Little Viet Kitchen
Originally intending to spend the night dining exclusively on desserts (stay tuned to find out what happens!), we explored more of Chapel Market and stumbled upon the Little Viet Kitchen. We had seen it featured before on food shows and figured we’d give it a go.
The decor, clientele, and wait staff outfits are all decidedly, perfectly, hipster. The whole place oozes the fond memories of the owner’s home country and the comforting role food played there. Her efforts to give the restaurant a homey and welcoming atmosphere are keenly felt, making Vietnam feel a little less far away. Unlike many establishments that attempt to capture this feeling of home away from home, the LVK actually delivers!
The dinner crew of HAT, CBK, and RDJ split a few items and each had a separate main. But before the food, we need to appreciate the carafe of cuke and lemon water on the table. So refreshing. The shared dishes included fried wasabi tofu squares which were divine! I chose to finish my last morsel with it, it was that delicious. Crispy on the outside with a firm and tender tofu centre, which did not have much spice but more a hint of the wasabi. The chicken skewers on a bed of leeks was the second item we split, and was the weakest of all the dishes in my opinion. If anything, the chicken was not as flavorful as the rest of the meal.
For mains, the salmon with tamarind and pepper sauce was quite simply, one of the best salmon dish I have had eating out in London. Super tender and if you haven’t had tamarind before, this is the dish to try it out on. CBK ordered up a crab, papaya, and daikon salad which was all sorts of refreshing mixed with a spicy kick. The peppers were like that drunk at your house party who is fun at the start but then they hit a point where you’re just worried they are going to wreck your house. Finally, RDJ had the pork dumplings which were attacked with the voracity of a velociraptor. They were fried and sitting on a spicy broth-like sauce creating a contrast of crunchy tops and moist undersides.
A few final takeaways – this place loves its fried garlic, so bring a date for sure. All of the dishes have a lot of pepper, even if they don’t list it. I personally was OK with this type of heat. It was more of a slow building: “I can tell there is heat here but its not overwhelming”. However, CBK and RDJ did not fare so well with the heat, but this is simply a personal tolerance discrepancy. The heat was very different from Indian or Korean spice. I highly encourage you to try it out for yourself!
LVK also offers a focused desert menu of lemongrass cheesecake and mochi, but we were too stuffed to take advantage. The drinks menu is full of exotic offerings and it took us 15 mins to decide on drinks alone! This place was great and laid back. We will be returning!