Le Dalat

We've been to Le Dalat a number of times and like Suppatra, it never fails to disappoint. These 2 are my favourite restos in BKK. I don't care if they're aimed at farangs, or if there's a quaint touristic twist to the proceedings (Le Dalat waiters sport Vietnamese costumes straight from Tintin & the Blue Lotus comic book): it's the food that counts!

We took my dad here and I gave him a few leaves to try from the fresh herbs basket. A bit of basil, mint etc. We had fresh spring rolls. My dad pronounced the herb inside to taste like 'rubber'. I really wish he hadn't said that because what was a previously gorgeous dish for me suddenly did indeed begin to have a hint of petrol to it. But I pushed the thought firmly to one side and still enjoyed the rice paper wrapped delicacy.

What if dad didn't like the prawn salad? That had its fair share of 'rubber-tasting' herbs. Nervously we waited as dad tucked into his first very large prawn which was smeared with a chili and garlic sauce. He didn't say a word. But that was because he was trying to get every last morsel from the crustacean (including of course the brains - best bit!) After about five minutes, he just said 'Delicious' and then helped himself to the catfish.

The catfish dish is a stew but reduced so much that you only need the tiniest bit of sauce and fish to give you an intense fish-pepper taste. You have to eat it with rice and it's absolutely delicious and also hubby's favourite. We also ordered beef 'sukiyaki' which is DIY beef cooked in coconut juice, plus other herbs and flavourings should you wish. We wrapped the beef up in a lettuce leaf, herbs, rice noodles and chili sauce. Bliss. Dad approved too and drank the resulting sweet soup ad infinitum.

Hubby was eyeing up the mango and sticky rice but his tummy hadn't been feeling right (though that did not stop him from scoffing the main meal) so we paid up. It came to about Baht 1,500 with fruit drinks for the 3 of us - a bargain for the quality.

Tip 1: we always go to Le Dalat which concentrates on Vietnamese food. There's another one called Le Dalat Indochine which expands to, yes, dishes from Indochina. Personally, I prefer just plain Le Dalat.

Tip 2: I think the water is a tad expensive there and the waiters will constantly top up opening bottles and bottles. You may wish to keep an eye on this!

UPDATE 18th Jan 2006: went recently with some friends. Food was good, but service can only be rated as OK. They put our table next to 3 middle-aged Japanese couples. Nice quite ambience, right? You must be kidding - they were so fudging noisy we had to scream to get ourselves heard. Waitresses evantually moved us to another table but wouldn't let us sit upstairs. Don't know why. Anyhow, am not sure I'll be back in a hurry. Specially if I find a better Vietnamese place somewhere.