During my summer 2019 trip to Ho Chi Minh City I was recommended to check out a new Italian eatery in District 1 called Into the Kitchen, started by the former Italian chef of a high-end restaurant in town.
The visit
I went to the restaurant for a late dinner.
The restaurant is located inside a courtyard.
It is a casual restaurant including a bar.
They gave me a complimentary basket of flat-bread with a nice tomato sauce dip. My order was handled by a very professional Vietnamese young lady that knew about Italian cuisine and service.
The menu was intriguing. Instead of the classic headings (appetizers, mains, pasta, etc.) they had the dishes mixed in different categories such as hearty food, Mediterranean and veggies, from the sea, from the grill, etc. A lot of meat is available, including an interesting veal skirt and baked pumpkin flowers.
I had their pici (a type of eggless pasta you do not find often in Asia) with duck ragout. I enjoyed very much! This type of pasta has a velvety texture that makes it very distinct.
As I was still unsatisfied by the cockerel that I had at Quince, I ordered their rotisserie baby chicken (a whole one). It was marinated and rubbed with honey and ginger. It came with roasted potatoes and chily gravy. It was excellent (even if my best chicken of the summer was the one in Chiang Mai).
The check
The check was 610,000 VND (or 26 USD). I cannot complain. Everything from the food to the service was to my satisfaction. Definitely a place to visit again.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 158/5 Nguyễn Công Trứ Visit their Facebook page to see the menu.
Update 2020: sadly the restaurant is now closed. The chef moved on and took up a position at the Caravelle Hotel.
Quince Saigon is the Vietnamese outpost of a Quince Eatery in Bangkok, managed by Farandole group. It has been a very hyped restaurant and you can find tons of positive reviews online. Certainly a sign of Saigon’s evolving food scene.
I tried Quince for the first time in summer 2018 and I thought that it would not have been fair to write a review on the basis of just a single visit. So I came back again in my summer 2019 trip to get a better idea.
The visit(s)
Located in the outskirts of district 1 in a rapidly developing area famous for its hardware stores and a military surplus market, the interior of the restaurant exudes modernity and class. As a solo diner, I find the long counter a very nice feature (and I sat there on both of my visits). Let’s start with my 2019 visit.
I started with an octopus casserole. The octopus was tender and all the condiments right. Really enjoyed the dish.
Then I was craving for chicken (this was the beginning of my summer 2019 chicken quest that culminated in Chiang Mai…) and I was attracted by a roast French cockerel (coquelet) on the menu. It was ok, but there was really little meat (which is normal for this kind of chicken, in fact I was expecting a whole one, the menu did not help).
The chicken came with some potatoes and greens.
I had also ordered a dish of greens with an homemade anchovy sauce that was brilliant (the flavor reminded me of Japanese sauces) but I was a bit upset because nobody told me that the chicken was already coming with some greens. It was not clear at all from the menu that, using a modern style, only indicated the main ingredients of the dish without more details. If I knew about it, I would have ordered something else.
While I was eating the salad I was abruptly interrupted by the waitress that wanted to clean the table from the chicken plate. She literally interrupted me while I was chewing. This kind of things make me upset not with the service staff, but with the management that should have trained them in a better way.
No dessert, but the check was accompanied by some jellies.
And now a look at my 2018 visit.
My first dish was an interesting beef tartare. It was not your usual tartare. It was copiously sprinkled with dried egg yolk and rich of ingredients (I appreciated the capers). Overall a very good creative dish.
My main was a veal cheek with mash and cherry tomatoes. There was a good balancing of flavors among the three main ingredients of the dish. However the veal was quite dry contrary to my expectations.
The cauliflower with cream that I ordered as a side was full of flavor and simply great.
I also enjoyed a Vietnamese red tea.
Finally I had some room for a dessert: a scoop of Ralf’s chocolate gelato. Good of them that found the best in town.
The final complimentary jellies were already there.
The check(s)
The 2019 visit cost me 1,218,525 VND (52 USD), including a super expensive bottle of water!
The previous visit cost me basically the same (the tea was much less expensive than the water).
By international standards, it was quite reasonable. Being in Saigon, the cost opportunity is not negligible.
After these visits and after speaking with F&B professionals in Saigon I realized one thing: Quince has been and is great for the development of Saigon’s restaurant community. The head chef, Julien Perraudin, has an amazing curriculum and is a true creative force. The creativity is reflected in his dishes and the menu changes frequently depending on the quality ingredients available. Do not expect to find the dishes I described. All of this creative power is trickling down to the wider community and is helping in modernizing Saigon’s food scene. Great.
