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2024-12-25
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This Vietnamese restaurant is located on Wing Fung Street in Wanchai, just adjacent to PP3 on the uphill road. With plenty of plants on the flowerbeds outside, the blue frame glass doors allow the daylight in, the restaurant offers a nice chic brasserie ambience to diners.Seated at a table on the side, the rattan chairs are comfortable and what attracts the attention is the neat tiled floor and the large mural on one of the walls. It is a popular spot in the neighborhood, packed during lunch hou
This Vietnamese restaurant is located on Wing Fung Street in Wanchai, just adjacent to PP3 on the uphill road. With plenty of plants on the flowerbeds outside, the blue frame glass doors allow the daylight in, the restaurant offers a nice chic brasserie ambience to diners.
Seated at a table on the side, the rattan chairs are comfortable and what attracts the attention is the neat tiled floor and the large mural on one of the walls. It is a popular spot in the neighborhood, packed during lunch hours, with also lots of people hang out after work before dinner.
I have a cocktail to start. La Vie Boheme ($138) is a concoction mixing gin, French fortified wine, elderflower, grapefruit, lime, and sparkling wine. Refreshing and a bit fizzy, the cocktail is a nice aperitif to get the dinner started. My wife has a Young Coconut ($78) which is also good.
For the food, we start with Goi Ga ($128). It is a salad made from shredded cabbage, chicken and Vietnamese herbs, seasoned with ginger nuoc cham, with prawn chips on top. The nuoc cham sauce is very good, amazing and complex in taste, bringing the flavors of the ingredients to the full.
We also have Cai Trang Xao ($98), a simple dish of wok fried cauliflower, mixed with black bean, chilies and pickled garlic. The cauliflower has the right texture, well-cooked with still a nice bite, with the black beans giving some savory taste and a bit of kick from the chilies.
For the main course we have Tom Nuong ($208), grilled tiger prawns drizzled with garlic burnt butter and seasoned with some kaffir lime leaf. The prawns are fresh, with the meat firm and delicious, and the butter has a nice garlic note but not feeling excessively greasy. Tasty.
The restaurant has a few signature rice paper rolls, and we picked Heo Nuong ($308), with USA pork collar, lemongrass, and caramelized fish sauce. My favourite dish, the pork collar has a nice char, delicious in taste and not dry, with the other vegetables and ingredients helping to balance, and the fish sauce magically combines all the flavors together seamlessly. Must try.
It is probably too much but we did order also Banh Xeo ($208), a type of omelette with a crispy wrap enfolding pork belly, soft shell prawns, beansprouts, and spring onion. Eaten together with lettuce and nuoc cham sauce, the different texture of the different components make it interesting, and again the nuoc cham weaves its magical flavors throughout.
Service is good, but we can use more explanations of the dishes which can help to elevate the dining experience. Total bill on the night is $1,370 which is reasonable. A good place to enjoy Saigon cuisine near PP3.
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