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.