I was invited down to the West End for some Northern Vietnamese cuisine. This is not an area, nor where I expect to go for Vietnamese food, but am glad my friend invited me to do so, to be able to discover a restaurant worth driving to.
The cafe was simple with a city mural and rattan lamp shades. Nothing to make it stand out visually, outside of the food.
We grabbed a table by the window and started with some hot tea served in a traditional blue and white porcelain matching tea pot and cup set.
We also tried a few of their specialty drinks to start. The Avocado coffee didn’t really taste like the fruit, but is flesh added a nice thickness to the drink, like a foam.
Similarly, the Matcha Coconut didn’t add much matcha, but remained refreshing with it predominantly being coconut water.
And lastly, the freshly pressed Sugar cane juice was a familiar, sweet treat.
For food we took many of the restaurant’s recommendations, focusing on what makes their menu unique.
The Hanoi Crisp Crab Parcels were an order of 4, smaller, deep fried until golden brown spring rolls. Each stuffed with a mixture of crab meat, prawn, ground pork, eggs, glass noodles, shiitake mushroom, wood ear fungus, carrot, jimaca, onion, and shallots. It is served with a generous amount of their Tre fish sauce and pickled vegetable that freshens with citrus and acid for a balanced brightness and a tasty start.
The Rainbow Salad was a mound of julienned Purple Cabbage, Carrot, Onion, Vietnamese mint, roasted peanuts, fried onion, and shrimp; finished with their Tre chili sweet and sour sauce. This served as a good palate refresher, adding freshness and some vegetables in response to some of the more punchier flavours below.
For pho we tried their Tre’s Special Soup featuring their salted superior egg beef ball, deep fried young rice cake, tofu, vegetarian cucumber, and fresh herbs. What sets this one apart is the whole soft boiled egg, wrapped in an herbed meat ball. This reminded me of a scotch egg, but boiled in the soup. This, alongside the bounty of ingredients made the broth richer with more depth than that your run of the mill beef pho.
We all wanted to see how Tre Viet tackled the popular Bun Bo Hue, so order this Hue inspired spicy noodle soup. Thick vermicelli with steamed pork hock slices, well done brisket, and chicken ball. The bowl had a good amount of spice that tingles and lingers, coupled with plenty of meat to soak up its flavour. Despite its bold hue, this actually served as a fairly clean broth.
If you visit and can order anything to share, then it has to be one of their platters. Each allows you the ability to build and curate your own bites. The Bún cha is Hanoi style vermicelli noodles with charred & caramelized pork grilled over hot charcoal. Grilled pork, pork meatballs in Tre chili lime dipping sauce, vermicelli noodles, and fresh herbs. The meatball with its great char was the standout, softened in a fish sauce broth, and equipped with plenty of flavour to have with the vermicelli and raw greens. I would have also liked these meatballs in a banh mi.
Not for everyone one, but delicious under my unique tastes was the Vermicelli noodle and fermented shrimp paste platter. You won’t find this at many Vietnamese restaurants, and this is the only one that I know that does serve it. This is a platter of steamed pork hock slices, deep-fry tofu, deep-fried young rice cake with ground pork, vermicelli noodles, and fresh herbs; plus shrimp paste dipping sauce. The latter most is the starring role here. This isn’t anything common, nor is it for everyone. You could smell the fermented shrimp paste approaching, with its unique funk. Its pungent smell affects its acquired taste, and is of a similar vein to stinky tofu. You only need a dab of it to add interest to everything else that is milder by comparison. And there is plenty of vermicelli and herbs to balance things out as needed.
As a whole, these were familiar dishes and traditional specialties that are both elevated and clean. I just wished that they were located closer to my home, where I would frequent and order from them more regularly. Seriously delicious and worth what you pay for it.
Tre Viet
1114 Denman St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2M8
(604) 423-5555
treviet.ca
