Café East

People have been raving about this place for a long time, so I thought that it was about time I went to judge for myself.

Food

While we were waiting, we satisfied ourselves with some of the yummy drinks. I hadn’t had Cha Ba Mau (£3) - special three-colour drink made with red kidney bean, green jelly and topped with coconut cream. Crushed ice for a long time, and this one was very nice. A good balance of solids, coconut juice and ice. The Sua dau Nanh (2)- fresh homemade soya milk with no preservatives, no colouring or flavouring did taste very natural too.

There were 6 of us, so we got 3 starters to share, which we didn’t need as the portions were huge, but we couldn’t resist as they sounded so good! We had:

• Banh Cuon (£4.80) - famous Vietnamese steamed rice pastry (Cheng Fun) filled with savoury Chinese mushroom and minced pork - so yum!! There was just a right amount of filling, the cheng fun was slippery and the topping was fresh
• Goi Cuon (£4.50) - Fresh rice flake summer roll with poached prawn, pork, herb salad and vermicelli rice noodles. With special peanut sauce - again, the cheng fun pastry was excellent, with lots of filling and aromatic herbs. What I really loved was the sauce though.
• Cha Gio (£4.30) - Traditional Vietnamese Spring roll served with iceberg lettuce, mint and coriander - these were thick, so not like the little traditional ones, but the filling was really good.

For mains, we ordered the obligatory Pho Chin (£6.50) - Well-done beef with flat rice noodles for testing, and it didn’t disappoint. The best stock I have tasted in this country by a country mile. The noodles were al dente, even after being soaked in the soup, and the beef, although ordered cooked, was still tender. The other dish of Bun Cha Nem Thit Nuong (£6.50) - warm vermicelli rice noodles topped with herb salad, pickled molly and carrots, peanuts, spring roll and lemongrass pork had the same spring roll we ordered as entrée, but it was definitely worth it just for the pork. I think it tasted more like BBQ pork than lemongrass, but whatever, the pork is so tasty and so tender, I just wanted more.

Verdict? Best Vietnamese in London. Better than quite a few places in Sydney…not quite up to Vietnam’s standard. Still, this is a godsend for London, can’t wait to go back to try the curries and the bun!

So it must be a sign, exactly one week later, I am back again. This time, true to my word, I tried the Bun Tom Hue (£7.50) - Vermicelli Rice Noodle with Juicy King Prawns in Spicy Soup and the Sam Bo Luong (£3) – Traditionally a Chinese Herbal Tea Drink. Deliciously Sweet and Refreshing with Fruits and Jelly. The bun had the same intensity and depth of flavour in its soup. It seems they use the same base stock but add a lot of chillies to it. The noodles were the round spaghetti like variety, but still good. I had prawns this time around, and they were generous with the amount that we got too. The Sam Bo Luong was a bit too sweet, but the tea like flavour was refreshing after the hot soup.

Rating - 8.5

Atmosphere

When I finally found the place, after walking all around the Surrey Quays centre, I found a large open space, with tables covered by paper cloth. The place was not that full at 6:30 on a Wed, but that soon changed. Turnover was very brisk, and the place was full of Asians (apparently Asian Australians). It does get very loud in there, but you’re here to eat, not to linger.

Rating - 2

Service

Like all good, popular Asian places. Efficient and quick. They don’t really take the time to deliver things to the right person, but kinda plonk it down for you to sort out. Suits me, but some people might find it a bit rude.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Prices aren’t that cheap, but portions are huge and quality is first rate, so, worth it.

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 15.5

Info

100 Redriff Road
London
SE16 7LH
Phone +44 (0) 20 7252 1212
Website