Hanoi Cafe & Restaurant

Yesterday, my colleague, Wong was generous enough to treat me to dinner after work. We took a two minute walk away from the office and nestled ourselves in a cosy li’ll Vietnamese Restaurant called Hanoi Café & Restaurant. Once inside, we were warmly greeted by Vietnamese waitresses who were all ready to sit us to our table. We browsed their laminated menu and found that the dishes offered were rather authentic … no fusion unlike the many eating establishments here who wish to please to local tastebuds.

After a while, we ordered the aromatic crispy duck wrapped in pancake as the appetizer. The duck itself was deep fried and served with crunchy vegs like strips of carrots and cucumbers. The accompanying sweet sauce complimented the egg based pancakes wonderfully and serves well to work up the appetite.

For mains, Wong chose to go with beef pho while I had the spicy beef stew. Both were good and together with Wong’s green tea and mine Vietnamese Iced Milk Coffee, it was a satisfying dinner indeed.

The bill came up to almost 100 Dirhams ... a li’ll bit on the high side but I guess it’s worth it since it’s not everyday we have a good meal here.

Another point to note is the presence of many Malaysians and Singaporeans there. A few of them seems to know each other too ... perhaps Hanoi Café & Restaurant is a regular hangout place for them huh.

Well, if you’re in the area and craving for authentic Vietnamese food, Hanoi Café & Restaurant is located along Khaliffa Street, opposite the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.