Lately many new Asian restaurants are emerging in Tel-Aviv, a fact that could be joyous yet it still didn’t reach that wanted state. I already reviewed 44 restaurant and The Bun, each has its advantages but both keeps their distance from authentic. Now, with a new wave of Asian-Vietnamese restaurants in the city we went to check the improvement. This is what we found out:
Dim Sum Station
44 yehuda halevi st. Tel Aviv
077-234-4954
Is ultimately the best option for dim-sum selection in Tel-Aviv. See what happened when I tried another new dim-sum place: Tea-Party. Don’t forget to ask for vinegar for the dim-sum, don’t use soy sauce alone! Other options in this little place are less recommended.
A huge steaming basket with a wide range of dim-sums
Each Dim-Sum costs 5 NIS, they are all fresh, well made and flavorful. I recommend the mushroom, the spinach, the pork, the shrimp, they’re all good.
It’s not so cheap if you’re planning on filling your hunger with dim-sum only – you’ll need 10-15 of these.
But it’s a better choice than the stir-fry and noodles dishes which are fine, but just fine.
Vong
15 Rothschild st. Tel-Aviv
03-6337171
A restaurant that considers itself to be Vietnamese but fails to execute. They did put all their energy on creating their brand, their interior design and vibe of the place. I can honestly say my favorite thing about Vong is their beautiful lamp.
A little cabbage salad to begin with, almost came with a warning: if you don’t finish me – you won’t get any dessert.
Pho Bo, Vietnamese traditional aromatic soup: thin sirloin slices, rice noodles, bean sprouts, onions, green onions with herbs plate (46 NIS). A bit disappointing, look at it, it just looks miserable. And also, we took the big bowl to split between two but it seem like it’s better value taking two half size dishes (26 NIS) – which is almost the same dish.
The plate of herbs: Cilantro, bean sprouts, chili, lemon, basil and mint. Very nice and colorful.
Bean-Mi Salad: Seared chicken pieces, snow peas, baby spinach, young celery strips, green onions, cilantro, fresh garlic on a bed of soba / harusame noodles with chow chow sauce (chili – garlic) (28 NIS).
This dish sounded good only on paper and we received only about half of the ingredients listed. Snow peas, baby spinach and young celery strips where no where to be found and we were not asked which noodles we want. We sent it back.
Fresh spring roll: Thin strips of vegetables, baby shrimp, chunks of juicy chicken, coriander and mint wrapped in rice sheet with a classic NEM sauce (lime, garlic, fish sauce) and sauce Ho Chi Minh (peanut sauce) (32 NIS). Another dish with a list of unfulfilled promises. This was at most a rice sheet filled with rice noodles accompanied with two disgusting dip sauces.
Beef Bahn: Vietnamese steamed bun with aromatic longed cooked meat and Asian aioli sauce (36 NIS). This was an improvement from the rest of the meal, was nice but the bun itself was heavy and not fluffy and airy like it should. We longed for The Bun who makes perfect buns.
Hanoi
18 Lilinblum st. Tel-Aviv
03-5337962
We thought the name “Hanoi” stands for Vietnamese food but turns out it’s Malaysian, Chinese and Vietnamese. As much as I wanted to fall in love with this cute little place, I didn’t. It has potential but there’s something off about it. The casual-market-like-cool decoration of the place, with plastic baskets as tables, art on the wall which is also storage place; paper lamp, eclectic glasses and simple atmosphere which isn’t romantic nor cozy – all screaming – street food. What’s wrong with street food? Nothing! I love street food! But it loses its magic when you get a small version of the street food as a “dish” in an actual restaurant settings. The dish that we most wanted to try, the Bahn-Mi, was out this evening, and it made me gloomy.
I liked the atmosphere of the place, it has a sleazy character.
Plastic baskets are used as an art form and as a storage place, as well as the tables themselves.
Free Chinese tea for everyone! Some points for that!
Vietnamese Vine leaves with sirloin, lemon-grass, peanuts (26 NIS). Tasty but such a small bite, this isn’t a first course.
For the sim-sum dish we asked to have half-half:
Har Gow filled with shrimp and water chestnuts.
Wonton Szechuan filled with chicken, ginger, green onions and home made chili oil (24 NIS).
They were both tasty. I didn’t taste the water chestnuts and I couldn’t understand how this nice steamed dish came with tuns of oil on top taking all the lightness away. Too bad.
Beef Rendang: traditional beef stew, long cooking in coconut and palm sauce. Served with rice, peanuts and fresh cucumbers. A Malaysian wedding spicy dish (62 NIS). The most expensive dish in the menu wasn’t that amazing. Not spicy. Not beautiful. Few chunks of meat only. A small dish. The rice was very good I must say.
Crispy pork belly, served with rice, tofu and Bok Choy (58 NIS). This dish was tasty, I liked the pork belly and the tofu, but it was a mess… Everything just thrown over the rice in an unappetizing way.
Hini and Yair
Home-made Ice-Cream cookie (24 NIS). Was very small, very conventional and simple and just okay. Has nothing to do with any of the kitchens this restaurant is trying to be.
Tapioca Brulee (24 NIS). Tiny dessert, looks horrible, the tapioca was a trail to bring the Asian cuisine to the desserts as well but lacked color, fruits and ambition.
The bill came out pretty expensive. 306 NIS for 3 people which is about 100 NIS per person and if you consider a full meal I would say maybe even more because the dishes are pretty small. For me I think it did not deliver value for money.
In conclusion, I believe the demand for quality authentic Asian food is there, but the supply is sparse and doesn’t cut it. Too much energy is put out trying to do the perfect interior design, perfect branding, decor, and the food – is in second priority. Let’s hope that the next wave of Asian kitchens, once some will fail and close, will be better. For now, we’ll have to settle with The Bun and Dim Sum Station, and wait for good news.
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