One of my favorite restaurants of all time, Shiro had a Vietnamese pop-up kitchen from 23rd March on wards. Some of Vietnam’s most renowned culinary offerings were on offer there.
I started with a refreshing Vietnamese cocktail called “Pearl of the orient” which is a luxurious concoction of blood orange, fresh giner, campari, sake and basil. It was perfect for a sunny afternoon. I enjoyed this drink very much.
One of the most interesting appetizers was the Summer Rolls which are rice paper rolled with chicken & prawn or vegetables. This was served with tangy peanut sauce which was a perfect accompaniment.
Another wonderful appetizer was Vietnamese Non Vegetarian Spring roll which was Chicken & Prawn stuffed Spring roll. It was clearly one of the highlights of the evening!
In main course, something which I enjoyed very much is Pepper Prawns. These were sauteed prawns with crushed pepper. These were perfectly cooked and was closer to Indian taste.
In vegetarian main course, one of the highlights was Tofu & Eggplant in Clay pot. This was sauteed tofu & eggplant with tomatoes served in clay pot. The presentation was excellent and it was good to see vegetarian options in Vietnamese cuisine too.
In Non-vegetarian main course, one of the highlights was Vietnamese Chicken curry. This was lemon grass flavored Chicken curry cooked with tender coconut water and coconut milk. Chef Hung mentioned that coconut water is used a lot in Vietnamese cuisine.
Chef Hung who came all the way from Saigon in Vietnam only for this food pop-up at Shiro, was very friendly and interactive who explained about not just his cooking skills but also martial arts skills. He was very jovial and joked about Indian curry packets available in Vietnam, one of which he bought it back to India!