Had a planned menu for a party of 10. Starters were the Bang Bang Prawns with coconut lemongrass dressing rice lemony with a bit of heat; spring rolls were yummy with a twist on the sauce with peanut rather than just the traditional hoisin rich...sauce that can be a bit overpowering, summer roll with began rust duck added the crispy texture to the soft roll and nicely paired with the nuoc mam. And finally the fried calamari that was perfectly fried leaving the squid just cooked.
Mains started with the lemon grass chicken served with BunCha and herbs. Best lemon grass chicken yet in Auckland. Just nicely grilled and the chicken moist yet nicely charred. A word about the nuoc mam at Cafe Viet.. simply great balance of lemon juice, palm sugar and fish sauce...
The Caramelised Pork Hot Pot was to die for. The pork belly was slow-cooked with the skin and fat melting in your mouth. The grief hard boiled egg was a nice touch and the braised gravy... Yummy. Very nice dish.
The grilled fish in banana leaf served with nouc mam and rice... As a Malaysian, that's comfort food, and well done ... Would have loved a little sambal belacan on the side but that'd make it Malaysian and not Vietnamese... The nuoc mam with grilled fish was a great combination. Our planned set came with a grilled scallop for each diner.
Our last dish was the yellow curry with chicken. I would have liked it with more heat but nevertheless, still good.
Dessert was a real surprise... Ordered the Summer in a jar which was an interesting take on the Sago pudding. Came in a jam jar with the Sago pudding base topped with palm sugar, coconut flakes, coconut ice cream and the surprise... The schnapps soaked raspberries... The combination just came together so well ... Will be going back for more. The wife ordered the whiskey coffee chocolate mousse with plum ice cream... Also great. Nice touch on the dessert.More