Started the evening with a Salad Platter that consisted of Raw Mango Salad, Chargrilled Chicken in Betel Leaves with lemongrass and rice paper, and Crisp Fried Crabs and Egg Nest Spring Rolls. The spring rolls were my favorite though they were really oily. The filling was lovely and the crisp texture just took the cake away. You could gobble up as much of the Raw Mango Salad as you wanted and you wouldn’t feel sick. It had a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity. The Chargrilled Chicken was juicy in every sense of the word! Damn nice, specially when you felt the crunch of the leaves and that lemongrass hit.
Pho Ga- Vietnamese Chicken Soup with rice noodles, scallion and basil. This was a very soulful delicious chicken soup with condiments on the side to add to your soup as per the palette. Red chillies for the spicy kick, basil and lime leaves with such fragrantic flavour, scallions for the crunch. The soup became even better with all this.
Palette cleanser for the evening was a lime sorbet with champagne. Exceptional stuff! The sorbet was so delicious that I could have it as dessert too.
Main course was a Vietnamese Style Chicken and Coconut Curry with Jasmine Rice and French Baguette. The baguette was a dream! It tasted sensational with that gorgeous Vietnamese Chicken Curry and was every bit soul-satisfying. The curry wasn’t overpowering with flavours, it was subtle in all its entirety but had loads of flavor. Chciken, veggies and a coarse curry. More than the jasmine rice, I couldn’t stop drooling over the baguette. A very hearty main course.
Dessert was a dramatic affaire with some theater happening. Hoi An Steamed Layer Cake with pandan, mug bean and coconut flavour. Steamed layer cake that blended so so well with the ice cream! What a contrast and what deliciousness!
Complemented our meal with Prosecco and some damn fine cocktails- the one with Gin, apple and kaffir lime was the showstopper for me!! And look at the pretty teacup!
The festival is truly delicious. The flavours are lovely, the amalgamation of different things comes together so beautifully, the staff knows the menu well and their recommendations really help you in choosing. Sure as hell should everyone give this festival a try- for someone who’s getting acquainted with Vietnamese cuisine for the first time, and equally for the ones who love the cuisine.Disclaimer: The review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. All views expressed are unbiased in nature but readers are advised to exercise their own discretion.Connect with me on:Twitter: @sahibagursahaneInstagram: @thetastingforkFacebook: www.facebook.com/thetastingfork Snapchat: @thetastingfork
