I know there are many Vietnamese restaurants over in East London but it’s not often that I’m in that area. Where I do frequent is Soho, in central London, due to the variety of shops on offer there. One place that we do like to have a budget dinner is Viet, one of the few Vietnamese restaurants not in East London!
I recommend sticking with the Vietnamese dishes on the menu. We did eat a pad Thai here once which was truly awful, all overcooked noodles and tomatoey sauce. On a recent visit, we started with an order of cha gio, those little and lovely fried meaty spring rolls, along with their accompanying fresh herbs and chili dipping sauce,
grilled lemongrass pork on cold rice noodles for me,
and a combination rice, with shredded pork and pork skin and a crab meat ‘cake’ for Blai.
Blai’s dish was quite plain though not too bad but the winner was my grilled pork. There was so much flavour in the pork, probably marinated for a long time, and I love eating the cold noodles alongside. A small bowlful of nuon cham (a light dipping sauce of fish sauce, lime juice, chili, garlic and sugar) is served on the side to pour overtop, dressing the mixture that can be dry without it. The whole bowlful is light and fresh and perfect for summertime (or anytime) eating.
One of my favourite things to eat there is their bun cha gio or hot fried cha gio served with cold rice noodles and lots of fresh raw herbs and vegetables. You can see that I really do love Vietnamese bun!
I’ve also had their pho and bun bo hue (pictured below), both noodle soups, the former being thin flat rice noodles in a beefy (or chickeny if it’s pho ga) stock while the latter is thicker round rice noodles in a spicier broth. Both are served with plenty of the fresh herbs and raw beansprouts, to be put into your soup at your will.
I do suspect that there’s a hefty amount of MSG in the soup but hey, when most of the one dish meals hover at around the £5-6 mark, it’s hard to complain. And they do fill you up! Mmm…I’m craving some noodle soup now!
Viet
34 Greek Street
London W1D 5DJ
Mon, 25 Aug, 2008 at 07:38
Thanks for the tip, I shall now give this place a go and see how it compares to the rest on Kingsland Road.
NB. Where would we be without MSG?
Mon, 25 Aug, 2008 at 10:48
Yummm…vietnamese food happens to be a big favorite of mine, and those look gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Mon, 25 Aug, 2008 at 20:37
Looks great! My favorite bun is the one with BBQ pork and cha gio… I imagine we’d get along just fine at a Vietnamese place!
Tue, 26 Aug, 2008 at 21:21
Les Wong: Would love to know what you think! Do you have any favourites of the restaurants in the east?
Amrita: Thanks for dropping by!
Boots in the Oven: I think so too!
I don’t think this place does both the pork and cha gio in one bowl but maybe if I ask nicely…
Thu, 28 Aug, 2008 at 06:38
Last time I was in London, I noticed a Vietnamese restaurant called Huy Hoang near the Fulton tube stop. I think it was Fulton, near the Slug and Lettuce. I was dining at Blue Elephant for someone’s birthday so I couldn’t stop by. I have no idea if it’s any good, or even if it’s still open, but in case you want to be adventurous…
BTW, not trying to self-promote, but I have a recipe for bun thit nuong cha gio so you don’t have to go out for it.
Thu, 28 Aug, 2008 at 22:05
Wandering Chopsticks: Blue Elephant…was it Fulham? That’s not too far…might have to try it out – thanks! As for the cha gio, it’s the deep frying that puts me off!
Fri, 29 Aug, 2008 at 07:49
I have recently developed a fondness for Vietnamese food … the dishes u had looks really drool-worthy, nice photography
Fri, 29 Aug, 2008 at 13:51
Su-Lin,
Ah, yes, Fulham!
Once you get a wok, the deep-frying will be just fine. Is it the splattering that puts you off? Or just frying in general?
Sat, 30 Aug, 2008 at 20:07
noobcook: Thank you! Vietnamese food is great, isn’t it? I love the use of all the fresh herbs.
Wandering Chopsticks: Um… everything about it.
The splattering, the amount of oil used, … well, maybe that’s it.
Sat, 11 Oct, 2008 at 14:40
My mum owns this restaurant mate.
and no there is not a hefty amount of MSG.
the soups take incredibly to make and costs quite a bit of money
to produce the soup to its fullest potential of stock and flavour.
However my mums too kind to raise the prices, she doesnt want to lose out on customers, especially at this time (credit crunch).
even at the terribly cheap prices customers still order the free Tap water.
Kind regards The Le family.
X
Sun, 12 Oct, 2008 at 19:51
Le: Hey, thanks for dropping by! I’m glad everything is all homecooked and it must be hard for your mum to keep the prices the way they are, especially with what I expect must be very expensive rents!