What left me with mixed feelings, especially after the second visit, was the lack of clarity on the menu. I hope I could have had a more in-depth conversation about the food to order with the chef (but he was, rightfully so, busy) or some knowledgeable staff. This would have made the experience more streamlined. I would gladly go back if chef Perraudin was to offer a tasting menu or to try some specific dishes.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 37bis Ký Con Street, District 1 Follow their Facebook page.
Vietnamese love Japanese food and there are new sushi restaurants springing up on a regular basis in Ho Chi Minh City. Omakase is another story. As you might already know, omakase means “I leave it to you” and indicates the next level of Japanese cuisine. The term is usually employed in relation to sushi and is a code word for a high-level dining experience.
The first restaurant to offer a serious omakase in Saigon, according to my knowledge, was Sushi Rei back in 2016 or so. It is still open at the time of this post. I never tried it as the cost is 3,000,000 VND (around 140 USD, probably excluding tax) and I am willing to spend that kind of money for an omakase only when I travel in Japan. Let’s say that this is the “ugly” one because of the price (but if price is no object, by all means try it and let me know!).
There are two very good omakase in Saigon that I enjoyed. One is Kiyota Sushi Sake Restaurant. Very nice atmosphere, you are served at the counter like in a real Japanese omakase restaurant and the seafood is top quality. I personally tried their 1,200,000 VND menu (52 USD) that included an appetizer, five kinds of sashimi, grilled fish, vinegar fish, steamed eggs, 8 kinds of nigiri sushi, miso soup, and dessert. They also had a more expensive and a cheaper menu. I must also say that the service was top-notch both during the meal and before in my communications on Facebook. Unfortunately my phone was unavailable during my dinner and I was not able to take pictures, so I cannot post a review. Another excellent omakase (but it is not sushi, it is tempura) is Hanabi Japanese Cuisine that I already reviewed and I continue to recommend. In both cases, a Japanese chef is behind the counter.
This long prologue to say that this review is about the bad omakase that I tried: Kasen.
The visit
I visited during my summer 2019 trip and I made a booking through their website for a lunch. It was not really necessary as I was the only customer. The restaurant is located not far from the central thoroughfares of District 1. On the paper, it was supposed to be a very good place. The owner is a Japanese-born chef, Shinji Murata, that established a successful sushi restaurant in Los Angeles. Actually this was the first red flag. The owner-chef did not live in Saigon.
The first disappointment was that no counter seating was available. I was informed that they were building one on the top floor, but at the time of my visit for a solo diner only the ground floor was available. The dishes came from the kitchen on the second floor (where also private rooms were available). This was the second red flag. But I was already there…
I chose their summer omakase that was a mix of sushi and other dishes. They also had a more affordable sushi-only omakase and a la carte ordering was possible.
Dishes were served and explained by a very professional waitress that could speak good English and actually knew the dishes inside out.
The first dish was beef taco with what I believe was white salsa and shrimp ceviche, all on the spicy side. American influence was all too evident.
Next was salmon sashimi with light chili dressing and wasabi, ginger, nori on the side.
I did not take pictures of the next three dishes. There was ikura with asparagus and egg yolk sauce. Then tuna tataki (actually one slice of sashimi tuna and negitoro on top, not sure why they called it takaki) with yuzu miso and rocket flower. The yuzu was not really distinct, but the flavor was disturbed by chili sauce on top. It was simply too spicy and killing the flavor. Definitely this chef likes it spicy. The appetizers were concluded by hamachi on a sauce mixing ponzu and minced radish. A jalapeno slice on top of each slice of hamachi completed the dish. Again, the fish flavor was overwhelmed by the sauce and condiments and personally I do not like it.
It was time for some nigiri sushi. On the website they stated that “sushi rice, which we believe is just as important as the fish, is served warm and loosely packed”. This was really great to my hear. Warm sushi rice is indeed one style adopted by some restaurants in Japan. So imagine my disappointment when it turned out that the rice actually was quite ordinary and not really warm.
The first trio of nigiri included lean tuna (akami), medium fatty tuna (chutoro), and fatty tuna (otoro). I can only say that the tuna came in very thin slices. Real thin. Not my favorite.
Next three sushi: seabream, foie gras, halibut, already finished with wasabi, soy sauce, and garnishes as it should be in an omakase. The foie gras was disappointing in terms of flavor (maybe overcooked?).
Then there was an unimpressive handroll with crab meat.
