I have heard so many "rumours" about this restaurant being the best Vietnamese one in Brussels. I…read morehave always had my doubts about THE best Vietnamese restaurant, because of course nothing beats the home-made cuisine of my family, ;).
However, I have to admit, veni vidi and I was vici. Definitely a really nice surprise.
The restaurant is spacious, which you wouldn't expect when you see the entrance, so you're seated very comfortably. The decor is not mind-blowing, very classical style with some Asian touches. However not too cheesy either, so there is a right balance, giving it a relaxed setting. And the garden and terrace it has to offer will definitely attract more than one back to the restaurant during warm sunny days, I'm sure.
However, this time, it was winter time. We were a group of all Vietnamese people so decided to order a bunch of very typical traditional dishes to check whether we'd be able to find this homey taste we always crave for. And we did!
Appetisers consisted of (small) bowls of pho bo (beef noodle soup), bun bo hue (beef noodle soup of Hue), canh chua (Vietnamese sweet sour soup) and a beef tartare (special of the house). The pho bo tasted how it's supposed to taste. Knowing that it's not easy to achieve a perfect tasting broth, that was a big deal for me already. The canh chua was delicious, sweet and sour just at the right level. The beef tartare was amazing because of its taste but also of the originality, idea- and presentation-wise (4 portions presented on a sesame crisp, excellent!). The bun bo hue was a little disappointing though. It was just ok, because it was missing the kick in the taste. The broth seemed to be a little diluted taste-wise and not spicy at all. Also for both pho bo and bun bo hue, some of the essential veggies that add to the taste were missing. Not that of a big deal, but should all veggies have been offered, it would have even more convinced me about the quality and service if this restaurant, going for the extra mile.
Now to the main dishes: bo la lot (beef wrapped in "lot" leaves, banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe, actually also an appetiser), cubes of monkfish, shrimp wrapped in bacon. The shrimp was definitely an unusual, but original dish: very tasty, cooked just right as to not being dry. Banh xeo was savoury, but maybe a little too crispy to my taste. My friend wasn't really convinced by the cubes of monkfish, but more because of the way of cooking (sautéed instead of grilled) than the taste. It did taste good. And then the bo la lot, that was a real success. Moist and tasty, just as how it's supposed to be.
The presentation of all dishes also needs to receive some recognition. There is a noticeable effort to make the dishes already savoury to the eye. 1 extra star for making the food experience already more enjoyable thanks to this, because we all know that we do not only eat with our stomach, but also with our eyes.
And then dessert. Well, it always seems hard for a Vietnamese restaurant to come up with a traditional dessert menu. The Vietnamese do have some delicious desserts, but they might look and taste very unusual to the not-used-and-not-adventurous-customer maybe? However, this restaurant managed to put 2, which isn't too bad, especially when they were really good. One was the banana beignets flambeed in rice wine (amazing to the eye, but too much wine made the beignets a little too soggy) and one really typical Vietnamese pastry: the banh cam or sesame ball. This one has a coconut filling. I prefer the mung bean filling. However, it had the right crisp, not too greasy and the filling felt light. So very tasty indeed.
What about the service? I would say classy without going over the top so you could still feel very much at ease, friendly, fast but not rushed. I definitely liked it.
So, it's a 4 star for me because even though very impressed by the quality of this restaurant, some of the dishes didn't reach my expectation (but I'm probably too demanding for Vietnamese cuisine). And then there is the price too. It's definitely on the higher budget. But of course, you get what you pay for: excellent food that goes with the perfect service.
This restaurant will definitely remain among my favourites.
