Vnam Kitchen Restaurant – Vietnamese Food in Ipoh
September 29, 2009 | 2,523 views| 35 Comments » |
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Very down to earth motto printed on the menu, and the vibrant decor inside of Vnam Kitchen.
A new restaurant serving Vietnamese cuisine opened its door to the public recently in Ipoh, at the same spot occupied by the previous Soon Fatt Restaurant on Jalan Seenivasagam around Greentown. Click on the link for the post on the NEW Soon Fatt Restaurant.
Vnam Kitchen is in fact, owned and run by a couple who had been operating various stalls and outlets serving delectable and authentic Vietnamese cuisine in the Klang Valley, located in several food courts by the name of Vietnamese Cuisine.
Vietnamese Drip Coffee (RM4.50)
Since then, they’ve ‘surrendered’ their premises in the Klang Valley to their sons, and subsequently moved to Ipoh and opened up a stall by the name of (what else?) Vietnamese Cuisine in Woolley Food City in Ipoh Garden.
Sumptuous Platter of Appetizers (RM19.90) to tantalize your tastebuds … and really filling at that!
The starter platter of lemongrass chicken chop, pork chop, deep-fried fish fillets, Vietnamese fried spring rolls and blanched vermicelli with crushed peanuts came in a most appetizing portion, almost ‘suffocating’, if you’re having this alone or sharing with one other person only. Definitely whipped up for a table of 3 and above, the platter consists of the sweet and tasty marinated pork chop and chicken chop with a light tinge of lemongrass (thank goodness!), batter-fried fish fillets (which replaced sugar cane prawns, as they were not available on that afternoon), a crispy and always-pleasing Vietnamese fried spring rolls, and some blanched rice noodles, or vermicelli (Vietnamese version, almost like the real deal Pho) topped with lots of crunchy crushed peanuts.
Wrap them up REAL good IF you’re patient, or just dump the whole ensemble into your mouth if hunger strikes!
The appetizer was served with some hardened sheets of rice paper, meant to be dipped slightly into the bowl of hot water (to soften the sheets), then laid bare (hehe, wrong choice of word?) on the plate, and then roll up your favourite ingredients, ala ‘popiah’ style. The dipping sauces came in the form of a mixed chilli sauce + ‘hoi sin’ sauce with crushed peanuts, and another bowl of tangy and sweet vinegar sauce with cili padi/bird eye chillies afloating.
Beef Mong – Vietnamese style rice vermicelli with mixed vegetables and grilled beef with lemongrass (RM6.90)
One positive note about Vnam Kitchen’s dishes is that, the portion is rather big, yet not overly filling to the point of getting sick of your rice/noodles. The Mong, for one, is a rather satisfying bowl of simple blanched rice noodles with a colourful combination of julienned greens and meat of your choice. Right before serving the dish, the staff will pour a small bowl of the tangy and piquant vinegar sauce with cili padi, meant to be mixed into the bowl of noodles, in order to provide enough moisture and flavour. The grilled cutlets of beef were really good, albeit left me wanting for more, as only four to five pieces were served with the Mong.
The Rice Dishes @ Vnam Kitchen – Deep fried Fish Cutlets with sweet and sour sauce (RM9.90), Lemongrass Pork Chop (RM7.90) and Black Pepper Chicken (RM7.50)
Amongst the rice dishes at Vnam’s, the lemongrass pork chop and lemongrass chicken chop are the must-tries. Personally, I prefer the pork version more, for the tender cutlets of pork meat were marinated well with the sweet and savoury sauce, with a slight hint of lemongrass to perk up the aroma. The black pepper chicken was anything but ordinary, with a heavier accent of pepper, and came in boneless forms.
Vnam Kitchen Restaurant – Parking’s a problem come peak hours though …
Other than the dishes mentioned above, Vnam also serves other varieties of authentic Vietnamese cuisine, for example the ubiquitous, almost synonymous with Vietnam’s national dish of Pho Bo or beef noodles, chicken noodles or Pho Ga, and fresh spring rolls (mixed vegetables wrapped in sheets of rice paper).
What we had at the outlet in Woolley Food City – Special Beef Noodles (RM9.90), Fresh Spring Rolls, and Fried Spring Rolls
If you’re wondering whether the stall in Woolley Food City is still operating, the answer is YES. And seemingly running at full steam at that, doing brisk business amongst the crowd frequenting one of Ipoh’s most famous food court in Ipoh Garden.
The refurbished Woolley Food City in Ipoh Garden – With a respectable number of stalls (at least more than 20), serving Ipoh famous hawker fares
Hence, if you’re worried about parking issues in Greentown, hop over to Woolley Food City instead for a taste of Vietnamese cuisine. Although bear in mind that the dishes on offer do differ, as Vnam Kitchen serves a wider array, obviously.
Vnam Kitchen Restaurant
No 32, Jalan Seenivasagam,
30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel No : 605-254 2633 or 6012-887 8101 (Joanne Chan)
Opens daily from 11.00am until 10.00pm.
And here’s a GOOGLE MAP to BOTH Vnam Kitchen AND Vietnamese Cuisine Stall in Woolley Food City
Looks good the food you had posted. Can’t wait to try this out when in Ipoh!
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I ate the Vietnam food that at Woolley before, the taste is ok, the price quite costly for me..haha.