Next was a beef tenderloin dish on a potato mash with soy balsamic sauce (I suppose a house recipe). I wish the meat had been more tender. I do not think it was wagyu as you would expect. The sauce did not add much to the flavor. The potato mash was velvety and exquisite.
A final staple dish was a bowl of cold soba noodle that was ok. But again unremarkable.
Last was a scoop of matcha ice cream. This was very good (I believe it was supplied by Ralf’s Gelato).
The check
Final check was 1,672,000 VND (72 USD). It was my most expensive meal during my trip in HCMC in summer 2019 and it did not deliver (at least the tea came with free refills!). I appreciated the design behind the dishes, but in some cases an ingredient would take over and kill the rest of the flavors. I love seafood and I found the one served quite bland. Those thin slices on the nigiri where kind of sad. The problem was the execution. If the dishes were just a little bit better in terms of preparation and flavor, I would have had no issue with the check. Unfortunately most of the dishes were just disappointing and for this reason I cannot really recommend this restaurant.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 101 Le Thi Rieng, District 1. Website: www.kasen.vn.
Vietnam House is a collaboration between a large hospitality and real estate group (WMC) and Luke Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Australian chef with a good deal of television exposure. It is located in the central Dong Khoi street in Ho Chi Minh City. I have passed by the restaurant so many times, but the combination of the touristy location and a celebrity chef always discouraged me to try it. I must admit that I was mistaken.
The visit
I visited the restaurant for an early dinner during my summer 2019 trip to Saigon.
The interior is finely appointed. Some art deco touches, but to the point to be a bit gaudy.
At the entrance they have Luke Nguyen’s books for sale.
The a la carte menu carries Vietnamese classics enriched by the use of top quality ingredients. My first dish was shishamo fish, crusted in sticky rice with a tamarind dipping sauce. Not sure if the fish was imported. It was quite good, but not exceptional in terms of flavor. The dipping sauce was very good though.
My next dish was much better. It was a garoupa fillet char-grilled in banana leaf, with the house XO sauce and dragon beans. It was a very good garoupa fillet, everything about the dish was perfectly executed.
Then I could not resist ordering a beef cheek dish. It was braised wagyu beef cheek in coconut juice with Phu Quoc green pepper, carrot, shallot served with a Vietnamese baguette. This was the luxury version of the traditional Vietnamese beef stew (bò kho) and it was a surprisingly good dish. The first thing that struck me was the herbal aroma emanating from the pot. The baguette was really useful because I did not want to sacrifice a single drip of the flavorful broth. The meat was really tender.
The dessert was a black sesame flan from the list of seasonal dishes. It was fantastic.
The check
Final check was around 1,489,000 VND (around 64 USD). I think two people could have shared the dishes. Considered the quality of the dishes I think it was good value for money (I am comparing it to fine dining venues around Asia, of course if you compare it with a traditional Vietnamese restaurant is pricey, but I do not think would be a fair comparison).
The menu is quite rich and I would not mind going back trying more dishes.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 93-95, 97 Đồng Khởi, Street: Website: vietnamhousesaigon.com.
I have already described Anan Saigon, the brainchild of chef Peter Cuong Franklin in Ho Chi Minh City, in another review. My first experience was a bit atypical as I ate their famous 100-USD banh mi. I do not think the extravagant banh mi was a good representation of what the restaurant has to offer so I was keen to go back and I was not disappointed.
The visit
I booked using the form on their website and they were quick to answer. When I showed up they offered me a bar seat on the third floor. This was not suitable for me and luckily they found a table on the ground/first floor for me. Remember that they have normal tables on the ground floor and on the second floor. Next time I will make sure to specify my preference.
I decided to order the chef’s tasting menu. Normally set menus are for at least two people, but they were kind enough to let me have the menu as a solo diner.
The first dish was an amuse bouche. Specifically a quail egg topped by salmon roe. While I am not the kind of diner easily impressed by some smoke, I must acknowledge that it was beautifully presented. Much better than your run-of-the-mill amuse bouche.
The next dish featured Vietnamese caviar (I believe Caviar de Duc, it was indicated just as Da Lat caviar on the menu) in a sort of congee with an onsen egg, rice foam and smoked sturgeon. It was a nice fusion dish that highlighted what was believed to be impossible: Caviar made in Vietnam.
Then there was a crab dish enriched with salmon roe, pomelo, and local herbs (not to mention the rice cracker). Again, all amazingly presented and combined together.
