Vietnam and France have always had a strong relationship and French flavours and techniques have influenced Vietnamese cuisine for a long time now. Le Vietnamese Kitchen on Ponsonby Road combines traditional cooking techniques with a French influence and this results in a stunning cuisine.
Decorated in a traditional Vietnamese style with French colonial accents, the wicker lanterns hanging from the ceiling give the place a warm glow and an exotic atmosphere.
As well as an inviting indoor area, the restaurant stretches quite far back and reveals a very pretty courtyard area for outdoor dining.
One thing we have to highlight is the outstanding and creative presentation of the food and drinks. Very Instagram worthy we must say!
We began with a couple of cocktails, the one in the tall glass is the Passion Fruit Mojito – muddled mint and lime, passoa liqueur and rum topped with passion fruit juice. The smaller cocktail is the Hanoi Street Vendor – Bombay Sapphire, lemongrass, lime, basil and ginger beer – this was very refreshing.
See what we mean about presentation? The Hue Fresh Rolls were stuffed with pork, prawn, peanuts, pickles and herbs.
The Saigon rolls were served exactly the same way Vietnamese restaurants serve spring rolls in France. They were crispy and light and stuffed with chicken, glass noodles, mushrooms and nuoc cham.
For a light option but still bursting with flavour we would wholeheartedly recommend the Papaya Salad. It consists of papaya, peanuts, carrots, herbs and lime.
The mark of a good Vietnamese restaurant is always their pho offering. The Soup Pho is served with a choice of Angus eye fillet or poached chicken thigh. This was so tasty and is in our top 2 pho’s in the whole of Auckland.
The Kaffir Lime Chicken comes coated in kaffir lime, lemongrass, chilli and peanut sauce. The chicken was tender and cooked to perfection and the sprinkle of sesame seeds added texture.
The Aromatic Galangal and Lemongrass Lamb Rump came skewered with lemongrass sticks and is a traditional BBQ dish from North West Vietnam. It came with Vietnamese pickle which added contrast and acidity.
Le Vietnamese Kitchen describe their restaurant as evoking the bustling streets of Vietnam and we certainly concur.
Le Vietnamese Kitchen
107 Ponsonby Road
Ponsonby
Auckland
Tel: 09 376 6107
click here to see the menu ->
