Here are some spring rolls from Le Tonkin (18 Mohamed Sultan Road, 6235-6006), some Vietnamese French place on the former site of the Front Page bar. If it looks chichi, that's because it is. This place clearly was meant to be very posh and elegant for a fine dining experience. That wasn't quite what we were looking for tonight (we just wanted a quick meal), so we had to rush the staff to tell us to bring us all the food ASAP rather than taking their slow time like they thought we wanted. Fortunately, they were able to accomodate, and the food still turned out very well, if expensive. We just grabbed three simple things: the spring rolls, the pho bo, and the cha ca la vong, the last of which is apparently some kind of special grilled fish. The spring rolls, while oddly dry in one part, at least were tightly wrapped. The pho, while in a shallow bowl (nor accompanied by any bean sprouts or basil), was still light and tasty. And the fish, while in just a few slices rather than a whole fish like I was expecting (especially at S$28, or US$16.50), was tender, fresh, and complete with a rich sauce that sizzled when doused over the hot black pan. In that sense, I liked this place better than the Indochine group, but to be honest, I'd much rather just wait for a plain and simple pho house rather than spending my money on anything as upscale and dimly lit as this place.
8 comments:
wow u surely are a fan of great food...are u here on food mission?? thanx for all the updates..a great blog for me to refer to for great food.. :)
Do you know of any plain and simple pho houses in S'pore? The Bay Area's a long way to go for a bolw of noodles.
There's a pho house along killiney rd but it isn't too flash either.
Yeah, Pho Hoa in Holland V is actually part of a chain from back home. There are some minor differences, but it generally still works for me.
Yup, Pho Hoa is quite good.
This may sound like a long shot but I was speaking to a Vietnamese student here and she told me the pho in Junction 8's foodcourt is pretty authentic. I haven't checked it out yet but will do so soon.
My personal favourite is Pho House at Suntec City. It's the level above what used to be Tower Records. The food's great. The Pho is like those I used to eat in the States.
i tried le tonkin. it was WAY overpriced...200 sgd for two people without alcohol...the food is much better at song trang at plaza singapura for a quarter of the price...of course the ambience was nice...i was so disappointed
while I'm on the subject it is sooo typical and sad that so many of these new resturants hv the atmosphere and ambience but NOT the food to go with it
case in point da palao bistro at 1 rochester park. my wife went last week and couldnt finish the spinch canoli....yet its packed...great setting but crap food...
and i hv yet to find a decent vietnamese resturant here in singapore...why is it so difficult to get good thai and vietnamese food here??? I am from HK and Singapore is NO food paradise. maybe hawker food paradise.
Guess where we hongkies end up going for chinese food? crystal jade and imperial treasure...
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