Next was an homage to the Vietnamese pancake, the banh xeo, a very popular street food. However the banh xeo was crispier than usual and was actually a fusion between a banh and a taco. Quality ingredients were chosen for the filling, but quite close to the original: pork, peanut sauce, herbs.
Then there was a very interesting water buffalo carpaccio combined with many herbs, lemongrass, lime, peanuts, and a quail egg. I am quite a fan of raw meat and I enjoyed the dish. I believe this was an homage to bò tái chanh (rare beef in lime juice salad), a dish from Da Nang, but the meat was thinly sliced (like in carpaccio) instead of being minced. Raw buffalo meat is common in Northern Thailand (laap), by the way.
Then there was what on the menu was called foie gras imperial roll with pork meat, foie gras, topped with black truffle. This was clearly a homage to Vietnamese rolls in the shape of a suoi mai dumpling. It came with nuoc cham, a dipping sauce mixing fish sauce, lime, pepper, and garlic.
In this tour de force across Vietnamese cuisine, beef in betel leaves was to be there and it was. The beef was delicious brisket.
The next dish was a small masterpiece. A bite of deconstructed pho. The small jelly-like ball in the spoon did taste like pho. It was clearly an homage to Bo Innovation’s molecular xia long bao. And a successful one.
By this time I was already full, but there was still a big ticket item to go: a bowl of pho (and not a small bowl…). It was pho dac biet, that indicates a combination of beef parts. This bountiful bowl had slices of wagyu beef, a 24-hour slowly cooked beef rib, marrow, tendon, a quail egg, and of course noodles. It was a perfect example of modern cuisine, revitalizing a classic dish with top-shelf ingredients.
Now time for dessert. The beautiful lime in the picture above was actually a sweet, with lime vanilla mousse inside.
Finally there was a stick with cotton candy. I guess the chef wanted to be sure to satisfy the guest’s inner child.
The check
The tasting menu was 1,200,000 VND before service charge and taxes. With a coconut drink, I spent 1,437,500 VND (62 USD). By the way, this was the most expensive tasting menu, you can dine in this world-class restaurant for much less.
I am so glad that I went for this tasting menu. It was absolutely amazing. Every dish was not only delicious, but also well presented and, most importantly, well-designed on the basis of a philosophy aimed at elevating traditional dishes to creative high cuisine. The experience was on par with some of the best restaurants in Asia where I dined like Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, Labyrinth in Singapore, Blackitch in Chiang Mai, all restaurants that share the same commitment to their respective homeland cuisines while pushing the envelope in terms of creativity and flavor (but never for just creativity’s sake, like in celebrated places like the now-gone Gaggan).
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 89 Tôn Thất Đạm (inside Cho Cu market, a taxi won’t be able to leave you in front of the restaurant, but around 100 meters on the main street). Website: http://anansaigon.com/ Tip: make a reservation using the website form.
B3 Steakhouse & Craft Beer is a steakhouse located in the middle of Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, as central as it gets when it comes to Ho Chi Min City.
The visit
To get to the restaurant, that is on the first floor, you have to go through a travel agency. Not the most impressive way to start, but the rest is much better, I promise.
Hidden upstairs the restaurant is spacious and well appointed. They even have some tables on a terrace overlooking the busy Nguyen Hue.
Upon my arrival I was immediately served some complimentary salted peanuts.
My order was quite straightforward. A big steak! They had a 400-grams Chateaubriand that was exactly what I was looking for.
On the menu they had all the classics cuts (from fillet mignon to striploin) that could be ordered in three different sizes: 200, 300, 500 grams.
My Chateaubriand was part of a selection of big steaks to share and it came with two sauces and two side dishes.
I had mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.
The steak was thick and perfectly cooked medium rare as I asked. All their beef is grass-fed and is imported from New Zealand. It was not the most tender steak like this I had, but it was very juicy and I enjoyed every bite.
Finally I had a chocolate mousse, which was very good.
The check
If you do not need an official invoice, they do not add 10% VAT, which makes their prices even more competitive. I spent 1,030,000 VND (or around 44 USD). Their pricing is even more reasonable considering that sides and sauces are usually included in the price of the steak, not like in some other greedy places where everything is extra (El Gaucho, I am talking to you…).
Apart from the good pricing point, I enjoyed the experience because they gave me what I was looking for that evening: a no-nonsense steak. Nowadays steakhouses have become like boutiques, with Kobe beef, Nebraska cuts, not to mention all the fake wagyu that you see on menus everywhere. For this reason, I really enjoyed finding B3 Steakhouse that could serve a dam good steak without all the mambo-jumbo that you see nowadays (and the crazy prices associated with it). Yes, B3 delivers (metaphorically, I do not know if they have any delivery service, ok?).
