April 26, 2013
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Ha Long Bay
Whenever I have to catch up with friends on Victoria Street, Richmond… for whatever reason, we always end up at Ha Long Bay (82 Victoria St Richmond).
I like going there because the food is pretty consistent, the service is quick and the food cheap. In saying this, 90% of the restaurants between Hoddle Street to Church Street are pretty much “same same” and “not that different” other than the layout and how loud the waiters yell out orders/commands to one another.
A friend- Mr. S, who I hadn’t seen for awhile was quite happy to catch up at the normal “meeting point”
For entrees, we ordered a serving of rice paper rolls (prawn and pork)- a serving comprises of 4. They’re the standard run of the mill rice paper rolls, but at least they rice vermicelli wasn’t dry (basically old noodles) or under cooked (you’d be surprised how many places do this). By the time I remembered that I needed to take a photo of the dish, I had already stomached it.
However I did remember to take a photo of our mains:
We ordered – salt and pepper squid and Mongolian Beef. I really enjoyed the salt and pepper squid. It’s got just about the right flavouring. Some places make it too bland, others compensate by over salting. I was however disappointed with the Mongolian Beef- it was a tad too sweet. However both dishes complimented each other as one was too saucy and the other not.
One gripe I always have with these types of restaurants- mainly Vietnamese/ Chinese kind is that there is always too MANY onions. I don’t know how many people LOVE onions but when the dish is full of it- it’s sickening.
For 2 people, we did pretty well and managed to finish all of it.
However, one of the things I do LOVE about dining at Vietnamese restaurants is not for the food -(I can get that at home). No, I have a LOVE for the custard apple smoothie (I know it’s from a can when it’s out of season) but there’s it’s sweet and refreshing! Great for dessert and a beverage. Everytime I order it with a “non” Vietnamese person, many of my friends will go “what the heck is that?” and once they try- they all want one too.
One thing that’s consistent about Ha Long Bay is they WILL always take forever to bring my “custard apple” drink. Sometimes I’m lucky and I get it before my entrees, once I’ve received it just as desserts was rolling about. Many other Vietnamese eateries are able to dish this drink out fairly quickly- find can, open with can opener, add into the blender with ice. Blend and serve. Ha Long Bay- not so much.
The service at Ha Long Bay is somewhat haphazard too, but it’s to be expected. The food is cheap therefore you’re not paying for service. They’re not so much as rude, just not attentive. If you were after attentiveness then cheap eats at Vietnamese restaurants shouldn’t be your thing. You should be glad that the waiters can communicate in English well enough to take your order from the standard menu. If your requests becomes complicated i.e you’re allergic to something, and glucose intolerant then don’t be surprised if the food comes out as is and nothing changes.
What i do like about Ha Long Bay besides the speedy service- don’t be surprised to find the food coming your way just moments you’ve ordered it, is that they allow you to sit with your guests and have a long gasbag. They’re not really going to push you out- like many of the restaurants I’ve experienced at in the past. I have been there once where we had arrived at 6pm as a group and left at close to closing time (11pm).
One other thing- if you do visit, make sure you have some good sturdy shoes on, the floor near the toilets are extremely sleepy. It’s almost like someone had spilt grease just for shits and giggles. Over the years, I have almost slipped (in the many different shoes- including sneakers)
