Gartenstadt German Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

34 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1, HCMC
Tel: (84.8) 3822.3623

This restaurant has been around for dog years and it was one of the restaurants I'd inevitably end up in back in 1995 whenever I could not stand to see yet more squid and steamed rice. Since then, neither location nor quality have varied; something rare indeed in Vietnam where consistency does not appear to feature in the dictionary. What has changed is the clientele. Whereas 15 years ago the only Vietnamese in evidence were the staff, they appear to be the main clientele today. I suspect a fair share of them studied/worked with their socialist brothers and sisters in what used to be East Germany.

Interior is true to German restaurants: naff.

The entrance is hard to find these days; half hidden among all the glitzy boutiques and designer shops that populate Dong Khoi Streets. Once you step inside, the first thing you will notice are the clouds of cigarette smoke; a far cry from Germany where smoking these days is a big no-no. Head upstairs where smoke is less of a problem (they used to have a no-smoking section but I guess as a lot of their guests are from countries where smoking is still acceptable, they gave up catering to non-smokers). The second thing you'll notice are the pseudo-German costumes the staff are wearing. At one stage they did put the girls in Bavarian "Dirndl" but as Vietnamese girls tend to be of somewhat slighter build than your average German, that did not quite work out that well. The walls are hung with photos of German landmarks and old advertisement signs; the music is either German pop (terrible) or English lounge music (not much better). Like a restaurant in Germany, this place will not win awards for avant-garde design.

Apart from starting the odd war or two, the Krauts sure know how to make sausages.

Anyway, what you really should be looking at is the walls or rather the boards with the daily or weekly specials. There are often some really good things on offer, e.g. Herrings salad when I went a couple of days ago. Should you not find anything among the specials then there is an extensive menu. Disregard the international section, there are better restaurants for that, and stick to the German food. The food is pretty mainstream, I certainly miss things like "Leberwurst" or "Saumagen", but what is on there is all good. Schnitzel are a good choice; my regular order for years was the "Schnitzel Holstein" with Anchovies, fried potatoes, and red cabbage. Sausages obviously feature a lot and are well worth a try. The one thing I'd stay away from are the French Fries; they are always well overdone (but then why would you eat French Fries in a German restaurant anyway when there are Spaetzle or fried potatoes on offer?). Sausages are also very good; as are the roasts.

Schnitzel. Can never go wrong with that.

Incidentally, if you are a big sausage fan: head to the Gartenstadt on a weekend for their current promotion. All you have to do is eat a paltry kilogram of sausages plus their accompaniments and you'll eat for free (it is VND 660,000 otherwise). I must admit that I chickened out......

I do not like the feel of the menu, sure like what's in it though.

Service is very much on the friendly side and efficient enough. I did read somewhere that the staff did not speak English but I must admit that that has never been an issue in the 100+ times I must have eaten/had a beer there. I do not like the new menu. Not because of the content but because they have "plastified" all the pages. Might make the menu maintenance-free, but feels like crap (and the pages stick together, almost missed the sausages).

Washed down with a "Hefe-Weizen".

Ooops, I forgot the beer!!! The draft beer available is Krombacher, which is not bad at all. Personally, I prefer wheat beers and they do have both dark and light Schneiderweisse. The beers are not cheap, but then they are imported and USD 5.00 for a half-liter mug is cheaper than in Germany.

Many comments on TripAdvisor moan about the supposedly high prices for the food, too. Again, I find these to be reasonable. Most mains are around VND 170,000++, meaning a main will come to around USD 10.00 including taxes and service charge. Sure, a local noodle soup restaurant might be cheaper (though not by much these days), but for a good "Schweinsbraten mit Bratkartoffeln und Rotkraut" I'd be happy paying twice that. And the portions are pretty big.

Do eat the "Frikadelle", but ask for fried potatoes instead of the rather lame chips.

I think I have never had a dessert there and can thus not really comment on that. MUST try the apple strudel one of these days.

Like a real German restaurant back in the old country, the restaurant does not deliver spectacular culinary experiences. What it does deliver is good solid food and service and, assuming either one of us will be around that long, I foresee myself going there for the next 16 years.

