#19 Vinh-Ky (114 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Craig

This restaurant has a black and white theme and after a few moments of absorbing the surrounds I discern it to be one of the more upmarket eateries on the strip. Steph sighs in exasperation at yet another encyclopaedic menu. There are banquets offered but we create our own in yet another excessive sampling of dishes.

There’s a few odd service elements. The waitress memorises our order and impressively doesn’t miss a thing. When I ask for spoons for the pho, we only receive two, leaving Steph to eat with the ceramic spoon in the main bowl. Having left the lid of the teapot upturned as the universal symbol for more tea, the waitress simply turns it back over without refilling. At a random point during the meal, the waitress brings out steamed rice and dishes it into bowls for us (without waiting for consent) only to bring out the fried rice we actually ordered two minutes later.

The table next to us has a dish come out wrapped in foil ...flaming. The waiter lifts each side up with tongs fanning the purple and orange flames. Not sure what it was but I wish we’d ordered it for the theatrical value.

There are no pork and prawn rice paper rolls so we opt for the straight prawn which come with a dark and very soya sauce-flavoured peanut sauce. The spring rolls look fresh and crispy but have an oddly sweet filling of mashed corn (or pumpkin, as Steph suggests).

Pho is served without its usual accompaniments but even myself, a lover of condiments, acknowledges it doesn’t need anything added.

Number 27 is from the entree section and is grilled beef with lemongrass and comes on a bed of thin rice noodles. It doesn’t look like something that would feature in a Donna Hay cookbook but has a wonderful chargrilled flavour.

The scallops which we chose from the specials (opting for XO sauce) look magnificent. Still in their shells they are lightly cooked with an oily and spicy dressing. For a moment we wonder where the sixth one is and discover it under a forest of coriander.

Finally another special (restrained of us considering initially Steph wanted to order the whole specials menu) – seafood hotpot. The seafood is squid, fish cake and some prawns topped up with tofu, carrots and sweet corn. I find the texture somewhat off-putting. It is stewed in a viscous, bland sauce. The squid is rubbery, the tofu is saturated and the whole thing is slimy.

We are stuffed but satisfied with the overall quality of the evening's meal.


Ratings
Prawn rice paper rolls 7.7/10
Beef pho 7.5/10
Vegetable spring rolls 6.2/10
#27 (grilled beef with lemongrass) 7.3/10
Daily special (fresh scallops with XO sauce) 8/10
Daily special (seafood hotpot) 6.5/10