Southern Vietnamese cuisine

A touch of class - Southern Vietnamese cuisine

Dong Du restaurant serves classic as well as innovative Southern Vietnamese cuisine right in the heart of Ho chi minh city says Jonny Routledge.
Monday has never been my favourite day of the week. After the excesses of a fun packed weekend and re-entry to the real world, dinner for me on a Monday normally consists of a bowl of pho or something simple in the house. I was therefore quite surprised to find myself in one of the cities oldest and most centrally located top-end dining establishments on a Monday night.

Dong Du and it’s even older sister restaurant Le Mekong share a prime piece of downtown real estate on (you guessed it) Dong Du street. Both restaurants (Le Mekong serves traditional gourmet French fare whilst Dong Du offers a large selection of Southern Vietnamese delicacies) have an old fashioned feel to them, both in ambience and decoration and at times you could be forgiven for thinking that you were on the continent.

Saying that, Dong Du does have live traditional Vietnamese music, something that would prove quite hard to find in Paris or Lyon and I did spy a glitter ball. We were greeted on arrival by the manager, Mister Nghia, an extremely friendly and instantly likeable man and from the moment we walked through the door we were impressed by the professional attitude of the waiting staff.

The menu at Dong Du is extensive although not overly so. Many restaurants in Vietnam tend to have menus that read like a phone book and make ordering a nightmare. Seeing as we were in the heart of the tourist area, I wasn’t surprised to find classic dishes such as spring rolls, Lotus root salad, et cetera, but most of these were prepared in the special “Dong Du” style.

Aside from the usual fare was a host of more unusual Southern speciality dishes and although we did order a serving of spring rolls (it’s got to be done and can often be an early indicator of what is to come), we decide to let Nghia advise us on what he thought we should order. This was a wise move as what followed was delicious. After the spring rolls (excellent by the way), came a salad of Young Coconut Shoots with Steamed Shrimp and Pork which was superb and not too heavily dressed with fish sauce.

To follow was a dish that I won’t forget for a while, both due to its unique taste and its dramatic presentation. Beef in Coconut Juice is a lot more appetising than it sounds. First, tender strips of beef are sautéed off with onions. This is then transferred to a whole coconut placed on a mound of salt before being covered in rice liquor (ruou nep), ignited and left to burn.

The result was deliciously rich and flavoursome with a hint of sweetness which was offset by the serving of salt, pepper and lemon juice (surely one of the world’s finest condiments). Next we devour the large Crab in Tamarind Sauce. The crab was as fresh as they come, the meat was sweet and tender and the sauce both sweet and tangy. I was also relieved to find that it had been pre-cracked so that it still retained its shape but was easy to rip apart. Our final dish was a fish hot pot, the fish being red tilapia.

I love hot pots and eat them regularly but it had been a long time since I had tasted one of such quality. The fish was perfectly poached and was even expertly de-boned at the table by one of the waiting staff. The broth was both sweet and spicy and the addition of tomatoes, dill and other herbs made it a veritable treat for the palate. Even though the desserts looked tempting, I was by this point worried whether my bike would carry me home or not so we opted for some fresh fruit and refreshing green tea. All in all I was thoroughly impressed with Dong Du.

For a busy restaurant in the centre of town, its blend of relaxed ambience and professional service along with the high quality of food make it a truly worthwhile destination. Dong Du also offers a set lunch at the astonishingly low price of VND69,000 and an even more incredibly priced business lunch at VND45,000, so I think a repeat visit will definitely be in order in the near future, maybe even on a Monday.

(Source:Timeout)

Tag: Cuisine , Ho Chi Minh , Tour , Tourist , Vietnam , Vietnamese

A touch of class - Southern Vietnamese cuisine

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