Restaurant Review: Vietnamese Foodies

Published: Tue 9 Feb 2021, 7:02 PM

Last updated: Wed 10 Feb 2021, 4:25 PM

The most charming aspect of visiting a new destination is the window it provides to a new culture and cuisine. Back in the day, when we could travel, it was eating like the locals, which completed the experience. Ordering in a meal from Vietnamese Foodies, Downtown Dubai, stemmed from this thought process. Curious to try out the food served at the street stalls in Vietnam, we were tempted to scour through the Bánh Mì section of the menu. When translated to English it means bread; for us. It was love at first sight and bite, with the Bánh Mì with lemongrass grilled beef tenderloin and pepper sauce! The baguette was crispy on the outside, loaded with a generous quantity of extremely tender, almost buttery textured beef on the inside. The lemongrass added just the right tangy, sharp touch to each bite.

Purva Grover

Next up was another slice of the culture, pho, a complete meal, which is not only a household staple but also the national dish of Vietnam. Lest we thought Shredded Chicken Thigh Pho is just another soup; we were in for a culinary surprise. The rather large portion was a riot of flavours, with eat-all-you-can chicken strips in it! It could have easily been shared between two; but well, who’d like to share a soul-soothing bowl of broth (cooked for 14 hours) and garnished with bean sprouts? There is a lotus stem, mushroom and tofu pho on the menu too, but we gave it a miss.

Overall, what worked in our favour us was the freshness and authenticity of the meals. Plus, it calmed our health-freak soul to eat a nutritious meal. What disappointed us was the fewer number of options for vegetarians across the menu. We did sample the Vegan Spring Rolls, and the fact that they didn’t leave our hands greasy and arrived crisp at the doorstop did please us though.

Taste (4.5): Superior quality ingredients, which you could taste in the freshly baked bread to the herbs used in the meal. Plus, we loved how there was no attempt by the chefs to tweak the recipes to appeal to the foodies here, offering an authentic experience.

Ambience (5): We ordered-in and enjoyed the relief and comfort. Felt safe, so yes full marks on that.

Service (4.5): Your meal is a click away, and we're relying heavily on deliveries these days. Your meal would arrive in standard plastic and cardboard boxes.

Value for Money (4): It would appear slightly lavish, but then portions (other than that of snacks) will fill you up, amply.