There is a small cluster of Vietnamese places in Finchley: about four that I know of, and I can't think of any reason why except that Asian food is quite popular in the area. But clearly the locals seem to know, so when I went there on a Saturday night at 8pm, the placed was packed with Eastern faces, and for a moment, I thought this could really be like being there. It was also very reassuring that it was not middle class England eating there.
So the Vynam Vienamese Cafe is on Regents Park Road in Finchley, very near to Finchley Central Tube station.It has a somewhat non-contributory web site at http://www.vynam.co.uk which give the location and opening hours and menu. It seems to have been well reviewed elsewhere, and I was pleased to give it a whirl with an old school friend, because my wife is suspicious of dinner at anywhere that calls itself a cafe. It looks as if it might be functioning on two floors, but only one seems to be functioning. Inside is fairly plain, with unclothed tables and little decoration - like a cafe. There is one little shrine on the wall that I noticed, but did not find out what it was for.
The menu is pretty comprehensive, and my friend who had actually been to Vietnam on holiday told me that the usual stuff was on it, and we had no problem choosing. I went for Sup Hoanh Thanh (Won Ton Soup) with pork and prawn dumplings in a clear soup.
This had the look and taste of the east, and went down a treat. The only thing that was clearly missing was the climate, as a cool November night in Finchley is never going to set the scene for South East Asia. You need to be perspiring before entering the restaurant and be met by a cooling chill of air conditioning. My pal also had a spicy hot and sour soup that was also deemed to be good. I could see that around me, the locals were eating things that were being wrapped in lettuce leaves. I have had these before in Paris. The starters were tasty, hot and fair sized portions for £4 (my friends soup was a bit more but who was counting).
We then shared a Vietnamese chicken curry, marinated stir fried beef with chillies and lemongrass, and Singapore noodle, washed down by Viet beer. The taste was the taste of the East. I have not been to Vietnam, and recognise that exporting these cooking styles always loses something as the ingredients are never exactly the same. The other thing is the smell: it's the mingling of the smell of the streets with the smell of the food. In North London, we acclimatize to the smell of the streets and no longer notice, but when in another country it always is part of the counterpoint of the olfactory experience.
I can find little to fault the food on. For a full restaurant on a Saturday night, service was friendly and helpful, and the food did not take too long. It's assumed that you will eat with chop sticks from a flat plate (see picture above), and for a sauce heavy dish such as the curry, this was a little challenging. I suppose they would have brought an eating spoon if we asked, but we cheated and used the serving spoons when the time came. Altogether this was an excellent venue to eat. The surroundings do not lend themselves to lingering for the ambiance. I guess it might be better with a group of four or six as the chatter would dominate, but I would think that bigger groups would not fit.
In terms of hotness, the sizzling dish sizzled, but the curry and noodle dwindled in temperature: the risk of eating off serving dishes with no heat underneath. However an overall score of 7.5 on the CHOF scale. Soup was an 8.
Total bill for two of us, two starters, two mains, noodles, three beers and 10% service was just over £38. This was probably more than one might expect at a cafe, but the traditional meal in a dish Vietnamese Noodle Soup are there and would set you back £7.50. Could be a good lunch stop. I guess I need to go back and try several more different kinds of dishes. Can't wait.
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