Filled with minced shrimp, pork and vegetables, they came in wrappers so thin and light that they were almost transparent.

While she was waiting out the floods in Florida, she said, she had a soggy po' boy made with minced shrimp on a squishy white roll.

Gyoza, fried pork dumplings, also hit the spot, as did the soft sensual shumai filled with minced shrimp.

The best appetizer was a flavorful mixture of minced shrimp and pork wrapped in bean curd and deep-fried to gossamer goodness.

Tony Wong, the dim-sum chef, wraps minced shrimp in seaweed to look like sushi.

The menu offers some seldom seen recipes like banh la, fragile rectangular noodles stuffed with minced shrimp, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

Grilled minced shrimp wrapped around a stick of sugar cane ($5.95) is fast becoming the Vietnamese equivalent of cold noodles with sesame sauce.

The dumplings were excellent, whether fried crescents with a gingery pork filling ($5.50) or steamed packets of minced shrimp ($6.95).

Among the many starters, gyoza, fried dumplings based on Chinese jao-tzes, were pleasingly filled with minced shrimp and vegetables, instead of pork.

The version stuffed with minced shrimp, scallops and calamari is served with tender Manila clams that bob in a lush clam-and-tomato liquor.