On my recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam - amongst my many crazy and exciting culinary adventures, there's a restaurant which I think deserves a notable mention.
This restaurant is Cuc Gac Quan, translated in English simply means "The Brick Restaurant". The title is very fitting with the overall décor of the restaurant - a very provincial look and feel, it was built on the basis of an "architect's house". There's a pond with real fish, the staircases are made of wood and twigs, all the crockery are made from ceramic and even the drinking straw is made from a morning glory stem! Creative right?
The food takes you back to that special place when you were young, enjoying a simple family dinner.
It’s nothing fancy in terms of garnishing and whatnot, however, the taste will leave you wanting more - or at least, fight with your fellow guests over the remaining pieces!
Overall, quality dishes, reasonable price and prompt service - the perfect formula for a great meal!
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| The entrance |
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| Tables situated in the front courtyard |
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| Interior - very traditional |
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| OUR AMAZING TABLE (used to be a bed, can you tell) |
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| Menu - in Vietnamese and English for your convenience |
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| burnt garlic popcorn |
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| One of my favourite dishes in the entire world. Although my father's creation of this dish is still my ultimate favourite (just like his Pho) but Cuc Gac Quan does a pretty good job with this. It's called "mam" and basically it consists of pork, prawn paste, chilli, lemongrass, garlic etc |
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| Grilled fish with shredded mango drowned in fish sauce...ummm...YUM!!! |
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| Notice how the concept of the restaurant is consistent from the very minor detail such as the chopsticks holder? Amazing!!! |
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| More traditional crockery - the teapot! |
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| Beef, watercrest and tomato in vinegar sauce |
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| Another ultimate favourite - water spinach crab roe soup!!! |
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| Asian eggplant marinated in fish sauce - you can eat this together with the soup above. |
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| Name an exotic fruit and you can have any shake you want! This is Coc aka Toad Mango, a very popular fruit in Vietnam. If you've tasted toad mangoes before, you'd know that the taste is rather sour and hence the drink is accompanied with honey! |
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dessert - jelly and lotus seed
So, if you're planning on visiting HCMC anytime soon, I highly recommend you drop by and have a bite here or at least try one of their amazing fruit shakes!
Address: Cuc Gac Quan 10 Dang Tat, Ward Tan Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City District 1, Vietnam
Oh and did I mention Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently came here for lunch as well? ;) |
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