PROBABLY THE MOST AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE FIND IN SINGAPORE.
While Vietnamese cuisine is soon becoming a common sight in Singapore, few sets itself apart with an authentic taste of Vietnam. To us, Vietnamese food is not just about spring rolls or Pho. At Mộc Quán, we discovered many other dishes, including seafood, claypot, even vegetarian varieties. Mộc Quán is truly a refreshing find and lovers of the cuisine will surely appreciate.
Bún Thịt Nướng - Barbecue sliced and minced pork lay atop rice noodles, topped with cucumber, fresh herbs, toasted peanuts, fried shallots and special homemade fish sauce. Especially loved the rice noodles, simple and light, giving a really refreshing balance to the grilled meat. Douse a little fish sauce and cut chillies from the accompanying saucer and your little 10 min trip to Vietnam will be complete.
Bánh Mì - A warm French baguette encases fresh vegetables and grilled chicken, crisp crunch amidst a fluffy interior that breaks apart with a little push of your fingers, like those found in Vietnam. The owners have brought over the oven and flour so that they can bake their baguettes every morning, so the freshness is impeccable. Bánh Mì Gà Nướng, or baguette with roasted chicken goes at $7.50, somewhat the price of a premium subway but bursting with so many cultural flavours. All the Bánh Mì here is served with cucumber, parsley, butter, pickled vegetables and Vietnamese chilli.
Get a taste of Bún riêu with this large bowl of Bún bò Huế ($14.90). It came with so many goodies, a large serving of herbs submerged in the hot spicy broth.
The soup starts with pork and beef bones, gets a kick from lemongrass, fish sauce and shrimp paste, and finishes the job with a tangle of herbs, onions and chile, a squeeze of lime and a few delicious add-ons like tender sliced brisket and pork pâté, and, in just about every iteration, mind-blowingly good – an insanely addictive, hearty flavor bomb of a noodle soup that is so downright tasty, most other noodle soups pale in comparison. Nothing beats a correctly prepared bowl of Bún bò Huế.
And just when it all can’t get any better, (at this point, we actually tried more dishes on our next visit), their Nghêu Chem Chép Hấp Xả ($19) just blew us away again. This dish is essentially fresh clams and mussels cooked in a sweet and spicy lemongrass broth that is deeply aromatic and well flavoured. The clams are fresh and succulent, making slurping them out of their shells a breeze. Infused with the spiced essence, every morsel is a burst of flavour from the sea, fragrant with lemongrass notes, sweet, yet tantalising to the tastebuds.
Mộc Quán’s Bánh xèo is a crêpe made from rice flour and coconut milk colored with turmeric and packed with a filling of mung bean paste, shrimp, bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms and sliced pork. Known as Vietnamese finger food, the locals would wrap up these slices in an array of herbs into a mini spring roll, then dipping them into nuoc cham, sweetened fish sauce with chile. A dish you would have to prepare to get your hands dirty!
With its relatively affordable price points, robust and deeply scented flavours, these are dishes that respectfully reminisce the food on the streets of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. To be honest, I dare say this will be the only Vietnamese restaurant in Singapore we will visit whenever we crave the taste of Vietnam. If you’re ready to explore beyond the basic Vietnamese dishes like pho and spring rolls, this place will impress you no less. Way to go, Mộc Quán!
Visit our blog on atasteofdojo . com / moc-quan for pictures!
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