Delhi is no stranger to Asian cuisine. For the longest time, authentic Chinese restaurants ruled the hearts of countless foodies in Delhi. In the recent past, several Burmese, Korean and Japanese restaurants have also found their own loyal following. Viet:Nom, one of the newest entrants in Gurgaon's CyberHub, is bringing authentic Vietnamese cuisine to Delhi-NCR. The chic interiors, glass work, and walls dressed in turquoise green and brown make a remarkable statement too! With its expansive menu, Viet:Nom attempts to offer something fresh. The food at Viet:Nom is vibrant, eclectic and teeming with flavours that stay with you. The menu curated by Chef Vaibhav and seasoned food critic Rupali Dean, springs from their extensive tours round Vietnam.
We started out by trying their fresh vegetable rolls. Packed with fresh summer veggies and herbs, these roll-ups are made with rice paper rolls. Served with a rich peanut sauce, these rolls are a refreshing surprise. Next, we proceeded to their dumplings. Viet:Nom has a fairly diverse range of dumplings suited for all palates. If you love your dumplings hot and spicy, you must try their chicken and chilli dumplings stuffed with mouth-watering chicken filling, served on a bed of hot chilli oil. If you love mushrooms, you should go for their 7 treasure mushroom gyoza. The highlight of these pan-fried dumplings perches upon its melt-in-your-mouth filling made with mushrooms and a host of local spices. Viet: Nom serves about three to four types of accompaniments with their dumplings. So pair away until you find your ideal match!
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Their prawn and shisho dumplings, brings to life the rich sea food fare of Vietnamese cuisine. Soft and tender prawn filling has a scrumptious mellow and salty aftertaste. Oh, and they can even take your Instagram game a notch higher with their pleasant purple hue.
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Another dish to please your soul is their Viet:Nom pizza. It is one of their signature dishes and a bite into this tender pizza will tell you why it is nothing like anything you have had before. Delicately roasted white rice crackers topped with egg, saucy chicken or pork chorizo, spring onions, basil and edible flowers, Viet:Nom pizza is just as stellar as it looks!
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If you are looking for some classic vegetarian appetisers, you can go for their crispy tofu. Tossed in chilli hoisin sauce, brown garlic and fresh chilly, these fresh tofu cubes are fried to perfection.
Their chicken pho can be called a warm and cosy Vietnamese cousin of the Japanese ramen bowl. Mild aromatic noodles soup with fresh homemade rice noodles, tender chicken chunks in a light chicken broth, tempered with various Asian herbs. You can dress your pho with a range of accompaniments like bean sprouts, dried garlic, ginger, spring onions and chillies.
If you are a fan of stews, you can also try hot pot fish. It is listed among Viet:Nom's signature dishes, perhaps because of the theatre tied to the delicacy. The soothing curry is made on a hot stove in front of its patrons. You can also customise the veggies and herbs you want to add to your curry. Team the piping hot curry with sticky white rice and indulge!
If you are feeling experimental, you must try their La lot, which is basically a toothsome blend of minced chicken and chunky water chestnut wrapped in betel leaves and served with peanut sauce. It is best advised to keep your cutlery away for the dish and indulge into this with your bare hands. Betel leaves, which have now become such an intrinsic part of Indian food's landscape, actually travelled to India from South-East Asia. The slightly bitter leaves add a delicious flavour to this well-balanced dish.
The desserts in Viet:Nom are high on seasonal goodness. We tried their pearl jewels with mango. Sago pearls are soaked in coconut water, basil seeds, coconut cream and condensed milk, which gives the milk pudding a rich texture. We absolutely loved their expresso pannacotta. This coffee-flavoured, creamy, thickened dessert is a must-try for coffee lovers.