Saturday, June 4, 2011

Vietnam House, Genting Highlands

Since its not like we go Genting every now and then, me and dad decided to go for something special for dinner. At first I have Ah Yat Abalone Forum in mind but the price is still abit steep, hence dad disagreed. At first dad thought for RM88, you only get a piece of abalone, only to discover few days later that it was meant for a course meal for one person! Well, we weren't keen on dining on fast food or hawker fares. Upon reading the Genting newsletter/magazine, we nod our head in agreement to have Vietnamese food for dinner. Vietnam House is located in the middle of First World Plaze, at the centre of the Venice boat trail. This place was once called Toledo (izit? the one which serves Western/Mexican cuisine)


Upon walking past the bridge, we were greeted by friendly waiters and waitresses dressed in traditional Vietnamese attire. The waitresses were Vietnamese but the waiters were Myanmars though =p After being ushered to our seats, the tidbits served is not the usual groundnuts or crackers or those sort of typical spring food. I am happy to munch on these these dried jackfruit and banana chips while flipping through the menu to decide what to order. At the rate of munching, I could end up having these as my main meal for the night. Hehe....

And having a hard time deciding what to order... Even the drinks also had me figuring for a while, until I ended up ordering something to do with jackfruit too. The Jackfruit Milkshake Blended (RM8) is not something you would wanna order if your are in a state of dire thirst. Not a thirst quencher, this drink is very rich and milky (creamy). The drink itself already occupied a considerable part of your stomach. Though tasty, I regret my pick...

The appetizers are not appetizers at all, in terms of size! I have a premonition that I have over ordered. With the "appetizers" being the size of a main course, me and dad have to push our limits tonight! The Vietnamese Appetizer Platter (forgot the name, the bill came missing, and this post was delayed for a few weeks, blame the amnesiac blogger here. its around RM30). What I remembered vividly is that, appetisers are best shared by at least 3 people!

You get a few pieces of everything, I think 2-4 pieces each. ranging from Vietnamese Spring Roll/Popiah - fried and unfried, meat rolls (the one which looks like Wu Kok skin), pork balls and the famous sugarcane prawns roll. Everything fared well, except for the unfried popiah. I find the the filling (of carrots, cucumbers, turnips?) is too compact, stuffed to the brim, slightly starchy and didnt give the refreshing mouthfeel.

This is the 5 Taste Beef (forgot the actual name, price is around RM30-40 too). But from the name, you are assured to be lifted to bovine ecstasy as you savour beef prepared in 5 distinctive ways. The first 4 ways includes beef rolls and patties panfried or grilled and accompanied with some savoury sauces. The beef salad is something like the acar, with pickled vegetables and crushed peanuts. This will certainly tantilize your tastebuds. However, nothing beats the 5th way of eating the beef.....

Enter the syabu syabu of Vietnam. You are served with a plate of thinly sliced beef and a pot of simmering hot vinegar! Yes vinegar! While it boiling the vapour just have it effect on your nose. The beef just need to be blanced in the vinegar for around 5-10 seconds. Be careful of the potent vinegar as you "slurp" the cooked beef. Have a few raw onion rings to go along for that extra punch! Lovely!

Initially we thought the appetizers were of small portion, hence we ordered the Chicken Chop Rice Set (available in pork chop too, around RM20) for good measure. Thankfully the serving was just right upon sharing, but could stand out to be a hearty meal on its own. Besides the tender and well marinated lemon grass chicken chop, you get a pork patty which resembles the "salted fish steamed minced pork". At the centre you are julienned pork skins with fried lard! Man, this is the killer part and the lard fritters is oh-so-heavenly! =p

The bill came up to about RM120. A bit steep but considering this is Genting and the amount we ordered, we were satisfied. I find the food here more authentic that V-nam House in Persiaran Greenhill. Here are some shapshot of the interior decor as I was experimenting with my new camera and the shooting modes. In a nutshell, not a bad place to dine if you can't decide what to eat in Genting Highlands Resort.

A month later, my cousin told me that this place was opened by his friend's friend and he had a 20% discount for dining there. =p

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