Viet(nomming) 🇻🇳

This is like the Vietnamese version of char kway tiao or pad thai. It’s the first time we’ve ordered this out of our numerous visits because I’m a creature of habit. Hahaha. Anyway, this dish didn’t disappoint. The noodles were slick and nicely cooked, not too soft, hard or oily. They even have a slight hint of wok hei that we were not expecting. There’s quite a bit of ingredients tossed in, so you have a mix of prawns, crabstick, mushrooms, tau pok and eggs. While none of these are particularly unique, they work together to make this dish delicious. We also enjoyed the chilli served together with these noodles, which were actually spicier than I expected. They’re really good when eaten together with the noodles! While I have other favourites on the menu that I always turn to, this is one dish that I might consider from time to time!

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Sweet and tangy Vietnamese soup with sliced fish and lots of veggies! I love this soup, and there’s a decent amount of tender sliced fish in there. Note that there’s some chillies thrown in too, so some spoonfuls can cause choking especially if you inhale the chilli seeds. There’s ladies fingers, cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts and even pineapple cubes in the soup which I find unique. The pineapple cubes retain some crunchiness, and release a spurt of sweet juice when bitten into which goes so well with the soup. If you’re not a fan of ladies fingers, you might find their addition here a little offputting as they are really quite slimey. I personally don’t mind, as the slime is diluted by the soup anyway. This dish is always one of my go-tos :)

We were figuring out the difference between this Roll and the Shrimp Rice Paper Wrap on the menu. Both come with Chef Recommendation symbols, but we decided to go with this out of curiosity as there was no accompanying description on the fillings.

Turns out that unlike the Shrimp Rice Paper Wrap that was given a full page spread on the menu, the Summer Vegetable Roll comes loaded with not only vegetables, but with two proteins - shrimp and grilled chicken. I really love The Orange Lantern’s Vietnamese grilled chicken as it’s super tender and flavourful, so now that I know that this rice paper roll comes with it, it’s going to be a no-brainer ordering this. The vegetables and herbs in the wrap are all fresh and crisp. I love the refreshing basil and mint in the wrap. The prawn wasn’t really seasoned, but it was fresh and crunchy. The grilled chicken added another layer of flavour with its lemongrass seasoning, and I think that’s really what pulled this whole wrap together. My only complaint about these rice paper rolls is that the rice paper was super sticky which made it hard to separate the rolls from each other and the chopsticks without tearing the rice paper.

Although this is an appetiser, it can also serve as a light meal for someone trying to eat healthy! The Orange Lantern is slightly pricey, but the food is good, so we keep coming back :)