By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Vietnamese cuisine is fast becoming one of the popular food trends, especially since it is known for its use of fresh vegetables, spices and herbs. No wonder there is a growing number of Vietnamese restaurants opening around the city.
Good Morning Hanoi, tucked away in the basement of the Richensia building in Yoido, is known as one of the best places to try Vietnamese cuisine.
Good Morning Hanoi’s menu features both traditional Vietnamese dishes like pho or rice noodle soup and spring rolls; and fusion dishes like tom yam or hot and sour soup and pad thai or pan-fried rice noodles.
For an appetizer, we choose to sample the Bun Cha Gio, a plate full of fresh salad, vermicelli noodles and fried egg rolls. The salad dressing is light but flavored with thyme, nutmeg, rosemary and olive oil. The vermicelli noodles, topped with crushed peanuts, have a sweet but tangy flavor. In contrast, the egg rolls are crunchy and meaty.
Another popular dish is the Banh xeo, a Vietnam-style crepe or pancake made out of rice flour with pork, onions and mushrooms. We sliced small portions of Banh xeo, wrapped it in lettuce and dipped it in fish sauce with chili.
For our main dish, we ordered the Pho Lau or the Vietnamese hotpot. The vegetables, bean sprouts and mushrooms are placed in the boiling pot of clear soup. We added more chili to make it spicier. The soup is flavorful and spicy, but it doesn’t burn your tongue.
The soup is served with a plate of thinly sliced beef, which should be dipped in the boiling soup for a few seconds. We dipped the beef in three different sauces; a salty fish sauce, peanut sauce and rich black bean sauce. Personally, I liked the thick peanut sauce which adds sweetness to the beef.