By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The stifling heat can often do away with your appetite, but Rau Rau provides for a fun dining experience where you can hand-roll and savor fresh, Australian-style Vietnamese spring rolls.
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Australia saw a mass immigration of Vietnamese people, and so Vietnamese restaurants can be easily found throughout the country.
Australian-style Vietnamese rolls are essentially a fusion dish ― a result of adaptation to the local vegetation ― and the rolls incorporated Australian-grown foodstuffs like avocado and pineapple. Rau Rau, being located in Korea, takes on another layer of the regional flavor ― ``samgyeopsal'' or pork loin, though it is smoked rather than grilled.
The star item on the menu is the Rau roll set (20,000 won per serving), which offers samgyeopsal and shrimp with a colorful batch of fresh vegetables. A small bowl of beef ``pho,'' or Vietnamese rice noodle soup, is also included.
It takes a while for the server to set the table ― a pile of dry rice paper that looks like square origami sheets, a bowl of warm water for soaking the rice paper, a huge plate of greens and a sizzling pan of meats.
The do-it-yourself meal is very easy. Using a wooden pincher, dip the rice paper in the basin of water. Here you have to be careful so that the thin sheet does not crumple up as you lay it flat on your plate. Next comes the fun part, adding different combinations of the vibrant ingredients before you roll it up and consume.
The veggie plate includes slices of cilantro, avocado, pineapple, cherry tomato, bean sprout, paprika, broccoli, lettuce, onion, cucumber, mushroom and sesame leaf, as well as pieces of walnut, fish cake and strands of vermicelli (Vietnamese rice noodles). The restaurant guarantees the freshness and hygiene of the ingredients by washing them in mountain spring water. Rau Rau also offers free refills of the basic batch of vegetables.
The cream of the crop among the ingredients is of course the meat. The pork and shrimp are smoked over hardwood charcoal as well as a lump of oak wood, and tasted tangy.
Finally, before rolling up your treat add a splash of the piquant hot sauce. But those with sensitive palates should be careful because following the initial sweet-and-sourness it leaves a burning aftertaste. You can also ask for chili and oyster sauces.
After rolling up an innumerable mixture of the ingredients, this reporter felt quite full. But the warm bowl of pho that followed was small enough to be an appetizing conclusion to the meal. The beef broth, topped with thin slices of mushroom, was refreshing. Unlike many pho places, the soup tasted free of thick, artificial flavoring.
The cozy little eatery is packed 'round-the-clock, particularly during summertime, so it is highly advisable to make reservations. Rau Rau's low-calorie and high-protein meals have made it a hotspot for dieting young women, but the line goes fairly quickly.
Rau Rau is located in Cheongdam-dong. Enter the second alleyway to your right from Hakdong intersection toward Cheongdam intersection. It is on your left when you reach the three-way intersection. Call (02) 542-1464. Open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday except on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.