The
five-dishes set menu at Cyclo Resto and Le Ngoc An (bottom right),
owner of Cyclo Resto, takes his guests to Thai Binh Market
It takes something special to stand out in a city that has thousands upon thousands of restaurants.
But
what it takes to be something special can be surprising. It needs not
be anything fancy. Just a simple desire to serve delicious, authentic
food.
Cyclo Resto shows how.
The
restaurant, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City around six months ago,
serves Vietnamese food with some caveats that I found I can accept with
somewhat surprising ease.
On
the recommendation of a friend, I had lunch at the restaurant last
week. Following her directions, I arrived at Dang Tran Con Street,
which, actually looks more like an alley.
A
pink signboard on the wall above a staircase told me I have reached
Cylco Resto. I climbed up old, quite dark stairs to the second floor and
entered a big room with tables and chairs, no air-conditioner, but
several electric fans.
The
restaurant was quite airy, very simply decorated with a few paintings
on the wall. One wall was directly painted with the iconic Tet
decoration of apricot blossoms. The simplicity of the place had a
reassuring touch. There was a balcony with two tables from where I could
look at the sky and the alley below, but it was hot, so I chose to sit
indoors, near an electric fan.
Settling
down, I noticed an open kitchen in the other half of the room with many
cooking implements, ovens, spices and other kitchen stuff.
As
I was observed what was happening in the kitchen, a waitress approached
and informed me of the main caveat if one is to be served Cyclo Resto.
There
is no a la carte menu to choose from. A fixed five-course set menu,
priced at US$6, comprising the same dishes is served every day for every
person. Five Vietnamese dishes served with rice. Interesting!
Shortly after, my lunch was served.
First
came “the spring roll with shrimp,” hot and not oily. The rolls were
placed around the dish and in middle sat a phoenix, made out of a tomato
with a piece of green onion and chilly.
Then,
in quick succession, came “fried vegetable with pork,” “stewed
snakehead fish in a clay pot,” “fried chicken with lemongrass” and “soup
with winter melon and shrimp.”
The food, served beautifully, was delicious as well.
When
I was having my meal, the chef and some waiters and waitresses passed
me occasionally with natural, friendly smiles. They asked me how the
food was. Was it good enough? It was, and I felt good to see that they
made similar enquiries of all the other guests.
Le
Ngoc An, the restaurant owner, said he did not bother him if people
complained that the place was too plain looking or that it did not have
air-conditioning. All he wants to do is serve guests with delicious
Vietnamese dishes in a pleasing way, he said.
“What’s
special about Vietnamese food is its balance. Vietnamese people do not
eat one particular dish, but combine different kinds of food and eat
them together at the same time. For example, we have some fried dish
with soup and rice. And this five-course set menu presents perfectly
that balance,” he said.
When
I’d polished off my plate, I decided to check out the restaurant’s open
kitchen. I learned then, that it functioned as a cooking class.
An
explained that the cooking class was opened to every foreigner who is
now in Vietnam and wants to learn how to cook Vietnamese dishes. Each
class has a maximum of five people.
After
signing up for a class via the restaurant’s website, guests can stay at
the hotel and wait for a cyclo to pick them up. From there, they will
be taken to the Thai Binh Market in District 1, accompanied by a guide
on a bicycle.
The
guide will help the guests choose ingredients for the cooking class.
Later, the cyclos will take the guests to the Cyclo Resto kitchen, where
they will cook the food under the direction of experienced chefs.
After
enjoying the meal, the guests will be taken back to their place on
motorbikes or taxis. The fee for the entire service is $23.
There
was no class taking place when I was there, but An informed me that
there are a lot of comments jotted on the wall of Cyclo Resto by those
who took the class.
Some
of them read: “Transcendental food and cooking experience. Many
thanks!”; “Great experience, great food, above all great people!”; and
“So happy we came here! Great food, chef, food + fun!.”
As I left the restaurant and went down the stairs, I met with a young foreigner who’d just finished her lunch as well.
She
said: “I enjoyed all the dishes and their flavors - they were just a
little different from the typical restaurant dishes. More simple and
genuine-tasting than some of the upscale places I’d been.
“I
would say it is one of the best Vietnamese foods I’ve ever tried since I
came to Vietnam. The service is very good. I will recommend the place
to my friends and will come back here for the cooking class. That’s for
sure.”
Cyclo Resto
3-3A Dang Tran Con, District 1,
Ho Chi Minh City
