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It might be the younger of the two, but the vibe at this south Ken spin-off to Viet Food is less ‘funky little sis’ and more ‘responsible older sibling’. While the popular Chinatown original has a trendy semi-industrial, semi-street-shack vibe, Go-Viet is a smart, muted dining room with well-dressed, courteous staff and pelmet lighting cruising overhead.
Once again, the kitchen deals in Vietnamese food with fashionable twists. Don’t miss the Saigon pork ribs. They arrive with a knife and fork on the plate, but this is food you’ll want to eat with your hands, licking the sticky marinade off your fingers, one digit at a time. The meat is moist, smoky and sweet, with a hint of salt and a lick of heat. Peanut shards scattered on top add more taste and texture.
Also good were soft blocks of grilled aubergine alternating with firm cubes of crisp-edged bean curd (aka tofu) in a puddle of chilli-scented soy sauce. But other dishes failed to get off the ground: soft-shell crab that arrived cold, with too much batter for the tiny amount of crab. And a platter of ‘appetisers’ was a mixed bag in more ways than one: from disappointing summer rolls to juicy betel leaf dumplings. Not that the well-heeled locals seem bothered: on my Tuesday night visit, every seat was taken.