“A Vietnamese snack consisting of a baguette (traditionally baked with both rice and wheat flour) filled with a variety of ingredients, typically including meat, pickled vegetables, and chilli.”
This is the definition of banh mi from the Oxford English Dictionary that in 2011 included the word in the English canon. A powerful indication of the popularity of this Vietnamese sandwich.
In Vietnam, you can find it everywhere and won’t cost you more than 1 USD. In Ho Chi Minh City there is a restaurant now serving a 100 USD banh mi: it is Anan Saigon, the braichild of chef Peter Cuong Franklin.
The visit
To get to Anan you will need to walk through a traditional Saigon’s market, Cho Cu Old Market, where a little bit of everything, from t-shirts to imported biscuits, is for sale. It is not a large market, but a mostly authentic one. It is worth a quick tour.
In the middle of the market you will notice the Anan sign on a traditional narrow building. This is where the eatery is located with the main dining room downstairs.
They also have some tables on the terrace upstairs.
Finally they have an area for cocktails on the roof top. The banh mi show took place on the ground floor.
I had made a reservation via email and pre-ordered the special banh mi. No deposit was required.
They were pretty quick in delivering the gargantuan sandwich that came cut in four parts with truffle fries, truffle oil mayonnaise, and a portion of caviar. Also a glass of prosecco was included, but I opted for a bottle of water that was not charged.
So, what is special about this banh mi? According to an interview to Franklin published on the website Munchies, this is how they go about:
We start out with a mayonnaise that has truffle inside of it and spread a layer on both sides of the bread and plop it on the grill… Then, we add a layer of pâté. We’re using pâté made by a French charcuterie guy based in Da Lat… We use a cut [of pork belly] that has a good amount of fat-to-meat ratio… It’s almost a whole pork chop inside [that has been slowly cooked and finally char grilled]… For this sandwich, we do about four pieces [of fois gras]. Each one is about 40 grams… We sauté it so when the fat comes out as it’s cooked… we’ll then use it to make the sauce. We season it and drip it on all of the sandwich afterwards.
Definitely, it not your regular banh mi where the ingredients are sliced inside the baguette in a few seconds…
Apart from the pork, the fois gras, etc, the Anan’s banh mi also has its share of vegetables.
How is it? Eating it was a nice sensation as each bite revealed a crunchy texture, both from the bread and from the pork. It held itself pretty well bite after bite. I finished it alone. But this should really be shared among a group of 2-4 people.
The caviar was a nice touch especially because it is a local brand: Caviar de Duc. The story of this caviar is quite remarkable as nobody believed that sturgeons could be farmed in the warm waters of Vietnam. It is also an affordable caviar. 10 grams should be around 15 USD.
The check
The final check was, as expected, exactly 100 USD at the exchange rate of 23,000 VND for 1 USD.
What to say? This was clearly a splurge. In a way I do not think it is a good illustration of Anan Saigon’s menu that actually seems to offer a lot of reasonably priced and interesting dishes which I shall try next time I am in town.
Is this decadence or a metaphor of modern Vietnam? Probably just a good marketing gimmick for the restaurant (that also has a 100 USD pho, the Vietnamese noodles).
I would recommend it only if you are in a group of four people and very hungry. Or if you are a food blogger/vlogger.
Where in Saigon: 89 Tôn Thất Đạm Website: http://anansaigon.com/ Tip: make a reservation.
I am adding this review more to showcase an interesting business than to praise the food. The food in this restaurant is pretty mediocre. Yet, it is an extremely popular restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City (and now also in Hanoi and even Berlin and Phnom Penh).
The idea is very simple: a restaurant serving traditional Vietnamese street food in a sanitized environment, with the possibility to see how the food is prepared. Tourists love it. This is the basic concept behind Nha Hang Ngon.
The visit
The restaurant is located in a colonial style villa with high ceilings on a very busy street (Pasteur). This review is based on a visit during Tet 2019 (at the beginning of February).
The menu is now amazingly extensive. They also have Korean, Thai, Japanese food (and I am probably forgetting a few cuisines).
Around the perimeter of the restaurant you can observer various “stations” where the dishes are prepared. However the order is taken at the table and many people do not even notice this feature of the restaurant.
I had a canh bun, a type of noodle soup with pork and shrimp paste, fried tofu puffs, and congealed blood (huyet). It comes with rice vermicelli. It was ok.
