The Hanoi Bike Shop (again) - Glasgow

I believe that I have, in the past, made it clear that I am a fan of The Hanoi Bike Shop. As such I’m not going to re-hash the great ambience, the amazing smells or the clean fresh flavours… OK so I might mention those flavours again, instead, I'll start this re-review with a recount of an absolutely true conversation that I heard from a couple on the table next door*:

Her: Ooh Jeremy, try this.

Him: Mmm, lovely.

Her: Jeremy, ooh that one, that’s lovely.

Him: Yes, lovely.

Her: Wow, Jeremy. Have some of this, it’s lovely.

Him: Delicious.

Her: Delicious Jeremy. You’re right, delicious.

Him: Delicious.

Classic.

  

Let's start this off by essentially showing you what a Vietnamese food coma looks like; starting off with prawn crackers with creamy peanut dip. Mmmmm, creamy peanuts.

Vietnamese BBQ Chicken with chilli and lemongrass oil. Smokey, soft and charred chicken with wilted greens smothered in garlic and fish sauce. This dish was, like the whole meal, beautifully balanced and a joy to eat. A jar of pickled veg (cauliflower cucumber and water chestnut) also turned up at this point and with a light, sweet freshness, it was a perfect accompaniment to the chicken. 

Spicy beef and belly pork with rice noodles and an incredible beefy broth as well as another load of greens in even more garlic (I was on my own for the evening which is probably for the best) came out last. The flat rice noodles were as soft and slippery as the beef and pork which was, quite frankly, a-maz-ing. The beef bone stock was frighteningly deep and although I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the ‘spicy’ pre-fix that the name suggests, it did come with additional chilli, coriander and thai basil to add as you wished. Which I did.

The menu recommends 3 to 4 dishes along with a couple of sides to share between two people. I had half of this and as you can see, it amounts to what I would like to describe as an absurd amount of food for one person. I did my damnedest but couldn’t quite finish the job. While I comfortably enjoyed my dinner settling in my tummy in the few moments at the end of my meal, I pondered on why I like this place so much. The atmosphere, the staff, the food? Yes, of course to all of those but more than that, I decided it was the little details that made this a go-to dinner destination for me when in the area. The home-made fish sauce on the table in a reused mineral water bottle, tastes as savage as it smells but sprinkle it (lightly) on a bowl of Pho and it transforms into the most magical of seasonings that brings flavours that you never thought possible to your lips. Similarly, the jars of chilli and lemongrass oil placed so innocently next to the chopsticks, invite you to stir and dash your bowl liberally. However, do so at your peril because behind the wonderfully fragrant citrus lies a punch that will keep you glowing for a couple of hours if you’re not too careful.

In short, I pretty much like everything about The Hanoi Bike Shop. I have no idea if the chef is authentically Vietnamese, classically French or anything inbetween. I don’t know if this will be the start of a chain that sucks the soul from the original, I’ve not even got anything to compare it to because I certainly don’t have the experience of what eating in Vietnam is like. What I do know is that if I’m ever lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn, I want it to be like this.

http://hanoibikeshop.co.uk
@hanoibikeshop

*Names have been changed for legal reasons.