World Foodie Guide

As several readers have pointed out, I’ve not had much luck with Vietnamese food lately! So it was with some trepidation that I set off for Cay Tre on Old Street. I had heard good things about it, and it had also been recommended by readers, but still I was a little nervous.

Studying the menu on display outside the restaurant, I was relieved to see some interesting dishes that I looked forward to trying. And the interior had been nicely done up (quite recently I think), with striking wallpaper in a black and white Asian design, and minimalist dark wood furniture. It was empty when we arrived at just before noon, but at around 1pm, it started to get busy. Our waitress didn’t speak much but was friendly, while the other two waiters were somewhat surly. Having said that, the food and drink arrived without a hitch and the service was speedy and efficient.

Onto the food. As there were four of us, we each went for a ’starter’ and ‘main’. We were all of the opinion that the food was excellent. I got to try almost every dish, and the quality was consistently high (as opposed to other places where one or two things are outstanding, but everything else is just average). The portions were so large that even I with my bottomless appetite struggled to finish my bowl of pho, and I wasn’t even hungry at dinner time.

‘Starters’:

• cua farci – Vietnamese stuffed swimming crab – hunks of sea crab, cellophane noodles, tree ear mushrooms and minced pork in a lightly seasoned crab broth, served piping hot (£6.00) – this was mine. It was delicious, though it was quite hard to prise all the stuffing out of the crab shell. And I couldn’t find or taste either the cellophane noodles or tree ear mushrooms, unless they were so finely minced as to be undetectable. The crab was very fresh though
• banh goi – Hanoi ‘pillow’ crispy dumpling – crabmeat, lightly spiced minced pork, onions and kohlrabi with tangy sweet and sour sauce (£4.90) – three enormous dumplings arrived, packed with filling (more meat than crabmeat, I have to say). If you had this on your own, you would struggle to finish your next course
• cac mon rang muoi – chilli salted and peppered tofu (£6.00) – very tasty, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and a huge portion
• dau phu mam hanh - crispy tofu dressed with lime, shallot and fish sauce (£4.50) – another gigantic portion of tofu, which I preferred to the one above. It really depends on personal preference though. This one was served with a little dish of condiment which tasted a bit like a spicy pickled vegetable

‘Mains’:

• pho tai lan – Hanoi pho – modern pho with fried tenderloin beef in a fragrant broth served with fresh Viet basil and bean sprouts (£7.00 for the large size, but you can also have the starter size) – I had been really looking forward to this. It turned out to be one of the most substantial bowls of noodles I’ve eaten in ages. The noodles, like a thinner version of Chinese ho fun, were slightly overcooked, when I would have preferred them more al dente. But the beef was very tender, and the broth so delicious that I tried very hard to finish it. I was delighted with this, and look forward to returning for more
• luon rang sa ot - basa fish (Vietnamese catfish) coated in turmeric and lemongrass and topped with chilli, pan-seared (£7.50) – this was both spicy and succulent, and very exciting
• Thap cam hai san – sizzling seafood with ginger and garlic (£8.50) – the only dish I didn’t try. It resembled a dish that you would find in a Cantonese restaurant, but I’m sure it was lovely as there wasn’t much left of it by the end of the meal, and the seafood looked very fresh

Moving onto other matters. A big negative was the toilet. The flush ‘button’ was broken, so in order to flush the toilet, one had to pull a makeshift red cord dangling from inside the cistern. And there was nothing with which to dry one’s hands. The other negative was catching sight (on leaving the restaurant) of slabs of meat in a open plastic basin/container sitting on the kitchen floor. I’m very conscious of restaurant hygiene, especially ‘behind the scenes’. This might be due to having spent a lot of time as a child in restaurant kitchens (no health & safety in those days!), and having recently watched many episodes of Rogue Restaurants.

The bill for four, with drinks including 2 beers, and service charge, came to £74.14, which was pretty reasonable considering both the quantity and quality of the food we consumed.

Overall, I’m awarding Cay Tre high marks for the outstanding food made with fresh ingredients. Had it not been for the above-mentioned hygiene points, a 9 would have been perfectly possible. I’m already planning the next trip, as I really want to try the starter of beef wrapped in rice paper (minimum of 2 people, £6.00 each), where the beef is grilled at the table. And tuck into another bowl of Hanoi pho. My confidence in Vietnamese food in London has been restored!

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

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Contact details:
Cay Tre
301 Old Street
London EC1V 9LA
Tel: 020 7729 8662
www.vietnamesekitchen.co.uk

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: Cay Tre, dining out, food, London, restaurant review, restaurants, traveleating, Vietnamese