I have had Cafe Hanoi on my List of Must Try's since it opened but convincing Mr. K to go into Auckland CBD is always a challenge ever since the disaster for his birthday one year when we couldn't find a parking space and drove around arguing for an hour before giving up and buying a Domino's pizza from Grey Lynn and going home. All the time the Colombians sat in the back, wide-eyed and silent. It wasn't long after that fateful night that Mr. K announced that we would not be going back to the CBD any time soon and the Colombians moved out and we had to find new flatmates. I thought Latin Americans would appreciate some spirited debate but turns out they just thought we were crazed and heading for divorce...two years later and nothing much has changed here except the roomies!
Luckily this Auckland Anniversary weekend my parents had come to visit and were staying in a City Hotel and Mr. K was required to attend the gathering of the Lawson's regardless of location so I suggested a dinner at Cafe Hanoi and since it was one of the few Restaurants open that evening there wasn't much (if any) arguments.
There was an awkward moment when Mr. K and Lawson Senior spotted the 15% Public Holiday surcharge but by then we were mostly in the door with a crowd of people following behind.
The place was cute but smaller than I had expected. We crowed around a small table and set about ordering a good selection of fish and vegetable since neither myself, Mr. K or my mother eat meat. Lawson Senior doesn't complain too much about missing out on the delicious sounding pork belly and beef soup since the other dishes sound just as mouth watering.
The market fish marinated with turmeric was excellent and the fresh spring rolls tasty. The prawns coated in green rice was a little bland unless dipped in the accompanying sauces which were divine.
I have read many mixed reviews on the web about this restaurant but I thought the food was generally excellent and the atmosphere in the restaurant friendly and authentic.
I visited Vietnam on holiday a few years ago and found the food in Cafe Hanoi a good example of Vietnamese food, unlike some of the other Chinese style restaurants I have been to in Auckland which claim to be Vietnamese. The dishes were cooked to perfection and beautifully presented, although some dishes were a little safe with the flavours and spices I think that this place could be an excellent introduction to Vietnamese cuisine for everyone.
The only down side I could see was the service was a little intrusive (I won't get upset if my glass of water sits half filled for more than 30secs!) and the waiter had a slightly snooty manner about him. When I asked him not to refill my glass he demanded that I hand it over so he could remove it-strange behaviour I thought. The other waitress was much more friendly and helped explain about how to eat some of the dishes, although on leaving she turned out to be a little too friendly when she made suggestive remarks to Mr. K. giving him an inflated head!
After leaving the restaurant we picked our car up from the carpark and witnessed a poor soul searching desperately for a lost ticket to get his car out whilst his kids ran around screaming. Mr. K just shook his head and lamented on the pearls of parking in the CBD and the $50 it would cost the guy to get his car out.
Cafe Hanoi-I would go back for sure but I not sure I could get Mr. K to park in the CBD again...although I could remind him about the friendly waitress and the Mr Sexy comments. Nothing like a little flattery to get your way.
