Restaurant review: Bep Vietnamese Kitchen, Soho - food as good as it looks and smells

The first thing we noticed at Bep Vietnamese Kitchen in Central was the appetite-whetting aroma which perfumes the air at this chic, wood-fitted space. The open kitchen, where salads, grilled meat, and herbs are freshly prepared, proved attractive to the eyes as well as the taste buds. What's more, the food tasted as good as it looked.

The menu was wide-ranging, with hot and cold starters, street food-style dishes such as banh mi thit (baguette sandwich with pork belly and liver pâté), light rice paper rolls, as well as noodles in soup or served dry. The service was efficient and the crockery was cute.

We loved the cheerful-looking bun rieu (HK$68) — thin vermicelli rice noodles bathed in a clear, orange- tinted soup made with crab, dried shrimp, tomato and garlic. The soup was complex and layered, with a lovely sweet and tangy balance. The house-made shrimp balls were bouncy and delicious.

The satay skewers (HK$88 for four pieces) — we ordered half chicken, half beef — had a creamy hot peanut sauce that went well with the chunky, lemon grass-infused grilled meat. My friend loved the deep-fried chicken wings with garlic butter (HK$58) so much she wanted to replicate it at home.

We enjoyed everything we ordered, including the cha gio (HK$68) — Vietnamese fried spring rolls which came with fresh herbs and lettuce. The wrapper could be crunchier, but the pork, shrimp, mixed vegetable filling compensated for the overall texture.

The broth of the pho fillet Hanoi (HK$90) was fragrant and tinged with ginger, but we wished the mushy pieces of hand-chopped filet mignon had more texture.