The cocktails was fragrant and cool; I think it could have done with a bit more sweetness but it was refreshing enough.
We started off ordering 5 small dishes to share. Given this was going to be an indulgent kind of leisurely lunch, we augmented our order with another 3 dishes later on! In total we feasted on:
- ​PHAT GAI CHOY | Wok-tossed asian greens with fresh shiitake mushrooms and crispy pork belly in special sauce
- MA HOR | Caramelised pork, prawn and peanut on sour pineapple
- SEUA RONG HAI | Char-grilled beef with a spicy citrus dipping sauce
- YAM PLA FOO | Tapioca dusted barramundi with a green apple and roast cashew salad and nahm jim dressing
- SII KRONG NUE | Mekong whiskey marinated lamb ribs in a sticky special sauce
- BANH MI | Crispy soft shell crab with pickled vegetables, herbs and homemade pate
- KOI PLA | Lime cured kingfish salad with mint, chilli and shallots
- FILIPINO CHICKEN | Char-grilled chicken in a spicy Filipino style sauce
All the dishes were tasty and spiked with chilli heat, fragrant with coriander and plenty of lime juice tang. Perhaps worth a special mention was the wok tossed greens. Simple but very tasty with crunchy fragments of pork. The Ma Hor is a great mouthful of sour, sweet, crunchy and nutty and is a great little amuse bouche style option. The Filipino Chicken and the Char-grilled Beef were actually really similar in terms of the dressing used so perhaps just have one or the other. Although having said that, both were tasty. Also tasty were the sticky lamb ribs so they're definitely something to repeat.
In all, it was a damn fine feast. It's different to the likes of Chin Chin, Lucy Liu etc, because there's no rice and it's all small dishes but the lack of rice and the smaller serves means there's more variety. Definitely enjoyable and I'm glad it's so close to home!