[HK] BB1 Vietnamese Bistro - Hysan Place
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Spoilt for choice when it comes to dining options at the Hysan Place, we finally settled for light Vietnamese cuisine. With seating along the corridors of the shopping mall and inside the restaurant, we opted for the latter to allow more space and quiet moments to catch up.
Soft shell crab rice paper roll - $78/-
The batter for the soft shell crab was fried to a golden brown crisp, giving each bite a delightful crunch. The rice paper roll was thin and not overly sticky and managed to hold the sliced vegetables perfectly intact. Despite so, I must say I have had better versions of such crispy soft shell crab elsewhere.
Soft shell crab rice paper roll - $78/-
The batter for the soft shell crab was fried to a golden brown crisp, giving each bite a delightful crunch. The rice paper roll was thin and not overly sticky and managed to hold the sliced vegetables perfectly intact. Despite so, I must say I have had better versions of such crispy soft shell crab elsewhere.
Verdict: 7.0/10
Vietnamese lemon grass chicken wings - $58/-
The second starter was a tantalizing treat to the tastebuds. Deep-fried to a perfect golden brown, some scattered breadcrumbs helped to give an extra crunch to the succulent chicken wings. Despite the deep-frying, the meat retained much moisture giving the much desired juiciness. I was left slightly disappointed for there was barely any lemon-grass flavour to it and tasted more like a classic version of chicken wings.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Saute vegetables with belachan - $68/-
The ripeness of the vegetables was optimal, but the belachan taste was sorely lacking. Belachan is actually shrimp paste made from fermented ground shrimp (krill) mixed with salt. The krill would normally be steamed first then mashed into a paste and stored for several months. The fermented shrimps are then fried to give it the strong flavour, which unfortunately was not strong enough to impress my palate.
Verdict. 6.0/10
Shredded chicken and minced pork pho - $58/-
My dining partner ordered this and he claimed that the broth was flavoursome and not overly MSG loaded. It was light and served the way he wanted. The shredded chicken and minced pork were not overly cooked and coupled with the fried shallots, it was an enjoyable dish.
Verdict: NA - no food testing
Vermicelli with pork chop - $52/-
Accompanied with a separate fish sauce as dressing, the dry vermicelli, sliced carrots and lettuce provided a varied texture to the pork chop. It had a crisp surface but surprisingly, the perfectly cooked meat was tender and oozing with juice. The portion of the pork chop was pretty generous too as seen from the picture and could certainly fill a hungry diner easily.
Verdict: 7.0/10
For the beverages, we had a lime soda ($45/-) and a glass of hot lemon tea ($26/-). Well, there was nothing too impressive about them to warrant a write-up so I would leave it at that.
As we visited the restaurant just before the peak dining period, it was relatively quiet and offered a good venue to catch up with friends or colleagues. Do note that the prices listed above are excluded of 10% service charge. The quality of the food in general were okay, especially the deep-fried dishes though they should typically be safe calls anyway. With no real impressive dishes to boast of, I might take my cue elsewhere when I next visit Hysan Place.
BB1 Vietnamese Bistro 越南美食馆
Shop 1202, 12/F, Hysan Place
500 Hennessy Road,
Causeway Bay
Tel: 2677 8001
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