Taste quality Vietnamese fare at the best restaurant
While over the last few years the number of ethnic restaurants in Kyiv has been multiplying at a steady pace, Asian cuisines (Japanese and Chinese excluded) are woefully underrepresented in the spectrum.
After researching the assortment of Kyiv’s lesser-known Asian establishments, I decided to sample the selection of Vietnamese eateries. For information’s sake, here’s the lowdown on some other Asian eateries. As it turned out, the Post had done a “Best of” focus on Indian cuisine two years ago (Himalaya won the title), and since then the number of options remains the same. What seems to be unanimously considered Kyiv’s best Korean eatery, Seoul, is unfortunately closed temporarily for renovation. Shalena Mama, Kyiv’s only “Thai” (so-called, although its authenticity is disputed), was given second place last year, overshadowed by the sleek, Pan-Asian hotspot San Tori.
Checking out Vietnamese fare in Kyiv didn’t take long – there are only three such restaurants in all of Kyiv. My first stop was Mekong. I had high expectations going in, as I had read a former Post editor’s review, which claimed it served Kyiv’s best Vietnamese. However, what my friend and I found was that the place has greatly changed since that review. Mekong’s walls are decorated dramatically with red-hued, Chinese lanterns and lamps and carved wood paneling in Eastern symbols. Giant Oriental vases and tall green plants are spread systematically around the space.
Although there was a nice selection of dishes on the menu, including “pho” soups, salads, several types of spring rolls, and fish, meat and noodle dishes, we found out that what you order isn’t always what you get. Our “Mekong” salad, which was supposed to be a mixture of cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts and peanuts, topped with smoked chicken, came with neither the peanuts nor chicken of any kind. Later, one of our main dishes came mixed with peanuts instead of cashews – not a tasty substitute.
We brought our complaints to the manager’s attention afterwards, but all we got was a shoulder shrug and a “sorry.” Apparently, she said, the cooks forgot to add the smoked chicken, they realized that the peanuts gave the salad a bitter taste, and anyways, she said in response to the peanut-cashew switch – Mekong probably wasn’t going to be a Vietnamese restaurant for much longer. The manager didn’t elaborate on that last, unexpected statement, but we saw a separate menu at Mekong that included Mongolian BBQ and Chinese dishes.
So that brings us to the last, and soon the only, two Vietnamese restaurants in Kyiv. Queen Bee is off the beaten path – about a fifteen minute walk from metro Obolon. It is on the second floor of a two-story building hosting a Silpo grocery store and a “casino” (one of those pervasive dive bars ensconced in blue, blaring lights) on the ground floor. I reached Queen Bee through an unmarked ground-floor entrance, which lead to the restaurant and an adjacent strip club. The interior was similar to Mekong, only less memorable. It was also completely empty on an early Sunday evening. That not being a good sign, and I, being alone, with the casino and strip clubs too close for comfort, decided to make my visit a quick one. Through my own research and judging from other reviews I’ve read, I didn’t miss much.
Hanoi offers a much more pleasant, upscale dining experience. The interior is sleekly decorated, with sophisticated, yet simple, Eastern-style decor. Our polite server sported a glittering, opalescent cheongsam. The pho noodle and beef soup (Hr 13) was certainly the most affordable and best I have tried in Kyiv, while the “Hanoi” Vietnamese spring roll (Hr 9 for one) was also tasty. Hanoi has a nice selection of Vietnamese soups, salads and other dishes to choose from – including three choices prepared from frogs legs. It also has Ukrainian and more maintstream Asian dishes to choose from. Hanoi is a laudable addition to Kyiv’s Asian cuisine alternatives.
Hanoi (6 Sichnevoho Povstannya, 280-3228)
Open daily noon till midnight
