I have said this before, but it was such a memorable evening that I don’t mind saying it again. We had a young visitor from Vietnam, and one day we persuaded her to cook for us. She did — and what a meal it was.
She had come carrying rice paper from Hanoi, and we went to INA Market to buy some shrimps, greens, peppers and ripe mango. And then she prepared a roll that was as much a visual delight as it was a treat for the palate. At the bottom of the translucent rolled rice paper was a thick strip of red mangoes, then some thinly cut green and red capsicum, shreds of basil and mint leaves and finally a layer of steamed shrimps.
I was reminded of those rolls when I went to a lovely little restaurant called Little Saigon in Hauz Khas Market (Phone: 9650260408 and 9599450879) one afternoon. It’s really little, so you have to book a table if you can.
Still nostalgic about those rolls, we asked for a plate of pancakes with chicken (₹220). They were different from the ones I had eaten, but rather good, nevertheless. The pancakes came with a helping of lettuce leaves, and we were urged to wrap a leaf around the pancake and eat it. There was a light fish sauce, which we could smear on the pancake if we wished to. The difference was in the casing — Chef Hana, who runs Little Hanoi, makes her batter with rice powder and beaten egg — so it looked and tasted a bit different.
The fresh summer roll with shrimp and meat (₹220) and with tofu and vegetables (₹170) were little rolls of rice paper, stuffed with all the good stuff. I didn’t try out the veggie one, but quite enjoyed my crunchy non-veg roll.
Superb curry
Our main dish was sticky rice with braised pork (₹540) and yellow chicken curry (₹330). The pork had a sharp taste, mildly sweet but piquant. The yellow curry gravy was simply superb, light and mildly flavoured, with little chunks of onion and carrot in them. The chicken pieces in the gravy, however, did not appeal to me much. I found them a bit too hard, and thought that the excellent flavours of the curry had not seeped into the meat.
The vegetable aromatic rice noodle soup (₹270) that a friend had asked for needed some more greens, and the server topped it accordingly. It was perhaps a bit bland, because of which we asked for the grilled fish Saigon (₹320), which was very good. The fish was crisp, the flesh was firm, and the flavours were strong.
We had our meal with some artichoke iced tea and hot tea (₹95). And we ended with a delicious coconut ice cream with jelly (₹120).
This is one of the few places where you get Vietnamese food in Delhi, for strangely enough, there are hardly any Vietnamese restaurants in the city. Taj Palace had a Vietnam cuisine special called the Blue Ginger, but that shut shop, too. I find that surprising, for Vietnamese food is a rage across the world, and one of the best cuisines that you can have.
I love Vietnamese food for two main reasons. One, the food is lighter than other cuisines for most dishes are steamed, grilled or boiled. And, second, the cuisine marks the coming together of many diverse influences. China and South East Asian nations have added to the cauldron, of course, but what sets it apart is the French influence, for France ruled Vietnam for almost a century from the middle of the 19th Century.
But I am sure the food will catch on soon. And for the small group of die-hard Vietnamese food lovers in the city, there is always Little Saigon.