Food: ****

Ambience: ****

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes

Sushi Bar Koh Kong, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pub Street

Siem Reap, Cambodia

(+855) 63 963 400

This is a fairly recent addition to the food scene in Siem Reap, but has already managed to garner a solid reputation among the expatriate crowd. Most of the Sushi comes from Koh Kong on the Cambodian coast and is darn good. So good in fact that I flaunt my personal rule of never setting a foot on the back-packer circus that is Pub Street. That is the only down-side of this Sushi Bar: seeing some of the unwashed freaks wandering along below is not good for one's appetite.

The Sushi Bar is located in the heart of Pub Street.

The Sushi Bar has outside seating downstairs as well as indoor seating on the ground and first floors. Our place of choice is the minuscule balcony though. It hardly seats 5 people, like birds on a wire, but is a great spot to hurl snide comments, derisive laughter, and the odd empty beer can at the banana pancake-eating crowd below.

Instructions on how to eat Sushi????

The menu is fairly small, but then this restaurant is all about Sushi. There are about twenty different Sushi Nagiri on offer, ranging in price from USD 2.00 - 5.00 for two pieces (though many were sold out on our last visit) and about 10 Sushi Rolls, the latter costing between USD 2.50 -4.50 for 6-8 pieces. There are a couple of Tempura selections at USD 7.00 - 15.00 and a couple of other non-Sushi items. Personally, I think the best choice is the Sushi and Tempura Deluxe at USD 14.00. A decent-sized meal and very good; with the Sushi fresh and the Tampura not an oily mass of batter but fluffy and light.

As usual I did not pay attention to the drinks prizes. There wasn't much choice but I seem to recall that, while a little more expensive than the 50 Cent draft beers available on Pub Street, the beers were reasonable enough.

Service is friendly enough, but a couple of the girls speak little/no English. However, with a little effort we have never failed to get what we ordered.

The Sushi and Tempura Deluxe.

There are only two things I like a little less about the Sushi Bar Koh Kong:

1. The place mat that endeavors to explain to the punters how to eat Sushi. I am a paying guest and will eat my Sushi any bloody way I like.
2. The staircase back down to the ground floor. Both very steep and extremely narrow this probably explains the meager choice of alcoholic beverages on offer; no way I could make it down with more than a beer in me.

Pitiful gripes really; the place is great for a quick Sushi fix and I do hope that they keep up the quality and do not end up with too many items "sold out".

The Sashimi is also very good and fresh.

Food: ****

Ambiance: *** + * for the balcony and the views it gives one of the circus below.

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes, great place for a quick bite before heading out for a beer.

Takezono Japanese Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sokha Hotel

Corner of National Highway 6 and Sivatha Street

(+855) 63 969 999

There are a number of Japanese Restaurants in Siem Reap, thanks to both a large Japanese expat population as well as gazillions of Japanese visitors; but this is one of our favorites. Whilst neither the hotel nor the restaurant will ever win any prizes for design, both food and service are spot-on.

Not sexy, but functional.

The food is not cheap, but then I have yet to come across a Japanese restaurant that offers good food at bargain prices. Appetizers and salads are around the USD 4.00 mark, Sashimi are between USD 4.500 and USD 5.00 for three pieces, and a piece of Sushi will set you back USD 2.00 - 4.50. The big Sushi Mori platter will hit your wallet for an eye-watering USD 90.00 but then there are 40+ pieces of Sushi on it; it is best shared with few friends.

The set menus are pretty good value.

Pretty good value are the set menus, the Salmon Teppan set for example is USD 20.00 and comes with Sashimi, the Salmon of course, rice, and Miso soup. I consider that pretty good value. A word on the prices: they are ++, i.e. without the 5% service charge and 10% VAT levied in Cambodia.

More than enough to eat with one of those.

I just cannot remember how much drinks are but the Missus seems to think that a small bottle of Sake is around USD 8.00 and a beer USD 2.50. Not as cheap as Pub Street, but pretty much standard for a 5-star hotel in Siem Reap.

The few times that we have been there we have never really seen the restaurant busy; this means that service is fast, friendly, and attentive.

