Memories of Hanoi

It's great that there are good restaurants in Toronto everywhere now. But the increasing rent is pushing out many ethnic restaurants from the downtown core. Those that are left tend to dial down their dishes, aiming for a middle-of-the-road acceptability. On Friday, I found a Vietnamese restaurant at Runnymede and St. Clair that had interesting dishes, mainly from the Northern part of Vietnam.

I skipped the ubiquitous pho and got 3 other items. First up was chao long (sausage congee). This was perhaps the most daunting. The congee (rice soup) was familiar from Chinese restaurants, although the Vietnamese version had a thicker consistency. But the plate of cooked organ meat and the slices of blood sausage didn't look too appealing. However, drop a few into the hot soup, and it was rich, textured, and quite delicious. Bun cha Ha Noi was on more familiar territory: a plate of vermicelli, fragrant herbs, and salty grilled meat.  Finally, I did have pho, but in fried noodle form. Pho ap chao was a bed of crunchy pho, softened by stir-fried vegetables and beef. This was also good, but more for its novelty value.