Pale version

I really miss Michael's quaint little Que Huong Toi restaurant along Jelutong Road in Penang. Before it closed in 2019, the restaurant served one of the best Vietnamese food on the island. Real, authentic Vietnamese food because in his kitchen were Vietnamese cooks. Every time I went there either on my own or with my wife, my choice of Vietnamese food would invariably be their Banh Xeo, a Vietnamese crepe stuffed with bean sprouts, minced pork and prawns, and eaten with leafy greens and loads of herbs such as mint and basil leaves. At the height of the restaurant's popularity, Michael opened two branches in downtown Church Street to cater for the office crowd and also at the Queensbay Mall. But suddenly, Michael vanished from the scene and his restaurants closed with him. Nobody knew what had happened but his restaurants' closure brought on my deep hunger for Vietnamese food in Penang. However, no other Vietnamese food outlet could, in my opinion, compare favorably with Que Huong Toi's. Michael, if you happen to read this, please do consider opening your restaurant again.

Recently in Kuala Lumpur, my wife, daughter and I decided to have our dinner at the An Viet restaurant in The Gardens Mall. I was familiar with this place. Firstly, they have an outlet at the Gurney Plaza in Penang. Then, of course, I've eaten here in this very outlet in the past once or twice. My opinion of their food was so-so only. Nothing to shout about. But I ate there because I wanted some Vietnamese food to warm my belly.

This time, I ordered their Vietnamese Raw Beef and Beef Ball (Phở Tái Bò Viên) to try. But I cannot give a definite opinion about it because it is not often that I eat beef noodle soup. All I can say is, can-lah. 

My wife and daughter decided to share an order of the Hanoian Style Fish with Tumeric & Dill with Vermicelli (Chả Cá Lã Vọng). Our verdict about this dish: slightly disappointing. Why? Because this restaurant could not replicate the real, original style from Hanoi. My whole family was in Hanoi for a family holiday in 2014 and we had truly experienced the authentic stuff at the Chả Cá Thăng Long fish restaurant there. We were so impressed with the food that we went back a second night to eat it again. But here at the An Viet restaurant? Nah....we won't order it again. It is a pale version of the original. There must be a reason why the original uses the snakehead and not any other variety of fish, isn't it? This version served at An Viet wasn't the snakehead fish, that I can definitely say, and it made a world of a difference to the taste and texture. Secondly, there was hardly any dill. We really missed the copious amount of dill that we had in Hanoi. And thirdly, I was surprised to see that this dish came with a slightly soupy base. But the most important difference was the type of fish meat.