The Sumptuous Platter of Appetizers seems very nice…^^
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
costly? oklah …. but good thing is that, the price of the dishes in the restaurant itself is the same,
everything less than RM10.
rather reasonable i’d say.
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wow…James, u made this vietnamese dishes look so appetizing, the review is great…. one cant help not going after reading this.. i think i posted one of the beef soup noodles in my blog before.. i took it in woolley, it was quite pricey, 6.90 for a bowl of noodles with beef balls only…(cos my girl only wanted the balls) and she was not used to the taste… lol… i didnt know they have a branch in jalan seenivasagam.. thanks for sharing..
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
you’re welcome, claire.
glad you can drop your comments here.
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the interior looks really nice. lovely and soothing. wouldn’t have expected that on what looks like a really drab row of shophouses!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
drab row of shophouses? hehehe … there are some good finds along the road though.
but parking’s a mess come lunch hours, you’d be better off on foot!
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vietnamese cuisine is always light and healthy. i do love the way they prepared the ingredients esp the spring rolls (lots of ingredients).
sadly, can’t enjoy all of them esp those with beef >__________________<
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
you can opt for the chicken/pork or even fish. go vege also can ….
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Looks like Vnam Kitchen Restaurant uses real vietnamese ingredients. Even the rice paper is authentic! And the prices seems value-for-money enough.
As for Woolley’s…WOW! Why is everything in Ipoh growing in crazy proportions? First it was Foh San, now this. What’s next?
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Such pretty lanterns… I wish I bought some of them when I was in Hanoi.
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If only I can tear away from Lau Wong next trip ..
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Wah the platter is making me hungry now! It really seems to be good value for money… Though Vnam Kitchen sounds eerily similar to Vietnam Kitchen. I think they’re not the same, yes?
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Woooo….Woolley! I have missed dining there for quite awhile. The platter spread looked real appetizing and the pricing does not sound that expensive too. Let’s see when this crazy guy over here would suddenly pop in for some Vietnamese rolls.. haha
p/s: Been having trouble hopping here since last night. Luckily I have a spare “P1″ around. Streamyx is out for all IMs as well as your site… sweat…I hope the comment would get through now.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
you’ve got a SPARE Wimax?!!! wah …. liddat also can ah?
yeah, i’m even having problems commenting here, myself.
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War….how come so many people are talking about Vietnam foods nowadays. :p
The Vnam deco is really good. A lot of class. And the food..looks damn nice.
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Food looks good my friend… coming down next week?
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
nope, not going down to KL anytime soon. anything?
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Ipoh is getting more n more awesome!
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Oh yay! Can drop by this place since the price tags were rather affordable
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
okay ….. wanna tag me along or wat?
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I enjoyed Vietnamese food. Looks good. I am sure they will provide much more variety of herbs and vege if it is available. I do enjoyed their big basket of vege and herbs over there.
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I had lunch there on the 28th & yes the food is nice & authentic. I had some chicken rice thing not the lemongrass version but is pretty good.
Will definately go again..other friends also agreed that the food is not bad.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 7:43 pm
28th?!! hmm … lemme see … maybe i was there on that day? lost track of time liao. hahaha ….
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Indeed value for money! LOL.
Only ipohans can think these prices are expensive ;p
Once u live in kl like me, then I realize youcant compare prices in PG and Perak to KL!
I love viet food, esp the spring rolls!
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I went to Vnam too. Food’s good, service ‘s
but wish they had some set lunch menu to choose from.
.-= Jenn´s last blog ..<a href=\ =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
oh yeah ..maybe in the near future? who knows right?
the prime location of the shop is a surefire hit with the lunch crowd.
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Thanks for your review. My wife and I went to this restaurant after reading your review. Loved the combo platter which is indeed as good as it looks. Will definitely go there again in the future.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
you’re most welcomed, QC. and glad you like the food there.
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Try Vnam. The food are quite value for money. However I personally think the drinks are a bit pricey eg RM5.90 for a plain soda drink with some mints leaves. Fried spring rolls are tastier than the non-fried ones. Find the non-fried springrolls a bit dry & bland and the skin too thick to my liking. My friends loves the pork chop rice though.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
drinks a little pricey? yup, the Viet coffee was priced at RM4.50, but I’ve doubts on the origin of the coffee beans.
tasted not strong at all.
but the pork chops/chicken chops are really marinated well, rendering them tender and very flavoursome.
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The Pho Bo’s definitely worth the raves, especially after tasting the ‘version’ at Secret Recipe ~_~
I especially like the green bean smoothie/ice-blend. Who knew the humble green bean concoction could taste so rich and creamy?!?!
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Thanks!!!
Your review is soooooooo detailed and informative…map oso got
looking forward to try it soon!
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Found this Restaurant at Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ipoh-Malaysia/Restaurant-V-Nam-Kitchens-Ipoh-Malaysia/191673102937?v=box_3&ref=share#/pages/Ipoh-Malaysia/Restaurant-V-Nam-Kitchens-Ipoh-Malaysia/191673102937?v=wall&ref=share
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Hello Motormouth,
Great to know that Vietnamese food is readily available in Ipoh. Look at the pictures, the food is very similar with that in Saigon. I read before in your blog you wrote about salad duck. Let me know on which post. Thank you for such interesting, exciting and amazing blog!
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