Food: ****

Ambience: **

Value for money: ***

Recommended: Yes

Viva Mexican Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

• #697, Group 10, Mondol 1 Svay, (opposite Pub Street)
• (855)-63 96 31 51

Since the only other Mexican Restaurant in Siem Reap closed a year or so ago, Viva is the only place for that Tortilla fix. I have been there on a few occasions, not because I think the food is particularly good but as I do get these cravings for Mexican food every so often, including last week when I once again headed for the Viva.

The restaurant is opposite Pub Street and impossible to miss as it is pretty big and painted in a sickly orange.

The good news is that the food is pretty cheap with most mains around the USD 5.00 mark. The bad news is that prizes like that mean the place gets its fair share of obnoxious back-packers. Drinks are also cheap, with Margaritas USD 2.00 and draft beer USD 1.00 (USD 1.50 and 0.50 respectively during the low season).

It is admittedly cheap to eat here.

Service tends to be a mixed bag: some of the girls are really good whereas some of the guys tend to be preoccupied chatting to each other. Either way, the food comes fast, too fast: I specifically asked for the starters to come first but, once again, starters and mains came together. This is a pet peeve of mine as I would like to a) take my time eating and b) prefer my food hot and not have the main course go ice-cold whilst I am demolishing the starter. I also do assume that everything has been prepared in advance as otherwise they could not possible serve the mains in five minutes flat.

The Nachos were good but everything could have been a tad spicier.

Portions are big, with plenty of meat in my Burrito. However, the beef was overcooked and of poor quality (admittedly, I did not expect imported beef for the prize). The "salad" that is supposed to come with the Burritos was basically two salad leaves with a dollop of sour cream on it. What is definitely lacking is a good kick; I like my Mexican food spicy whereas at the Viva it is a really weak-assed affair.

Can't say much about the drinks as I do not like Margaritas, but the Coconut juice was good and cold.

The meat was overcooked and the "salad" is a bit of a joke.

A mixed bag really. Yes, the food is cheap, but also not extremely good. They do get a lot of rave reviews on TripAdvisor but either the posters never had good Mexican food or they had a few Margaritas too many. Having said that, I will be back as Phnom Penh is a little too far to go for some Mexican food.

Food: **

Ambience: **

Value for money: ****

Recommended: If there was a choice, I'd say "no". But there isn't any; if you want Mexican in Siem Reap, than this is the place you will have to go to.

Four Seasons Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Four Seasons Restaurant

Sivatha Road

(opposite Pub Street)

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Four Seasons

Whilst there are many Cambodians of Chinese origin, and even more Chinese tourists these days, good Chinese food is not necessarily easy to find in Siem Reap. It is not just good Chinese food that is hard to find either, like many popular tourist destinations that started off as small sleepy villages there is a) not really a well established restaurant scene and b) many restaurants seem to approach business here with a sort of "our-customers-are-just-one-shot-tourists-that-never-come-back" attitude and not much attention is paid to good food.

Luckily, some things do not change; especially when it comes to Chinese restaurants: they are either called "Four Seasons" or "Ming Dynasty", the Chenglish is impossible to decipher ("Fried spared with bitter lemon" anyone?) and the interior is not very inspired.

Menu for Chinese Restaurants worldwide all come from the same factory it seems.

Who cares as long as the food is good though. The Four Seasons has a reputation of making very good noodle soup and is a popular place for breakfast. I went for dinner this time and, whilst ordering the soup anyway, I also wanted to see what else the menu has to offer.

The menu has a good 15 pages but from the taste I would assume that everything on it is prepared fresh. Prices are quite reasonable with most dishes in the USD 4.00 - 8.00 Dollar range for meat and vegetable dishes. Most seafood dishes have daily prices and some items need to be ordered in advance; I should think that these dishes cost considerably more (the prices for those are in Chinese). I have no idea what drinks cost as I never did get to see a drinks menu and subsequently stuck with the "Red Tea" that the staff kept on pouring.

The famous noodle soup; go for the pork thoufh.

Ordering is not too easy as the wait staff speak absolutely no English. However, the restaurant manager(?) was around and he spoke excellent English and I managed to get my order squared aqay. The couple of times I have eaten herepreviously I have had the Fried Dumplings. Stuffed with herbs and minced meat they are really delicious and I ordered these again. As I had very bad Sweet-and-sour pork in another restaurant a couple of days ago; I thought I'd see if they can do it better in this restaurant. With all the oil and fat I had Broccoli with oil sauce to add some more calories.....

