Restaurants

The façade of this tiny café does it no favours. The frontage is often obscured by a bus stop directly in front of the doors, and its fluorescent sign speaks more of greasy spoons than restaurant dining. Tay Do’s popularity relies mostly on word of mouth. The canteen-style interior fills up quickly at weekends, mostly with East End locals who take full advantage of the BYO policy. To start, our prawn and pork summer rolls came beautifully presented, but, unfortunately, were more style than substance: the rolls mostly filled with vermicelli noodles, with a single sliver of pork and two halves of a prawn. In contrast, we were happy with the banh xeo, with its crisp turmeric-yellow exterior and filling of juicy chicken and crunchy beansprouts. Caramelised mekong catfish in a clay pot was sizzlingly good too. Service seemed a little careless; we had to prise open the burning-hot clay pot with napkin-covered hands ourselves, and when paying, were urged to do so in cash. Only later did we discover that the café does indeed accept credit cards.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009