Back in Newcastle, UK, I befriended a few Vietnamese friends and I realised how petite they were. I don't see any fat in their appearance. Lol.. That's when I was introduced to their food and upon sampling some, I realised Vietnamese consumed a lot of herbs and their taste in food is not as rich as ours in Penang. It's refreshingly light and less oily.
In a recent gathering with college mates, we opted to have some Vietnamese food over Korean food and three of us had a place in mind - the restaurant at Jalan Jelutong! We don't know how to pronounce the name of the restaurant as it is in Vietnamese but I think it sounded something like "kuih hong toi".
One of the compulsory must try appetizer is the spring rolls. You can try the deep fried ones or the hand rolled ones. I personally prefer the hand rolled ones as it is more flavoursome with some mint in them and both types are RM1.80 each (with a minimum of 2). As you can see, it is served with their respective sauces. The dark coloured sauces are for the deep fried spring rolls and the watery one is for the hand rolled spring rolls.
This dish is also unique. Clams with lemongrass broth. The soup is so clear and the taste is very distinctively of lemon grass. You won't get to taste this anywhere else except maybe in Vietnam? Refreshing to the taste buds.
The menu has limitations in that certain dishes are only served in certain days. At a glance, the full menu is available on Saturdays and where as on Sundays like our visit, we can try the fish noodles with homemade fish meatballs instead. As you can see, the broth is flavoured with tomatoes and herbs. The portion of the noodles is really big so, best not to have any food before you dine here.
Pancakes, Vietnamese style. You wrapped the pancakes with some fresh lettuce leaves and herbs. Basil is usually the common herb used in Vietnamese food.
Last but not the least, the Vietnamese BBQ pork Banh Mi (or baguette). Vietnamese food also has some French flair in them due to the country's history but this has got to be the best. I dare say it is even better than Subway's!
The boss is a local and he helps around with the orders and payment. The restaurants staffs are mainly Vietnamese but they are able to speak Malay and some local dialects.
Tip:
(1) Please call to book for a table before you go especially during weekends. It is not family or party friendly due to its limited space and tables.
(2) It is also not parking friendly as it has only one car park in front of the restaurant (well, it is an old heritage house), so please park across the road where the Peugeot car showroom is.
(3) The price is reasonable.
(4) When you have Vietnamese coffee, don't misinterpret the additional silver pot to be sugar syrup. In fact, it is a pot of tea for cleansing once you have finished your coffee. It does very well in removing the after taste from the coffee.
(5) It is not open all day and all week. It's closed on Tuesdays and there is a 3 hours break in between lunch and dinner services.
Quê Hu'o'ng Tôi 越南小食馆
Vietnamese Restaurant
56-W, Jalan Jelutong,
11600 Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 016-4211244
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