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Saigon doesn’t boast many vegetarian restaurants so as we turned into Hai Ba Trung Street we were delighted to see the quaint entrance advertising the vegetarian food provided by Tib Restaurant. A small family run restaurant with a homely feel and frequented only by locals, at least while we were dining. The restaurant, founded in 1993, has revived the special Hue-style traditional dishes like “dam nuoc”, “banh la cha tom”, “cuon diep”, “cuon Hue”. Apparently in November 2007, former President of the United States of America George Bush chose Tib to host a dinner for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, which speaks eloquently for the Tib brand.
It is a quiet little restaurant which continued the yellow theme, evident on the outside, through to the dining room and the rice paper light shades. We were to learn that the recipes originated from the Royal Court of Hue and were introduced to Saigon by Madam Trinh Vinh Tam, the founder of Tib. We were welcomed and seated, and while there was only one other Vietnamese family dining, a large table had been set for a horde so we decided that we had better get our order in to the kitchen promptly.
We were only two and decided to share some dishes so as to be able to taste as wide a variety of dishes as possible.
Our first choice of tiny rice pancakes (VND45,000) were glutinous circles topped with ground shrimp and served with fish sauce. These were not entirely to our taste but possibly our mistake in ordering them. This was followed by Imperial rolls (VND55,000), a crispy spring roll filled with vegetables. Fried bean curd with tomato sauce (VND50,000) and baked stuffed tomatoes in tomato sauce (VND55,000), stewed eggplant in ginger (VND45,000) and sautéed vermicelli with green peas and mushrooms (VND45,000). All the dishes were tasty and fresh, our favorite being the stuffed tomatoes and the stewed eggplant.
Wine was not available and we opted for water to wash everything down. The menu is extensive and while I am no expert in unusual vegetarian dishes, not being a vegetarian myself, I believe the most dedicated veggies would have their taste buds titillated by the options available.
Tib Restaurant, 187 Hai Ba Trung Street in HCMC’s District 3. Telephone 08 3829 7242.
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