our items were brought out in a good spacing — not too slow but not rushed either.
The vibe of the place is very nice too. Dim lights and really good music if you like 80s and 90s hip hop and rap. Definitely will be back when the craving for Asian fusion strikes again

11.28.15
My first time venturing into Manhattan Beach at night was absolutely enchanting. The holiday decorations were in full force, and passerbys were chatty and jolly.
Not really sure how the reservation system works. We arrived at our reservation time, saw at least one table that will fit our party, but apparently there was a specific table they had in mind for us and that party was finishing up. So we sat and waited. Those other tables never really got filled. The restaurant also turned walk-​ins away (well, they told the walk-​ins a 30 – 45 minute wait).
It’s almost heartbreaking what you can charge for Asian food if you use the word fusion. That said, our entire meal was delicious, and I can understand why Little Sister is so popular.
My favorites of the evening were the laotian chicken lettuce mix, the shaky shaky beef, and the lobster fried rice (which they take the leftovers from your salt and pepper lobster and make the fried rice for an extra $ 5).
Total damage for four: $ 248

I randomly stumbled upon Little Sister and I’m so glad that I did…
I didn’t have reservations but I was able to grab a seat at the bar with my friend. We ordered some Alegash beers and the Balinese balls with banana ketchup for starters. It was okay… so this might be something you’ll want to skip.
Now what really blew my mind was the Salt & Pepper Lobster! It had amazing flavors almost like the ones you find at authentic Chinese restaurants, but this had a perfect hint of nutmeg or cinnamon. There was this hidden sweetness to it and I couldn’t get enough. After I finished the lobster, I made sure to save a little piece of meat so they can use it to make the fried rice. When it came out, it tasted almost as good as the lobster by itself. Wow! The flavors were perfect and I can’t wait to come back and try some more!
Thanks to all of the helpful Unilocal reviews. I felt extra prepared upon ordering the lobster.

Intimate hipster vibe located on the busy street of dtla. Probably best to make a reservation just to be safe :). My boyfriend and I had our date night on Tuesday around 8pm and the place was packed.
The server recommended us to order 2 – 3 dishes per person and share them family style. We decided to order a total of three entre’s and our $ 5 fried rice (will talk about that in a bit).
:Salt and pepper Lobster: Pricey, around $ 34(?) but we will def come back for more!!! WOW that was amazingly delicious! So glad my BF did his research!!! The shells were covered with flavorful seasonings and the meat was so delicious! This is coming from someone who’s sick of eating lobster since our Boston trip. The skillet kept it hot the entire time. We also paid $ 5 for them to make fried rice out of the leftover lobster juice. Honestly, this order plus rice is filling enough for two. The dish has a kick of spiciness to it and the sauce was pretty buttery.
:Bone Marrow Soup: The soup was great, the highlight of this dish was the bread. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. We enjoyed the soup but after we had the lobster dish, nothing else topped it.
:Snapper Filet: Perfect dish for fish lovers. The meat was soft and the sauce was pretty good. Again, anything after that lobster dish… didn’t impress us.
Just get the lobster dish and the $ 5 fried rice… And make sure not to get the sauce on your nice top like I did… That’s enough to fill you up plus the table that seats two people was pretty small.
Sending hugs to our table neighbor, Katie xoxo

My husband and I came here last night to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, and Little Sister was a great choice for a yummy and fun meal.
We started off on the right foot with a complementary glass of celebratory champagne for each of us, which was so nice :) Chelsea, our waitress, was really helpful in our decisions for which dishes to get and how many. She suggested one of the little provisions to start, and we let her choose — she brought us the fried okra, which was amazingly complex in flavor with layers of spices. We next had the imperial rolls based on the Unilocal recommendations, and we were not disappointed — it was our favorite dish of the night! The filling was really savory, and the wrapper was super light and crispy. This was nicely contrasted with the crisp lettuce wrap and lightly spicy dipping sauce.
We initially thought about getting 3 entrees but Chelsea talked us down to 2, and that was definitely the right decision. The shaky shaky beef was a large portion, and I could eat that sauce for daaaaayyys. I was a little disappointed that the beef was somewhat chewy, though. The claypot scallops with sweet shrimp was an interesting dish with great curry flavor. I particularly liked the little shrimps, and the scallops were nicely seared. The red rice was al dente and added a lot of texture.
Overall we had a great time, and the service was always attentive and friendly. We’ll definitely be coming back, as every single item on the menu looks amazing!

Das allerbeste Restaurant in dem ich je gegessen habe. Die Zubereitung der Speisen ist eine Kunst. Die Speisen zergehen förmlich auf der Zunge. Die Kombination aus vietnamesischer und französischer Küche ist perfekt getroffen.

A very cute little restaurant in Manhattan beach, loved the rusty industrial décor and relaxing atmosphere. A perfect place for a romantic dinner date.
The menu was fairly big, but they didn’t have any fish dishes in «fish & shellfish» section, so where did all the fish dishes go, just weird. The beer and wine lists were decent, I picked an IPA, hubby picked a light beer, they were all very tasty.
I am a big fan of Asian fusion food, that’s why we wanted to try this place. Didn’t know it was Southeast Asia food, mostly Singapore food, lots of curry flavors, it was not really my thing, everything was a little too oily for my taste, and not flavorful enough. It’s all shareable small plates, portions are still decent if you are not awfully hungry, 4 plates should be enough for two ppl.
Our food:
Tendon chips with curry spice: it was a little too oily according to hubby, but he liked the curry spice.
Assorted vegetables in Myanmar curry sauce with fried whole egg: it was a little bland, but I still liked the vegetables.
Singapore style soft shelled crab with Manh Mi buns: it was like a sandwich, loved the spicy sauce on the side, but the crab was a little too greasy, I had hard time eating it.
Singapore curry noodles, with prawns and pork: we asked the chef to split the noodles, one with pork, one with prawns, they were very delicious, loved the noodles, the prawns were a little hard and chewy, hubby said the pork was very good just a little too salty.
To be honest, we weren’t impressed with the food, what we tried were just either too salty or too oily, but not flavorful at all. I was quite disappointed cause I really liked the ambiance of this place. Service was very friendly and fairly attentive.
We might be back sometime, but won’t be my first choice to eat around here, there are still many other restaurants that I have yet tried. Since I am new to South Bay, still plenty of places for me to explore!