When it comes to comfort, clean eating, Vietnamese cuisine ranks high on the list. Following the success of Chom Chom (it’s literally ALWAYS packed), Chef Peter Cuong Franklin brings the comfort of Vietnamese home cooking to Hong Kong with the addition of Viet Kitchen. Unlike Chom Chom, which centers around bar snacks and laid-back drinks, Viet Kitchen is all about piping hot bowls of pho and aromatic, herb-filled bahn mi.
Everything here is made with plenty of TLC. The sugar cane juice is freshly squeezed each morning, and have a subtle sweet aftertaste rather than the aggressive sugary overtone of the traditional Cantonese variety, thanks to the fact that the juice is not heated and reduced down. Instead, the canes are pain-stakingly cleaned before going through the wringer to get the freshest, most fragrant juices.
Anyone who loves pho will know that it’s all about the broth. The beef brisket pho we tried was seeped in a clear yet incredibly aromatic beef consomme. After talking to Chef Peter, we realised that the broth took several days to make, using pain-staking methods. There’s at least 5 types of beef bones used, with the first gigantic vat cleaned and blanched with the liquids thrown out before the actual broth making can start. The bones are simmered for an entire day before the meats are added on the second day. Finally, seasonings are adjusted on the third day to ensure consistency.
A big congratulations to our last year’s Readers’ Choice Chef of the Year winner on the new venture, and we’ll be back to try the “Pho Flight”, a quartet of mini bowls filled with Hanoi Chicken, Saigon Beef, Hue Spicy Beef and Pork, and Roast Duck pho. Available until the end of May for an auspicious $88.
Viet Kitchen, Ground Floor of Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central, 2802 2888