The dumplings are great.

The soup came first and was really quite good. The noodles are hand-made and prepared to order and the broth is delicious. I would suggest that you stay away from the duck and order the soup with pork instead; the duck was pretty much bones only.

Nothing instant about the noodles here.

The Sweet n' sour pork came next. Much better than what I had had a couple of days earlier. The meat was obviously battered and fried to order, and it was meat; not just gristle and fat. The sauce was a tad to lemony for me; I prefer the "sour" to come from vinegar instead of lemon juice.

Sweet and Sour pork, no Chinese restaurant that does not have this on the menu.

The broccoli was excellent and luckily there was no oil in sight. Instead it was steamed to perfection, still crunchy, with just a little soy sauce. I love broccoli and I think the reason so many people dislike it because they have only had the cooked-to-death variety, leaving a great vegetable mushy and bland.

The dumplings once again did not disappoint. Piping hot and not oily at all. Not too sure what the herb is they use in the stuffing, but it certainly is good.

Portions are quite big and there is complimentary steamed rice with the main courses constantly being replenished by the staff. Service was good, apart from the communication difficulties. Actually, the service was almost a little to attentive; the waitresses would stand right by the tables and punce as soon as they thought there was something to top up. Well intentioned but a tad intrusive.

The restaurant can get very crowded during the high season and the lay-out of the restaurant can make dining a very noisy experience; especially if there are a couple of Chinese groups present. Not an issue during the current low season but you might want to come fairly late when Siem Reap is busy; the Chinese groups come early. Even when it is quiet the Four Seasons is not the place for a romantic tete-a-tete as the restaurant has absolutely no charme whatsoever.

No design awards to be won here.

I would not go as far as saying the Four Seasons has outstanding Chinese food but it certainly is one of the better choices in Siem Reap. If you know of any really good Chinese restaurant, or any good restaurant for that matter, in Siem Reap then do leave a recommendation.

Food: ***

Ambience: There isn't any.

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes.

Coriander, Thai Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Coriander Restaurant

185 Bui Vien Street, District 1

Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours 09:30 - 13:30

There are not many Thai restaurants in the Pham Ngu Lao area, actually this is the only one I recall seeing. I had not planned on eating here as the exterior is little inspiring to be honest. However, the Mumtaz, where I had planned to eat, was full and this was opposite the Mumtaz so I gave it a shot.

Very basic interior.

The interior was cleaner than the outside let me expect and the staff where on me in a flash to hand me the menu. The choice is fairly large without being too large and has all the run-of-the-mill Thai favorites: Pad Thai, Khao Pad and curries. Surprisingly enough they also have Spaghetti on the menu; perhaps a concession to the backpackers. I would have liked to see more curries as their choice is limited to Green and Red curry.

Spaghetti in a Thai restaurant?

Prices are quite reasonable with starters in the VND 35,000 - 60,000 range, salads and rice dishes around VND 60,000, curries VND 70,000 and main dishes from VND 35,000 to 150,000 (the latter a whole sea bass). Drinks are also not expensive, a fruit juice will set you back VND 20,000 and the cheapest beer, Sai Gon Green, costs a measly VND 12,000. If you want a drinkable beer than a large bottle of Tiger is only VND 20,000.

Order taken, I settled back with my coconut juice and tried to read. This was no easy task as the staff and owners were engaged in a very lively discussion. Vietnamese culture tends to border on the noisy but this was ridiculous, my ears were ringing by the time I left the restaurant; so much for a quiet lunch break. My theory is that the constant noise so prevalent in Vietnamese cities has resulted in most people being borderline deaf; thus the constant shouting.

Food arrived quickly and the portions were more than generous. I had asked for deep-fried shrimp patties to be served as a starter but, as usual failed and everything was served in one go. The patties were not bad though, not as rubbery as they often are; I would have liked a little more kick though. The sauce that came with the patties was out of the bottle and sweet like heck. It would have been nice to have some fish sauce, Thai or Vietnamese, with chillies. When I first came to Vietnam fish sauce was served as a matter of principle (and it still is so in Thailand); regrettably many restaurants have shifted to Maggi or something similar; a sauce that is just salty and tastes like crap really.

