Clean bright white light has been injected into a Canterbury strip mall that I’d previously categorised as dying. Food Tour Hải Phòng is a Northern Vietnamese restaurant, and so new, they still have their congratulatory grand opening flowers on display. The interior is stark and simply decorated. The menu is short, the prices are reasonable, and the liquor license still underway meaning we enjoyed tall, icy glasses of young coconut ($6/each) with our meal.
Northern Vietnamese cuisine has a strong Chinese influence, but gentler (less spicy) flavours than southern Vietnamese. There’s also a preference for noodles over rice. The dish that drew me in was bánh đa cua ($18.90) or crab red noodle soup, where a gentle pork broth is turned red with crab paste. Sitting on top of the firm, reddish rice noodles are a collection of balls, slices of pork, minced pork wrapped in betel leaves, prawns and bricks of bean curd. It’s easy to like, and if you prefer heat, the friendly staff are happy to provide you scud-like red chillis.
Another Hanoi speciality, the diminutively sized but big in flavour spicy bánh mì of Hải Phòng ($2.50/each) have also made it onto the menu. These French-influenced crisp baguettes are filled with pate and a special chilli sauce called chí chương making them lively but accessible. Bún Chả ($19.90) was the meal highlight. It’s made of rice noodles (bún) and thin slices of grilled and charred lemongrass pork and pork patties (chả) in a sweet chilli sauce decorated with pickled vegetables. Eat it with the accompanying fresh greens. The purplish pot of fermented shrimp paste (mắm tôm) served with the crispy bean curd ($19.90) started off challenging. Teaming it with fresh herbs, vermicelli and slices of fatty pork shoulder, it grew on me as my palate got used to it. I left this spot feeling like I’d only just scratched the surface.
