Eat Vietnam
Holy Moley, Yes Indeedy
The one downside to this blog is rarely getting to go back to the restaurants I’ve loved. Whilst there are just a few restaurants in Birmingham still to be ticked off the list, it seemed there was a new one opening almost weekly hampering those plans to get through them… at least until Covid-19 played its hand. So, with every cloud allegedly having a silver lining, I can at least be grateful of the current opportunity to revisit some old favourites.
It’s our wedding anniversary and our daughter is now in London—and given she’s got a sesame allergy that inhibits her view on ‘oriental food’—it’s the perfect opportunity to return to Eat Vietnam—easily one my favourite restaurants from last year. But a fabulous experience last time holds no guarantees, especially fourteen months on.
Walking in, it’s great to see it busy even at 7.30 albeit with reduced capacity due to the latest round of restrictions and with every table occupied as couples it’s got more than an air of date night. I just hope it doesn’t mean everyone is on their best behaviour.
The menu features noodles, curries and small plates, but we can’t see past the specials… picking five of the seven options with sides of jasmine rice and fermented hot tiger sauce.
All the wines are natural—produced using no/low intervention methods—and curated by Digbeth-based Wine Freedom to pair with the myriad of spices and flavours of the food. We’re unsure which direction to go with but that’s easily resolved by us being offered sample glasses of the two we’re split between. We’re unanimous on the Judith Beck Austrian Pinot Blanc that’s off dry with peach and pear on the palate and floral on the nose.
Then, with that decided a further sample of the ‘guest wine’ End Game, an orange wine from Tillingham in West Sussex—smashes even the Judith Beck out the park. It’s a hazy pale green that’s fruity on the nose but so zesty it’s comes across as lightly frizzante, with lots of spice, even more fruit but ends with bone dry minerality. Just wow. We each decide on a large glass of that with the food and then just to prolong the joy, another small one to clear the palate.
The marvellous Tillingham End Grain (Ortega, Chardonnay, Schönburger, Bacchus)
The first plate is the holy moley wings with ‘EVN mole sauce’—their own twist on the Mexican classic—deep fried, succulent wings with a hint of sweetness, smokiness and quiet heat topped with toasted nuts, sesame and coriander emulsion. Holy moley, yes indeedy.
Holy Moley chicken wings with EVN mole sauce, coriander emulsion and sesame
Next on my plate is the six week aged rib eye with shaking beef sauce. It’s a fabulous slab of meat, deliciously tender benefiting from fat marbling and with its marinade delivering bucketfuls of umami.
Six week aged rib eye with shaking beef sauce
The boneless, butterflied mackerel, blackened off the barbecue wouldn’t look out of place in an art gallery, yet it still manages to taste even better than it looks. It’s a big piece of fish, likely a heavyweight champion in the mackerel world, cooked perfectly with a sweet and sour smoked onion sambal I’d happily drink from the plate.
BBQ butterflied mackerel with smoked onion sambal
The char siu pork neck barbecued crisp is wonderfully juicy inside–it’s a tad heavy on the five spice for my liking—although the sweet and sour chilli sambal gives it a fresh direction for my taste buds.
Char siu pork neck with chilli sambal
The one casualty of so many accompanying sauces and sambals is the fermented hot tiger sauce which goes largely untouched. But it goes from casualty to tragedy as I forget to ask to take it home with me. It’s something I’d happily buy by the tanker load.
Alongside all the protein delights on the table, it’s not easy to get too excited about a vegetable side, but the Asian greens with fresh chilli and sesame proves to be an unsung hero providing freshness and crunch.
Asian greens
Having rattled up nearly a bottle and half of gorgeous wine by the glass—between us I hasten to add—the bill comes in at £81.50 plus tip
Eat Vietnam retains everything I loved last time; its quietly styled space delivers a warm and inviting atmosphere generated in part by the always ubercool soundtrack, then cranked up further by their front of house that’s attentive, knowledgeable, efficient and friendly. But where they’ve kicked on is with the food; it’s a kitchen oozing confidence serving up textures and flavours that pair divinely together.
I should probably say, just like my own marriage.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
1422 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham B30 2PH
