I'd been hearing good reports about An Nam, the upmarket Vietnamese restaurant in Causeway Bay, and several of my friends hinted they'd be happy to help me review it.
It's a lovely room. The designers have done a great job turning a potentially awkward space, a semi-circle that curves around the atrium of Lee Gardens One, into something that is elegant and reminiscent of the old French colonial houses in Hanoi. My one complaint about the interior is that the tables are too close together.
We liked the food, which, although much more elegantly presented than what we're used to eating in Vietnam, didn't lose the fresh, bright flavours we expect of the cuisine.
Deep-fried spring rolls with crab, shrimp and pork (HK$108) were crisp, light and well-fried, although they were stingy with the lettuce and herbs. Lotus root salad with shrimp and pork belly (HK$128) had a deliciously refreshing lime dressing. Bun cha bac (HK$108) was as good (although more delicate) as the bun cha I'd eaten only two weeks before in Hanoi.
As in Vietnam, the dish consists of two kinds of pork - flavourful grilled pork strips and juicy, tender pork meatballs, served with rice vermicelli. You put the noodles in a bowl, add herbs and vegetables and top it with meat and fish sauce.
Our favourite was the wok-fried tamarind crab (HK$480), which was the best crab we've tasted in recent memory. The crabmeat was moist and its sweetness was enhanced by the sticky, sweet-sour tamarind sauce.
