Wednesday 22 January 2014

Cay Tre

Great "Tre"   


Once again I am back at one of the most iconic Vietnamese restaurants in Shoreditch, Cay Tre. I am a massive fan of Vietnamese cuisine, for me it is almost a cross between Thai and Chinese with a French influence in the mix, and Cay Tre is one of the few places in London that managed to pull it off without engineering it to suit the western palate. This time around we went as a large group and went for the less known dishes.  
Vietnamese feast!


As a starter to share for the whole table, we had the La Vong grilled Monkfish which was cooked in front of us. The fish was lightly pan fried  with a mixture of aromatic spices such as galangal, turmeric and some fresh dill, served with some fresh green, peanut and cold noodle. It was full of exotic flavours and freshness, a very solid starter indeed.  
La Vong Grilled Monkfish

The mekong catfish clay pot was by far the weakest dish of the evening, while it had a bit of a theatre element with the fire heating up the pot at the bottom, the fish itself was overly sweet with the caramelisation and the fish itself tasted rather unpleasant with a very thick texture, I also failed to taste the sourness or the fish sauce as the sweet element totally dominated everything.  
mekong catfish clay pot

The new dish Bo Ne Saigon steak was a take on a classic Vietnamese street cafe dish, sizzling steak with pork pate, egg and onions. The rib eye steak was super tender with a great depth of robust flavours, pork pate was well seasoned and overall a very well executed dish.   
Bo Ne Saigon steak

Overall it was a very interesting experience, instead of the usual spring rolls and pho, I managed to get a taste of some other vietnamese classics, While the catfish was a bit of a let down, other dishes including the lamb curry and grilled pork dishes were all very solid. Along with the very affordable price tag and decent service, Cay Tre is well worth a visit for anyone who is in search of great Vietnamese food in Shoreditch.

Food 6
Service 6
Ambience 4
Value 7

£21 per head


301 Old St, London EC1V 9LA


http://caytre.co.uk/

Cay Tre on Urbanspoon

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