Vietnam restaurants: a restaurant to go back in time

Vietnam restaurants, in the fast pace of urban life where everybody always seems to be on the run, a quiet, relaxing place to slow down the pace, enjoy life and spend some time reminiscing about the past could be a trendy choice of many city-dwellers.

On Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, in District 3, there is a new restaurant called Nguoc Thoi Gian (Back in time) which fits this trend.

Despite being locating not far from District 1’s city center, the restaurant still retains its quietness as it is nestled in a rather small alley and guests can feel the peaceful and calming atmosphere when passing through the high wooden gate of the restaurant.

The restaurant has two floors. The ground floor is designed in a green, open-air space. In the right corner, a small room with an air-conditioner is set up for diners who want to enjoy coolness and comfort.

However, the room also has a glass wall overlooking the green area outside to harmonize with the general architecture and reflect the love for nature of the owner. The upstairs is also green and airy having a corner designed in a sidewalk coffee shop style with chairs, tables and umbrellas placed outdoors.

Le Tuan, a French Vietnamese in his early forties and owner of the restaurant, said that the restaurant is decorated with the simplest bamboo furniture and rock gardens to give guests a leisurely and relaxing feeling. He also plants a trellis of bitter melon, puts jars of water-lilies and lotus around the area to add more green space and create a traditional Vietnamese place of peace.

The background music is also carefully selected with romantic songs of Elvis Presley, The Carpenters, Santana and Air Supply that remind guests of the past.

The restaurant serves guests a menu of more than 100 seafood dishes and Vietnamese specialties. Among them are ethnic pigs costing VND550,000 cooked in nine different ways such as steamed, roasted or stewed for four persons, and crab dishes cooked in Vietnamese and Hong Kong styles and priced at VND250,000 per kilogram.

Guests who want to enjoy the ethnic pig specialty can also choose separate dishes at prices from VND25,000 to 75,000 per dish. The restaurant also offers other sea food dishes such as shrimp, eel or hermibagrus at market prices and traditional Vietnamese dishes cook in the northern and southern styles.

For a restaurant like this, guests can come with families or a group of friends to share friendly meals or come alone to enjoy a cup of coffee and time to reminiscence.

Nguoc Thoi Gian Restaurant is located at 196A/3 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 3, tel: (08) 932 1016.

(Source: SGT)