A friend of mine had a bowl of pho with beef.
Another friend had rice with chicken and a version of the canh chua, a soup with vegetables and fish originally from the Mekong region.
The check
The final check was around 500,000 VND (or 22 USD). For three people including iced teas and a juice, that’s a good price. Still three or four times the cost of these dishes from a bona fide street vendor.
I guess the price point is what keeps everyone happy: the owners have a large margin and the customers still feel that they have made a bargain. The food is mediocre, but not bad by any means. They know what they are doing. Up to you if this is the place for you.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 160 Pasteur Street, District 1
The Cajun Cua (“cua” means crab in Vietnamese) was probably the first restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City to offer cajun seafood. Cajun is both the name of a rustic cuisine in Louisiana and a spicy seasoning widely used in that cuisine. The Cajun Cua, like many similar restaurants, specializes in a specific aspect of this cuisine: serving boiled seafood (and other ingredients) in bags where it is mixed with certain seasonings.
The Cajun Cua has been around for at least a decade and in 2015-16 became very popular. As it happens in Vietnam, popularity was followed by imitation and other similar themed restaurants mushroomed in Ho Chi Minh City. In my visit in the summer 2019 the fad seemed to have faded away.
The visit
The restaurant is relatively small with a storefront squeezed among the shops of Ly Tu Trong street.
Ordering the main dish – the seafood by the bag – involved two steps: first I made my choices of seafood, then I chose the seasoning; I chose cajun, but other flavors were possible: garlic butter, lemon garlic, basil, juicy. I tried a few of these seasonings in the past and they are all good, full of flavor, but not to the point to kill the seafood taste entirely.
I was also provided a slice of lime to squeeze on a tablespoon of salt and pepper. This is a typical Vietnamese condiment, not related to Cajun cooking.
The preparation can take quite a while. I think I waited half an hour (that is a lot for a restaurant in Asia). But if you are smart, you can do like a group that arrived shortly after me and was served immediately: they had booked their food on the phone beforehand. The chalkboard above illustrates the waiting times.
Above you can see how my bag looked like: it included 250 grams of swimmer crab, 250 grams of green mussels, and 250 grams of prawns.
All the seafood was very good. The bag also came with a piece of corn and a mini slice of sausage (it would have been nice to have more, you can order extra though). I also had a baguette to dip in the leftover sauce after finishing the seafood.
Finally, I had a portion of chicken wings with cajun seasoning. Quite nice if you like spicy food.
The check
Final check was a little over 1,000,000 VND (or 44 USD). Probably there was enough food for two people with a normal appetite. While it is pricey as compared to standard Vietnamese food, you can enjoy some good seafood without breaking the bank.
I have never been in Louisiana and I cannot speak about the authenticity, but overall the experience and the quality of the food is good and it is a nice option for seafood-lovers.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 267 Lý Tự Trọng – District 1 (They also have a location in District 7, in Sunrice City, where I have never been.)
KOTO stands for “know one, teach one” and is the slogan of an Australian charity, founded by an Australian-Vietnamese, aimed at developing the skills of underprivileged and marginalized young individuals in Vietnam. They provide care and training programs for these individuals to make them employable in the hospitality sector. The centerpiece of this strategy is represented by two training restaurants, one in Hanoi and another in Ho Chi Minh City. Dining in these restaurants effectively supports this mission.
The visit
During Tet 2019 (the Vietnamese lunar new year and the following days) I had a dinner in their latest Ho Chi Minh City location, a nice old-style residential building at the margins of District 1.
The dinner started with a complimentary canape: a Chinese style fried wonton. The menu is based on Vietnamese food, but they also have some other Asian and Western classics.
I had their appetizer tasting platter that included deep fried Spring rolls, smoked eggplant salad on a rice and sesame cracker, steamed pork and snails, beef wrapped in betel leaves. It was a very tasty selection, easy to be shared between two people.
My main was a departure from Vietnamese food: a pan-fried barramundi on a bed of white beans and chorizo, plus fennel and orange salad. A very well executed dish that could have been in the menu of a five star restaurant.
Finally, I had space for a dessert: a pandan coconut brûlée, garnished with shortbread and grated coconut. It was a very good dessert.
The check
I spent 634,000 VND (or 27.5 USD) that I consider a very reasonable price. Especially the fish was very honestly priced.
The food was good, the environment was nice and the service friendly and attentive (as usual in Vietnam staff speaks at least a little bit of English). It is definitely a place that I would recommend for the food, even without mentioning their charitable mission.
