Tipped

Duck: crispy or frazzled?

March 19, 2008

Not my first choice for Vietnamese in this hood - the food is not a patch on Tay Do.

Do go for an eat that is super cheap, super quick, and pretty tasty.

Don't go for smiles from the staff, white linen table cloths or recognisable duck (takeaway seems like a better idea!).

These guys really blur the line between crispy and frazzled. It is such a shame they goof the duck: it's a Vietnamese staple and probably one of the reasons you didn't just stay at home and have toast as cup-a-soup.

Our marathon duck session

March 09, 2008

I've been to a few of the Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Rd and they've all be pretty good. None of them boast even half-decent decor but the atmosphere is always vibrant and this is half the experience. The 2nd half is a combination of good food and the cheap prices. Viet Hoa Cafe fits into this category.

Like the "others", the menu could easily be confused with a novel so my recommendation would be to think about what you'd like to eat (i.e. Chicken, Prawns) before opening it up.

I went with a couple of friends and all the dishes we ordered were reasonablly good although we didn't enjoy experiencing their version of crispy duck. I'm not sure if the chef took the name of this dish too litterally, or even hated this particular duck, or simply if this ceature ran a marathon in the Sahara Desert without a drop of water before throwing itself into the deep frier for an hour, but when it came out it was bone dry and completely over-cooked.

As for the service we received - it was pretty non-existant. We had to ask for our drinks on so many occasions because they kept forgetting.

On the up-side, the dishes were served reasonably quickly, they have a wine list (unlike some of the other Viet places), the prices are quite cheap, and each table comes with a half dead carnation! quality.

I prefer Tay Do to Viet Hoa but I'm certainly not advising ppl to avoid going here.

Tags: vietnamese, dead duck, cheap and quick

Viet 'home' cafe

November 04, 2007

On a street in East London that boasts around 10 Vietnamese restaurants how do you choose which one to go to? To be honest you have 2 choices - try them all or see which one most people recommend you and which one seems to have the most Vietnamese people in it (sorry is that 3 choices?)

I am always being recommended Viet Hoa and every time I go there are large Vietnamese familys dining together. The menu is large and generally cheap and the decor isn't much to write home about about but the food is great and the clientele always look as if they're enjoying themselves.

I recommend the summer (fresh) rolls and won ton soup.