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2012-11-28
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Having lived in Hong Kong for 2 years with my Vietnamese wife, we have been on the constant search for good authentic Vietnamese cuisine, which I have to say up till now has been mostly a disappointment.Originally coming from Sydney where we have a large Vietnamese community and with Australia being a good source of fresh produce, I have been lucky to sample some of the best Vietnamese cuisine outside of Vietnam. I also resided in Vietnam for a couple of years and I am a regular yearly visitor s
Originally coming from Sydney where we have a large Vietnamese community and with Australia being a good source of fresh produce, I have been lucky to sample some of the best Vietnamese cuisine outside of Vietnam. I also resided in Vietnam for a couple of years and I am a regular yearly visitor so when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, I know what's good and what is not.
Now for the review of Da Lat...
Intrigued by the information on the OpenRice and K11 website saying this establishment is "Specialising in traditional Vietnamese cuisine", I thought I'd head done in the afternoon and give it a try.
I arrived and went straight to the menu on the wall and saw the menu was in Chinese, English and Vietnamese - a good start. Glancing through the menu I noticed many staple dishes included however many were not. No problem, I'll sit down and order.
The best way to gauge a Vietnamese restaurants quality and ability is the sample the Phở Bò Tái. If a restaurant can't get the staple national dish of Vietnam right first go, it's unlikely they will get anything else right.
I ordered the Phở Bò Tái and waited in anticipation for what what they bring out of the kitchen. The bowl of Phở Bò Tái promptly arrived however I couldn't smell the usual aroma that accompanies each and every bowl. The waitress comes back with a tiny dish with the smallest cut of lime I have ever seen, some chopped chilli and 4 wilted Vietnamese "Hung Que" basic leaves attached to a stem - No fresh bean sprouts or Ngo Gai (culantro) to be seen. This obviously isn't going well and I haven't even started to eat yet. I don't bother asking for more fresh herbs based on the state of what has been served to me but I call the waitress over and ask for "tuong den" and "tuong ot" condiments and they were missing from the table. The waitress comes back with "nuoc mam" in a container - this was not going well. I spoke with 4 different staff members and eventually came to the conclusion that they don't have the basic clue of what Phở is and how it should be served and consumed.
Now to the taste... after the above disappointment I wasn't expecting much and I decided to dig in. The broth was flavourless hence the lack of aroma I was experiencing. It seemed to be missing key ingredients and the right balance so I decided to try the noodles. The banh pho at least was the right authentic noodle however it didn't taste fresh and appeared to be over-cooked.
Presentation: 3/10
Broth: 2/10
Condiments: 2/10
Overall I would have to say this is not only my worst Vietnamese restaurant experience so far in Hong Kong, but the worst I have experienced anywhere in the world. (Aside from Vietnam, I've experienced Vietnamese cuisine in Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris and Orange County in California).
For those wanting to experience authentic Vietnamese cuisine or at very least, have a good meal. I highly recommend avoiding Da Lat Viet Cuisine and look for another alternative.
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Never again!
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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