Emulating the hustle and bustle of Vietnamese streetside dining, this Vietnamese barbecue restaurant at Foch Road is the place to go on a weekend night if rustic dining is your style — you won't literally be seated by the streets, but the relative discomfort of dining at knee-height tables does require that you work for your food. Thank goodness then that it is delicious, and the bustling ambience transports you momentarily to a buzzy Vietnamese eatery. Order the BBQ Meat Platter ($39.90 for two persons, $69.90 for four), which comes with a well-marinated selection of meats and seafood — prawns, baby squid, pork belly, pork collar, and chicken, along with a platter of vegetables. You will cook the meats over a small charcoal barbecue fire at the table (told you you'll have to work for your food) — it takes awhile, so come here in good company. Their house-secret marinades are what really elevate the flavours of the meat, and the dipping sauces that come with are really tasty too. If you have space, consider adding on a generous slab of Dory Fillet ($11.90). Take Burppler Zi Heng Tay's advice and get a glass of Lemonade ($3.90) for a refreshing pairing.
Pro tip: Dress down and breezy.
Avg price: $25
Photo by Burppler Zi Heng Tay
Tall people be warned, you're gonna have a tough time eating here for their tables and chairs are only at knee-level (even a short person like me found it uncomfortable). However, these are all in place to mimic a typical eatery in the streets of Vietnam so just bear with it and sink in to an authentic atmosphere.
The BBQ meat platter ($39.90 for 2 pax and $69.90 for 4 pax) is highly recommended for the generous amount of fresh and well-marinated meats (prawns, baby squid, pork belly, pork collar, and chicken). It also comes with a 'vegetable' platter consisting of sausages, crabstick, mushrooms, lady fingers and corn. If these are insufficient, top up with more items from their ala-carte menu, of which I gotten a huge slab of dory fillet at $11.90. You're then given a small pot of charcoal and grill to barbecue your food, and 2 dipping sauces which went extremely well with the meats. The fresh spring rolls (4 for $6.90 and 6 for $8.90), while loaded with ingredients, weren't so great as they had a slightly hard and dry skin. However, the hoisin-like sauce mixed in with grated peanuts that came with it was excellent.