Fried shrimp patties.

The spicy beef salad was quite good though again lacking the necessary punch that is part of Thai cuisine. I pass that particular restaurant quite often and see that it is popular with Vietnamese punters; my guess is that they keep the food moderately hot for that market.

The salad was pretty good.

I had ordered pan-fried minced pork with Holy Basil and fried egg as the main dish. Not bad at all and this was the one dish that had a at least a little zest to it. As mentioned earlier the portions were way too large for me; like many Asian cuisines, Thai food is best eaten in a group so one can sample a little of everything.

Pan-fried minced Pork.

It would be more than a slight exaggeration to say that this was the best Thai food I ever had. However, considering its location in the backpacker area (where good food is a bit of a rarity) and the prices; I still think it is a solid choice and an alternative to all the restaurants lining Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien serving the same pseudo-Vietnamese food. Should the need for Thai food strike again, and should I be too lazy to head for the arguably better restaurants around Dong Khoi, I will certainly be back.

Food: ***

Ambiance: *

Value for money: ***

Recommended: For a quick Thai fix, yes.

Mumtaz Indian Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mumtaz Indian Restaurant

226 Bui Vien Street, District 1

Ho Chi Minh City

Tel.: +84 8 371 767

I have tried a couple off Indian restaurants in the Backpacker Zoo that is Pham Ngu Lao; with varying results. The Little India was crap and the Punjabi fluctuates a fair bit.

More by accident then design I stumbled into the "Mumtaz Indian Restaurant" today; at the far end of Bui Vien Street but still close (too close) to the dreadlocked banana pancake-eaters that throng this area. Luckily, these hordes tend to go to the "real" local restaurants because they are a) cheap and b) local (except that the only Vietnamese in there are the staff). The clientele at the Mumtaz appeared to be mostly Indian expatriates; never a bad sign.

Pretty big menu, 20-odd pages.

Admittedly, the Mumtaz and I got off to a rocky start. Well, not quite: I was greeted by a very friendly waitress that promptly brought the menu, a brass mug of water (I don't know why not more restaurants can offer some water in a boiling place like HCMC; costs nothing and is much appreciated), and a face-towel (regrettably of the plastic-wrapped kind which I abhor).

It was when the waitress, who spoke little English, passed the ball to the Indian owner(?) that things got unstuck a little. I ordered a Non-vegetarian Thali and a Mango Lassi.

The Mumtaz is not the cheapest Indian in the Pham Ngu Lao area but I still think prices are reasonable. Starters go from VND 19,000 for Pappadam to VND 70,000 for Fish fingers (at the time of writing USD 1.00 ~ VND 20,2000). Items from the Tandoori oven are from VND 75,000 for "Chicken 65" to VND 190,000 for the full Tandoori Chicken. Vegetable curries will set you back around VND 55,000 with meat curries priced around the VND 80,000 mark.

There is a fairly big selection of Indian breads. Apart from the usual Chapatti and Garlic Naan they also have Parathas and, for example, Rogan Naan which I do not recall having seen in HCMC before.

Beers start at VND 22,000 for a Bia Saigon and the Lassie are VND 35,000. Why an Indian Restaurant would promote a Japanese Beer and not, say Kingfisher, beats me; but if you must have a Sapporo Beer than it is yours for VND 33,000. Probably better than the "French House wine" at VND 280,000 a bottle; I very much doubt that at that prize it is anything else but plonk.

Why Japanese Beer?

Back to what I ordered: the Mango Lassi arrived after 5 minutes or so and turned out to be a Mango Smoothie more than anything else. A very good frozen Mango Smoothie mind; but certainly not a Lassi. The Thali was not quite what I ordered, either. I was looking for the meat in the curry; it took me a little while to realize that what I got was actually the vegetarian Thali. Now I have been accused of many things over the years, but being a hard-core vegetarian was not one of them. It might not be healthy, but give me meat, lots of meat!!!!

I therefore surprised myself by actually really liking the Thali. The presentation was nice and it came with plenty of condiments; something most Indian restaurants in Vietnam do not seem to do. The only condiment that disappointed was the pureed Mango; I do not know if that was supposed to be Mango chutney, but it was certainly tasteless.

