Tag: Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice

Indochine

Posted in Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, VietnameseLeave a comment

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Indochine on Carrington Road is a popular eatery in Box Hill serving an array of authentic Vietnamese dishes.  You might be surprised to know that there are quite a number of Vietnamese restaurants in Box Hill such as the recently renovated Pho Huong Viet, Tien Dat, Pho 888, Tan Tan and the new kid on the block, Miss Saigon. Having tried a majority of these, nothing seems to compare to what you may come across in the Vietnamese hubs like Springvale, Richmond or Footscray.

The pho at Indochine is a mixed bag, while the broth is one of the better ones in Box Hill, it’s served at such a lukewarm temperature that you’d rather have a slightly poorer tasting Pho than order this again.

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Having been disappointed in the tomato rice dishes in Richmond, I finally found a great one. It’s on par with what I ordered in Springvale. The tomato rice is fried nicely, not too wet and not too dry and cooked with scrambled egg. The crispy chicken at Indochine is also pretty tasty, crispy skin and maybe just slightly over cooked chicken. Served with a slice of lemon and extra salt, which I find you won’t really need anyway.

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Last words
Come to Indochine for their tasty Vietnamese food but maybe not for their pho.

Indochine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Indochine

51 Carrington Road
Box Hill VIC 3128

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Tan Tan

Posted in Box Hill, VietnameseLeave a comment

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In the Box Hill hub, there are quite a few Vietnamese restaurants on Carrington Street. Indochine is probably the largest and most popular one,. I’ve tried Indochine, and couldn’t understand the appeal, so off to the next one on the street. Tan Tan is just a few doors down from Indochine and now being so far away from Springvale, I’ve still yet to find a great Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice dish, so for every new Vietnamese restaurant I try, I always seek out this dish which has yet to be topped.

Tan Tan’s Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice lacks the highs of a great dish, the tomato rice is devoid of tomato flavour, and seems overly soft. I prefer a bit of bite to my rice when it is fried, and a great Tomato rice in my eyes also adds egg. The chicken also lacks flavour, just salt and unfortunately, too dry. The sweet and sour sauce is much needed to bring flavour to this dish that is dry and lacking in taste. A real shame

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The Lemongrass Chicken and Stir Fry with Rice, is an especially fragrant dish with the lemongrass but again, nothing really stood out. The chicken cooked well, and the capsicum adds depth of flavour, apart from that it could be a little forgettable.

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Beef and Chicken Combination Pho is a staple at every Vietnamese restaurant, however the soup here isn’t too flash. Lacking in flavour as compared with the popular and local favourite Pho places such as  I Love Pho 264 in Richmond, and Pho Hung Vuong in Springvale. The soup is the star of a Pho dish so it’s disappointing that it is very average here.

Impressions

I can’t say that I found Tan Tan to be memorable for its dishes which I really did hope it would be. One of the pluses was that the staff were very friendly, and the dishes weren’t too expensive but I’m not too sure that would be enough to get me to go back there again for sometime.

Tan Tan on Urbanspoon

Tan Tan
9 Carrington Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Van Mai

Posted in Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, VietnameseLeave a comment

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Van Mai is another popular Vietnamese eatery along the bustling Victoria Street, Richmond. In my attempt to seek out and try many of the Vietnamese Restaurants in Richmond, Van Mai on Urbanspoon seemed like a very popular place to try. They have a wide selection of dishes to choose from but of course, I had to choose my favourite Vietnamese dish  (or as close to).

I love Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice at Walrus (Springvale) and so my adventure to try out a dish that matches or even possibly tops that dish begins. Van Mai doesn’t have Crispy Chicken withTomato Rice but they do have Diced Pepper Beef with Tomato Rice dish.

I absolutely loved the flavour of this dish. The beef was packed full of flavour, it was slightly sweet, nicely marinated and had a pleasant pepper taste that didn’t overwhelm the natural beef flavour.  One little con was that it was a tad too salty but eaten with the fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber it balanced things out.

I pretty much only order Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice because of the Tomato Rice. At Walrus it’s a vibrant red colour with stir fried with egg, at Van Mai it’s slightly darker and oilier.  However, the taste is almost identical. Again, my only complaint is that it’s a tad too oily and I was wiping my mouth with a napkin constantly.

Other than the oiliness, the food they serve is delicious. Would definitely come back to try their other dishes.

Van Mai on Urbanspoon

Van Mai

372 Victoria St
Richmond VIC 3121