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2013-09-22
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I, like most people, is a big fan of flavorful and appetizing Southeast Asia food. My personal favorites are pho tai, deep-fried soft shell crab rolls, Vietnamese baguette & Sugarcane Shrimp . Vietnamese cuisine can never win on complexity but it’s the refreshing natural ingredients and mouthwatering fish sauce that seduce everyone. Rice paper serves Vietnamese food but not in an authentic way. We were seated a little after 11:45am and the place was fairly empty . We were refused to be seate
My personal favorites are pho tai, deep-fried soft shell crab rolls, Vietnamese baguette & Sugarcane Shrimp . Vietnamese cuisine can never win on complexity but it’s the refreshing natural ingredients and mouthwatering fish sauce that seduce everyone.
Rice paper serves Vietnamese food but not in an authentic way. We were seated a little after 11:45am and the place was fairly empty . We were refused to be seated next to the window overseeing the Victoria harbor as the waitress said that specific area was only opened after 12pm . We ordered the Viet Sampler as appetizer to share, followed by Viet raw beef rice noodles and Chargrilled pork neck with bua cha cold vermicelli as main courses.
The lunch sets were reasonable priced – main:$88, appetizer+main:$116.
The Viet Sampler included crispy soft shell crab, prawn rice paper roll, steamed pork parcel and Vietnamese sausage . Prawn rice paper roll was pretty good. Lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, sizable prawns and vermicelli were nicely wrapped in chewy rice papers. Refreshing, but it would be even nicer if peanut sauce was served with this particular wrap .
Crispy soft shell crab was not crispy and I could taste a mouthful of oily flour . Steamed pork parcel was a delightful slide dish and the pork mince inside was nicely flavored. The steamed rice paper was really soft which gave an exciting textural and flavorful contrast .
The Vietnamese sausages were however a slight disappointment to us. After my recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City, I am very intrigued to the flavorful Vietnamese sausage which has a chewy and ham-like texture. Unluckily, the version appeared in Rice Paper was rather tasteless compared with the authentic ones .
Viet raw beef rice noodles (Pho tai) was a bit on the bland side . Arriving 10 mins later than the other main course, the sliced beef was no longer raw. The beef broth was also not aromatic at all. There were rightful amount of noodles, cooked beef and basils but they all tasted nothing extraordinary. The restaurant did not use the same noodles that you could find everywhere in Vietnam or in any authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Hong Kong. Therefore, you could never enjoy it in a local way .
Chargrilled pork neck with bua cha cold vermicelli was a better option . The grilled pork neck soaked the mouthwatering flavour of fish sauce and made a good complement to the cold vermicelli . Blessed with the right amount of lean meat and fat, the texture was light and chewy. However, a few slices of the pork neck was overly grilled which resulted in a slightly burnt surface .
I have tried this restaurant few years ago in their already closed branch in WTC in Hong Kong Island. Neither the food quality nor the service deteriorated (or improved). The restaurant was nicely decorated in a French colonial style and the service was above average. However, it would not be the best destination for authentic Vietnamese cuisine.
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