Something that cannot be said about the rest of the food. For starters, the food was really hot. I am a bit particular about the temperature of my food. Hot food should be served really hot; I find that Indian and Chinese foods in particular suffer if they are served lukewarm.

Good enough to turn me into a vegetarian (almost).

The Paneer was on the spicy side; a good thing for cottage cheese that tends to be on the bland side. The Daal was maybe a tad on the thin side but that is really nit-picking here. The vegetable curry was excellent, and everything was rounded off with good rice, Raita, a Pappadam and some plain Naan. Actually the Naan could be improved; it appeared as it had been prepared quite some time before and just quickly re-heated.

But overall the restaurant has shot up to my list of "Best Indian Restaurant around Pham Ngu Lao". Admittedly the competition for that title is none to fierce but the food is great. Actually, I am planning to go back tonight and see what their meat dishes are like.

Not much of an interior...

Like most (all) restaurants around PNL there is no need to talk about decor, design, atmosphere; there is none. Doesn't bother me none; I am there for the food. And at least they refrain from putting cheesy pictures of the Taj Mahal or piping in Bollywood sound tracks.

or exterior for that matter.

They do home delivery and they also have a restaurant in Da Nang; if somebody could check it out?

Service: *** Difficult this one: fast and efficient, but maybe they should make a habit of repeating the order.
Food: ****
Ambiance: **
Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes

Tavan Restaurant, Sapa, Vietnam

The restaurant is in the Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa where I recently stayed for a night. Obviously a little up-market, with prices to match, but I was in serious need of some pampering.

The hotel has been built in a sort of Swiss Chalet style, a theme that is repeated inside the restaurant. As the hotel is on a hill above Sapa Town, it offers great views (weather permitting) and dining both inside and on a terrace.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by a very friendly waitress who escorted me to the table and gave me the menu; shortly followed by a cold face towel and some delicious bread. The menu is not very large, with a page each of Vietnamese and European dishes; as well as a couple of set menus.

Tavan Restaurant.

I could not face a 7-course menu and I know from previous stays that the Sapa mushrooms are fantastic. I therefore ordered the Sapa Mushroom soup as a starter and the Sapa Mushroom Risotto with crispy egg yolk as a main course.

Not a very large menu, but I refer that to hundreds

of items out of the freezer.

The soup arrived piping hot; something that is surely appreciated during the cold winters (though it was bloody hot in Sapa that day). The mushrooms soup is not like the pureed and strained version often served in Western restaurants; it comes with chopped mushrooms and lots of them. As mentioned before: I think Sapa mushrooms are great and I was not disappointed here. The soup was seasoned to perfection and went down a treat.

Sapa Mushrooms rule.

The Risotto that followed was a bit small, without the soup I think I would not have had enough. However, this is the only criticism I can make. Risotto is not a difficult dish to make, but it is amazing how many restaurants can get it wrong; turning the rice into a soup or leaving it uncooked. Not here though; the grains were just the way I like them, creamy but still "al dente". I was not so amazed with the egg yolk; but I guess that is a matter taste. I am also a snob when it comes to the Parmesan usually served with Risotto. I would have preferred freshly shaved Parmesan instead of the ground version I got here but then that was maybe asking too much.

Perfect Risotto.

Menu prices range from USD 10.00 (for the Risotto) to USD 28:00 (for Black Angus Beef). There are obviously cheaper eateries all over Sapa, the town being a popular back-packer destination, but they obviously have different levels of service (from louse to non0existant) and quality of food (ditto). I think the prices are very reasonable for being treated like a king and getting outstanding food. Value for money is what it is all about in my book.

A real dining experience in Sapa.

I did take a look at the wine list, though no wine drinker myself, and here the prizes that make my eyes water; the cheapest bottle started at USD 38.00 and quickly moved well beyond that. I guess getting the booze up the mountain comes at a cost.

I think I am not going out on a limb here when I state that the bet food can be found at the Tavan restaurant and it would certainly be my choice if I ever make it up to West Tonkin.

Some candy floss for dessert.

Service: *****

Food: ****

Ambience: ****

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes.

Hanoi Noodle Soup (and it is not "Pho"

The restaurant does not have a name, menu, or much room.

