Restaurants

By Charmaine Mok

The turnover of Vietnamese caffs on Kingsland Road is brisk. On our last visit to year-old Thang Loi, on a Friday night a few weeks ago, the place was deadly empty – our arrival signalled the need to fill the void with pumping pop music. So it was no surprise to discover that Thang Loi closed soon after, to be swiftly replaced by Mien Tay.

With clean tablecloths and a new lick of paint (oceany blues have replaced the jarring red), this newcomer prides itself on the fresh, sweet flavours of southern Vietnam, where much of the cuisine is characterised by its emphasis on seafood and influences from southern Chinese immigrants.

The restaurant’s signature dishes included steamed king prawns with coconut and fried eel stuffed with pork; we veered towards the hearty ‘Mien Tay spicy soft shell crabs’, which were expertly battered, though could have used more chilli heat. The waiter misunderstood our request for king prawns with spring onions and presented us instead with the Chinese dish of sesame prawn toasts, but they looked so good (a generous mound of minced prawns atop a crisp, golden circle of French baguette) that we gobbled them up without protest.

The stunner of the meal was deep-fried sea bass with fish sauce and mango. Presented whole with slivers of the just-ripe fruit, chilli and lashings of the fishy nuoc mam, it was a pure harmony of flavours (sweet, salty, sour) and textures (crisp skin, moist fish, refreshing mango). All that was left in the end was a pile of bones and rogue shards of skin – a macabre image, but a clear indication of customers who couldn’t get enough; it was enough to make the kindly proprietor smile from ear to ear with pride.

Time Out Issue 1975: June 26 - July 2 2008