By Andrew Green

Who is Uncle Ho? None other than the founder of Independent Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, himself! An affectionate name he encouraged.

This delightful Vietnamese Restaurant sits on the fourth floor of The Impe­rial Queen’s Park Hotel over looking the swimming pool. The traditional teak wood décor is off set by Chinese inspired olive-green oriental rattan furniture and dark wood tables. The waitresses are dressed in the fig­ure flattering traditional Vietnamese dress ai dai worn over white trousers.The restaurant has well captured the feel of a bygone era- when American GI’s flocked to Bangkok for some R & R. You can almost hear Robin William’s in the movie, ‘Good Morning Vietnam.’

In charge of the kitchen is Vietnamese Chef Troung from Hanoi who worked previously with Hilton at the Opera Hanoi and Nai Lert Park be­fore going to Malaysia and Tripoli. His cooking style reflects the three cuisine styles of Vietnam. He explaines “In Hanoi in the north the food tastes a little more salty; In Hue, in the central region, the taste is a little spicy and salty; while in Saigon in the south its sweet, sour and spicy.”

Bowls abundantly full of springs of fresh herb and vegetables were the first thing to grace the table. A powerful perfume of fresh mint, a key element of the Vietnamese dining experience, arose from the dish. That was followed by Goi Cuon Choy fresh vegetable spring rolls with the refreshing crunch of raw ingredients. Then came Banh Cuon Lon steamed rice crepes filled with minced pork and yam beans, each individually served in white Chinese soup spoons.

We were then invited to taste the healthy flower hot pot made using local flowers with a selection of meats that are cooked fondue style to produce a deliciously light fragrant soup.

Nem Nuong are a ‘roll-your-own’ version of the spring roll. The idea is to take one piece of charcoal grilled pork place it onto the sheet of rice noodles that sits on a lettuce leaf. Then add the selection of tangy Tropical fruit, garlic and chilli and roll tightly into a cigar shape. This dish is a great way to judge who will be good at wrapping presents!

Then we moved onto the fish, Ca Tuyet Cuon Hap, steamed snow fish roll wrapped with minced shrimp and crab meat served with a prawn sauce, a beautifully light dish.

Shark fin is usually served as a soup but with his Vay Cahai CHIN Sot Giau, Chef Troung chose to deep fry it and serve with spicy sea­food, lotus seeds and vegetables. I found this a very interesting dish both in terms of taste and how he had cooking technique .

‘Nem Cuabe,’ fried imperial spring rolls, are a standard Vietnam­ese dish and what I like about they are plump, fresh and succulent.

We finished our dinner with banana fritter in a perfectly thin crisp shell, sweetened in rum, which contrasted perfectly with vanilla ice cream. This had been a delightful Vietnamese dinner.