Delicious Vietnamese fare at Song Ngu

During CNY, the trick is not to eat Chinese food. The wait and serving time begs patience and food quality is often not as good. We opted for Vietnamese at Song Ngu resto in New Ocean World Fine Food City, PJ.

The large resto was decorated prettily with mural scenes of Vietnamese lifestyle and other paraphernalia on the walls. The open kitchen gives you a good view of what’s being prepared. 

We had Ban Seo (prawn crepe), Ban Beo – mini rice cakes with bits of meat on top and mango salad. The excellent sauces gave them a bit of a twang – touch of spice, sweetish sour. Unlike Thai mango salad, this used ripe fruit that was really nice and sweet. Enjoyed all three starters.

For mains – Duck curry – reminded us of Japanese curry – sweetish, but with more spices and herbs. The gravy went splendidly with the housemade baguette that came with it. Roast chicken had lovely crisp skin, albeit a wee bit dry especially the meatier pieces, but still very tasty.

The winner of the night though was the fried fish, the frame, fried till crunchy while the flesh, slightly coated with batter, had a nice crispiness on the thin exterior but was soft and moist inside. We finished every last bit of this, right down to the last bone, munching on everything as we conversed. So, so good!

Lotus fried rice made up the carbs, probably the least exciting as it was ordinary, with the addition of Vietnamese lotus seeds. Ordered the Beef stew noodles next and was very happy with our choice as thin rice noodles paired so well with the flavourful robust broth of the stew, and nice chunks of tender beef made up the protein content.   

People might be deceived by the flashy decor but prices here are reasonable, about the same as as any other Vietnamese resto. Highly recommend this, especially if you’ve got guests and want a nice place to talk.  

Add: L3 – 09, Level 3, New Ocean World Fine Food City, 15, Jalan 19/1, Petaling Jaya. call: 03-8408 8027