This contemporary Vietnam fine-dining
restaurant is located on 19/F of H Cube, with a concept of using wood-fire to
grill the food. Helmed by Chef DoBee Lam, he aims to bring in a new dining experience
to guests who like Vietnam cuisine. Arriving sharp at 6:30pm, we were shown to
our table on the window side, looking down at Tai Kwun and the Mid-Levels on
the background.
The décor is neat, comfortable, and not
overly sophisticated, with warm lighting and panels of burnt wood on the walls
to represent wood-fire cooking. There are also Indochina elements, like the
biophilic bamboo decorations, rattan chairs, and some artworks which integrate
perfectly to the golden hue ambience.
We order the Woodfired Indochine Vietnam
Menu ($1,680 per guest) with me also going for wine pairing ($680 for 7
glasses). Apart from a great cook, the chef is also a designer, as he has
co-designed the restaurant décor and also hand-drawn the paintings on the back
of the menu, illustrating the different ingredients for each course we would be
having.
The first wine served is Grace Koshu 2022
of Grace Wine from Yamanashi. This Japanese wine has used grapes that are grown
above 400m, with each bunch covered with a shade during autumn to reduce the
effects of the rain. Having nice acidity, the wine is delicate in aromas and
taste, suitable to pair with the appetizers and avoid dominating over the food.
The first course is 123 Dzo! Translating to
123 Cheers! It is an assortment of great appetizers, generating fun and great
anticipation for the whole menu. Starting with a welcome drink of Pineapple Lager,
the light beer has a touch of refreshing pineapple note. On top is a layer of
rich coconut foam which brings forth a tropical and Asian palate.
The Sakura Banh Trang Caviar is the rice
paper wafers snack, which has been toasted on charcoal to give a crisp texture.
On top is plenty of deep-fried Sakura shrimps, with aioli and spring onion, very
flavourful and umami in taste. The generous scoop of Royal Cristal Caviar, not
only give a more premium touch to the appetizer but providing a slight
saltiness and richness.
Very beautifully presented, the Calamar is
grilled squid from Korea Jeju Island. The chef has prepared three sauces for
the squid, olive, red pepper, and basil, with his recommendation to mix all the
three sauces well with the squid. The squid is tender and not rubbery, with its
caramelized sweetness going well with the complex flavours of the sauces.
The second course is Bamboo Leaf Ham. The
homemade cha lua is the Vietnam pork roll made in the traditional style,
wrapped in bamboo leaf, made using premium Okinawa Yamato pork, seasoned with
black pepper. Together with the renown 60
°C fish sauce, adjusted to our own preferred spiciness and sourness,
the cha lua was super tasty, bouncy in texture, definitely one of the best I
have eaten.
The second wine served is Smallfry Pond
Rose 2022. From Australia, this rose is made from ungrafted Cinsault and Mataro
from the producer’s Barossa vineyard, with the grapes foot-trodden and left on
skins overnight. It is bottled with lees, so the wine is a bit cloudy, which
adds a creamier palate on top of the nice strawberry and rose aromas.
The third course is District 4 Midnight BBQ
Pork. The Iberico secreto is a cut of meat between the shoulder blade and loin,
grilled over high fire to give a crisp crust on the outside, while juicy and
tender inside. Served in a casserole with lemongrass and molasse to absorb the
fragrance from the herbs, the pork is paired with a refreshing fennel salad on
the side to balance the taste.
The third wine served is Tantaka Arabako
Txakolina Blanco Diapiro 2019. From the Basque region in Spain, it is made with
some indigenous varieties and fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural
yeast. With a refreshing note, bright citrus and minerality, and a richer
texture coming from the lees ageing process, it goes well with the geoduck.
The fourth course is Nha Trang Hai San, with
the chef using live geoduck as the seasonal shellfish. The meaty grilled
geoduck is very delicious, full of umami wonders seeping out from each bite,
and the scallion and roasted peanuts adding an appealing fragrance. With a
bit of the very spicy chili lime sauce, the flavours were elevated to an extra
level.