I am a big fan of Pho, the noodle soup so popular in Vietnam. Arguably the best Pho comes from Ha Noi but as I have had more of those than I can shake a chop stick at, I tried something different this morning.

I happened onto a small restaurant on Hang Bac in Hanoi's Old Quarter following a tip-off. The restaurant is so small that I almost missed it but it is obviously very popular with the local neighbors, all 12 chairs or so were packed.

It was packed 5 seconds earlier and would be so again 5 seconds later.

I squeezed myself into the restaurant and on a tiny plastic stool, trying to keep my size-11 feet out of the kitchen. No need to ask for a menu here, there is only one dish and that is Bun Rieu Bo (though I need to verify that that is what it is). The noodles look a bit like Spaghetti but are made out of rice flour. These are dumped in a big bowl and ladled with an absolute excellent broth.

The kitchen, for all it's worth.

Unlike Pho, the broth is heavy on tomatoes and does not have much meat. It does have lots of fried Tofu. No big fan of Tofu normally, the Tofu here is actually pretty good. Add to that some chili, lime juice, lots of herbs and a couple of bread sticks and you are set for the day with a breakfast that beats many 5-star hotel efforts hands down.

Do not expect service or atmosphere, this place is about food and that is all there is to it. Go in, get your bowl, grab some iced tea, polish off your soup, pay your VND 20,000.00 (USD 1.00) and get out to make room for the punters waiting outside.

Bun rieu Bo.

Service: Are you kidding? This is a noodle shop.

Food: *****

Ambiance: Still kidding?

Value for money: *****+

Recommended: No, as I don't want hordes of Lonely-Planet touting backpackers descend on the place.

Little India, HCMC

Not very promising from the outside.

Whilst not quite as refined as Thai food, in my opinion anyway, good Indian food comes in a close second if well prepared. Regrettably, the "Little India" is not the sort of restaurant that does anything for the reputation of Indian food.

Located at 121/23 Bui Vien, the restaurant is in a tiny alley and easily overlooked. This probably explains why the owner was very surprised, no, outright shocked when I waltzed in. He recovered quickly though, kicked out the dog, woke up the Chef and brought me the menu. He was actually the nicest thing about the whole restaurant as he genuinely tried very hard to please.

Minimalistic design.

Before ordering food I ordered a Banana Lassi but they had no bananas. This is becoming a real trend for me around Pham Ngu Lao; see my previous post. I have no idea how they could not have any bananas, there was a lady selling them just outside the lane. Anyway, I took the Mango Lassi instead which turned out to be undrinkable. There was hardly any Mango in it, however they did out lots of grated, dried coconut; first time ever I have had that in a Lassi. The worst part however was that the yogurt had gone sour and was just plain nasty.

Cheap and all the usual items.

I was seriously getting worried about the quality of the food now and I certainly had enough time to worry as it took a good 50 minutes for the food to arrive; and I was the only customer! Not the owner's fault, but the restaurant is a corner of this very narrow lane; this means that there is a lot of honking as motorbikes navigate the turn and all engine noise echoes off the walls. Forget a romantic dinner in the Little India; though even without the noise the decor is not really inclined to encourage any tenderness.

The decor is so bad it is almost good.

When the food did arrive, it was what I had feared. I had ordered Chicken Pakora as a starter, and specifically asked that they be served first, but everything came at once. Presentation of the Pakoras was non-existent, as was any semblance of taste.

Tasteless Pakora.

The chicken "curry" I had ordered was swimming it what appeared to be ready-made tomato sauce with a couple of spices thrown in, the Jeera (Zeera) rice was tasteless and it was only the Butter Naan that was half-way edible.

Not very inspired.

I guess the prices are outright cheap, with starters from USD 2.00 - 4.00, curries below USD 4.00 and a Tiger beer going for less that USD 1.00. However, it is still piss-poor quality for money; it would be if the feed was free. I think the final straw was when nobody seemed to notice that the Lassi went undrunk and most of the food uneaten.

The curry sauce was heated tomato sauce.

Yet another place in the back-packer triangle of Pham Ngu Lao-Bui Vien- De Tham that manages to disappoint and is not worth a second visit.

Service: ***
Food: *
Ambiance: *
Value for money: ***

Recommended: No

Looks better from the outside.