A night in Deptford: Viet Rest and Little Nan's Bar

Showing my pinkie at Little Nan's

While watching the London Marathon we hatched a plan for a night out in Deptford. I suspect that Deptford isn't the top of many people's list for a night out, and I can't remember ever visiting before I went to Australia, but since I've been back I have enjoyed the daytime economy. Now it was time to check out what the nighttime economy had to offer.

Vietnamese seemed the obvious choice for dinner and we decided upon Viet Rest close to the station. Armed with a few suggestions from my friend Angie we set about ordering a feast for our hungry mouths.

The summer rolls looked bright and fresh, perfect for the early summer vibe which was taking over London last weekend. They tasted pretty good drenched in the accompanying dipping sauce too.

Summer rolls at Viet Rest

The favourite dish of my dining companions was the special steamed rolls. The rice noodle rolls were filled with pork mince, covered with crispy shallots and served with sliced meat balls.

My favourite was the braised BBQ pork which came served in a tasty broth. It's hard for pork belly to ever go wrong. The noodle soups were solid, but not the best I've tried, while I definitely prefer the Thai version of stir fried morning glory (although this was the first time I've tried the Vietnamese version so perhaps we had a bad one).

Dinner for four was excellent value at £45 including (non alcoholic) drinks. We tried to live a £5 tip and it was handed back to us indicating we shouldn't over pay. Is it offensive to tip in Vietnam?

 Special steamed roll

After dinner, and once we'd resolved my geographical incompetence, we visited Little Nan's Bar for some cocktails. The small bar is arranged like your nan's living room, with comfy chairs and drinks served in tea cups. All of the cocktails have excellent names like Queen Victoria, Mojito of Kent and The Paddy Ashdown.

We tried three tea pots, which serve 4/6 cups and are amazing value at £12 each. While enjoying the retro sound track and having a good old natter. It was just a shame I forgot my knitting.....

Cocktails in tea cups

More food porn from Viet Rest:

Stir fried morning glory

Braised BBQ pork

Pho Bo

Duck Vermicelli Soup

Check out all of the places I've eaten at in London on my map. My top choices are marked with pink pins.

Viet Rest
113 Deptford High St
London 
SE8 4NS 

Restaurant Review: Panda Panda, Deptford

Stewed beef soup at Panda Panda in Deptford

Vietnamese food is a cuisine I love and struggle with all at the same time. The best Vietnamese meals I've had have been with friends who have ordered all of the dishes. I, stupidly, have never taken note of what we've eaten and am then flummoxed when I try and go solo.

Discovering, to my surprise, that Deptford has quite a few Vietnamese restaurants I decided to check one of them out by visiting Panda Panda for a quick Friday lunch. Panda Panda's menu has been entirely Anglicised with the banh mi simply called 'baguettes' and is the 'stewed beef soup' a pho?

Mango bubble tea

Becks started with a mango bubble tea (£2.50) that I drank quite a lot of. I tasted just like a mango lassi with bubbles. I ordered the triple pork special noodles (£6.50). A bowl of rice noodles topped with beansprouts, cucumber, coriander, mint, chopped peanut and chilli and three different types of pork. It was tasty, filling and I have no idea if it is an authentic Vietnamese dish.

 Triple pork special

The stewed beef soup (£5.50) had a tasty broth filled with a lot of carrots and beef. It was a tasty soup but all those carrots made it different from the pho I've had before. (I have since been told it isn't a pho.)

My sweet tooth got the better of me so I decided to order the mango sago pudding (£2.50) for dessert. I was a bit surprised when it came in the form of a drink. It was nice enough, but I preferred the bubble tea / mango lassi.

Mango sago pudding

Panda Panda was a good way to ease into Deptford's Vietnamese scene. Now to try somewhere where the menu is written in Vietnamese....

Panda Panda
8 Deptford Broadway
London
SE8 4PA

Bánh Mì: Vietnamese pork roll taste off

Chop Chop, $6.50

I've fallen into the lovely routine of two unofficial lunch clubs. One with friends from the DTWC and the second with a group of a group of food bloggers.

At our previous lunch at Minum there were parting calls of "Vietnamese rolls next time?". Those calls led us to Wynyard park on a sunny Friday with a collection of Vietnamese pork rolls from around town.

It might be a food blogging crime, but I have to admit I know very little about Vietnamese food. Should I order regular or BBQ pork? Chilli or no chilli? And what constitutes a good bánh mì anyway?

I'm still largely clueless. The bread is obviously important in any sandwich, as is the preparation so you get some of every ingredient in each bite.

No one likes a dry sandwich. Moistness comes from the paté and a little bit of mayo (I think). But you don't want too much so you have a big gloopy mess. Fresh vegetables and the pork complete the deal. The chilli in a bánh mì seems to be of the fiery variety, so I prefer it to be applied sparingly or not at all.

Phuong from Hunter Connection was my choice. A total steal at only $4. Flavour wise it was one of my favourites with a nice balance of paté, pork and vegetables. The disappointment was the bread. It was a fluffy torpedo roll.

Red Roll from Wintergarden had a crunchier roll. However, overall it was a bit sweet and the strong chilli nearly took my head off. I couldn't taste a lot other then the chilli.

Taste Baguette's roll felt like the premium product of the day, but at only $6.50 was in the middle of the price range. A French style baguette with lots of fresh salad. There was a little voice at the back of my head asking if it was an authentic bánh mì?

Chop chop could have used more filling and it was a fluffy white roll which isn't my favourite.

Phuong's filling in Taste's bread would be the winner for me.

Phuong, $4

Red Roll, $6.90

Taste Baguette, $6.50

Phuong
F10 Hunter Connection
7-10 Hunter St
Sydney


Taste Baguette 
Met Centre
1a/68 Market Street
 Sydney


Red Roll
The Wintergarden, Shop 13, Level 3
1 O'Connell Street,
Sydney

Chop Chop
36 York St 
Sydney