Advertisement
Advertisement
Good Eating
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Nhau restaurant is near Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road.

Here and Nhau: Vietnamese answer to the izakaya with a touch of French flair

  • The name of this Sheung Wan diner means ‘together’ but also implies eating while drinking – and the dishes certainly are perfect with a glass of wine or beer
Good Eating

Contemporary Vietnamese eatery Nhau by chef Que Vinh Dang opened recently just down the hill from Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road. New York-raised Que, previously of Quest by Que and TBLS, goes back to his roots, offering Vietnamese ingredients and flavours executed with French culinary techniques and flair. Nhau means ”together” in Vietnamese but also refers to food in the context of eating while drinking, rather like a Japanese izakaya, and the dishes certainly are perfect with a glass of wine or beer.

Where to eat in Hong Kong: 7 great new restaurants, menus – and the second Gin Fest – to try in June

We started with an innovative hamachi bowl (HK$180) with rice noodle salad, fish sauce and crispy turmeric batter. The innovation lies in how he uses the flavours: the hamachi is marinated with turmeric juice and sits on a bed of dill-flavoured rice noodles while, for extra crunch, crispy turmeric batter tops the dish.

Fish sauce dry-aged grass-fed striploin

Bo la lot tartare is a traditional dish of grilled minced meat with a touch of curry wrapped in betel leaf. Nhau’s version was served cold, with Australian Wagyu beef tartare mixed with curry mayo and betel leaf purée. It was topped with home-made beef flakes to be eaten on crispy beef tendon crackers (HK$150). Another Vietnamese favourite is banh mi, but instead of making it a sandwich, chef Que makes banh mi tacos (HK$120 for three).

Why Michelin-starred Paste Bangkok’s ‘Chef Bee’ is on a mission to save food’s ‘soul’

We loved the roasted cauliflower with caramelised pork koh quet (HK$140), which is usually cauliflower boiled in pork belly sauce. Here, however, it was served with Iberico pork and home-made pork floss in a black pepper pork sauce. Slow-cooked overnight and then grilled with fish sauce, the pork belly banh xeo came with peanuts, bean sprouts and cabbage salad (HK$160).

We also enjoyed the dry-aged grass-fed strip loin (HK$280) and grilled fish, and the salt-cured whole spring chicken. Cured for two days and air-dried for three, it made the meat tender and the skin crispy. It was served with lettuce and noodles.

NHAU

12 Circular Pathway, Sheung Wan

Tel: 3612 4568

Post