The fourth wine served is Tanakarokujugo
Junmai
田中六五. The sake was produced by 白糸酒造 in Fukuoka, with its name coming from the brewer as well as
the milling rate (65%) he used for making the sake. The wine has a delicious
and intense melon note on the palate, with a good sweetness and body to pair
well with the intensely flavourful red prawn.
The fifth course is Bahn Tom. The prized
Spanish red prawn is grilled, with the body and tail wrapped inside
a Japanese deep-fried nori sheet like a taco, with a bit of abura-age, a
type of Japanese deep-fried tofu, and some celtuce underneath. A butter sauce
is made with the prawn head, rich and deep in flavours, supplemented
with a few drops of calamansi to freshen up.
The fifth wine served is Samuel Billaud
Chablis 2022. This classic Chablis has good acidity, with a nice citrus and chalky
minerality notes on the nose, while the palate has a more saline character,
sharp and crisp. The wine would be a perfect complement with a shellfish
dish, unfortunately it did not match well with the toothfish, showing a bit too much an iron aftertaste.
The sixth course is French Quarter
Toothfish. Wrapped in banana leaf, the wild caught toothfish has been
seasoned impeccably, highlighting the natural sweetness of the fish to its
best. On the side the chef has mixed a special fish sauce with more flavours,
adding shallot, dill, turmeric, and kumquat in. With a few drops of the sauce,
the fish was even more delicious, fantastic with umami.
We have ordered an additional course, the
Jumbo Carabineros ($880). With the two XXL red prawns weighing 300g in total, they
are wrapped in laksa leaf before putting to grill on the fire pit, to
the perfect medium well level. With a calamansi on the side to give a bit of
citrus to freshen up, a butter sauce was prepared with the prawn head as
condiment for the toasts on the side.
The sixth wine served is Zuccardi Blanc de
Blancs Cuvee Especial 2018. From Argentina, this sparkling wine is made from
100% Chardonnay using traditional method, with refined bubbles, a rich and
refreshing pear and quince notes, plenty of bread and honey, as well as a good
orange peel in the finish. A nice wine to go with the chicken, it is a nice
sparkling to enjoy on its own too.
The seventh course is Hoi An Old Town
Poulet. The local three yellow chicken has been dry aged for 48 hours, roasted to
a crisp skin while the meat still juicy. With some lemongrass lime salt as seasoning,
the chef also prepared a sauce with galangal, curry leaf, laksa leaf, and lemon
basil as well, along with a green papaya salad to freshen the palate.
The eighth course is Hanwoo 1++ Bun Bo Hue
3.0, featuring prime Gyeongju ribeye cap, with the beef served raw in a steaming
hot bowl of 36-hours lemongrass bouillon, along with Hanoi Old Quarter handmade
rice noodle. The soup noodle is pure delight and superbly flavourful. There are
also some fried dough and banana blossom to go with the soup as well.
The ninth course is the pre-dessert, Chanh
Vang. On a wedge of lemon, the chef has removed the flesh, and instead prepared
an aiyu jelly with honey and calamansi to replace, making it looks like eating the
fruit. With the acidity and sweetness balancing very well, it is refreshing, and
I would hope the wedge is larger in size.
The seventh and last wine served is Chateau
de la Roulere Coteaux du Layon 2022. The dessert wine is of medium sweetness, with
the late harvest Chenin Blanc from Loire having a nice touch of honey with also
baked apple fruitiness. It is a good match with the s’mores as it is not very indulgent, so requires a wine of the right body and sweetness to pair.
The tenth and final course is Hanoi
Campfire S’mores. A creative dish, the chef has made an ice-cream using pandan
leaf, coconut, and custard, and then coated with the homemade marshmallow, on a
skewer, before torching the surface to caramelize. Truly creating the same
feeling of enjoying s’mores at campfire, the ice-cream is not too sweet, with
the marshmallow melting in the mouth nicely.
Service is good, with the staff attentive
and explaining the dishes to us well. The bill on the night is $5,584 which in
my opinion is reasonable. It is great to see how this restaurant evolves the
traditional Vietnam cuisine to offer a fine-dining experience, through a nice
environment, great food and quality ingredients, good services, and interesting
concept.
