Red Lantern in Surry Hills
For our anniversary dinner last night, the Snook and I finally got to try out Red Lantern in Surry Hills. I’ve been wanting to go there ever since they were featured on Heat in the Kitchen on SBS a few years back. They do authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and I was in the mood for some seafood. (For those that don’t know, I was a confirmed pescaphobe for most of my life. I *never* ate any seafood at all – not even fish fingers – until I moved to Australia. Suffice it to say, I’ve gotten over myself.) The service was great, friendly and attentive from the start. I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t get the tasting menu – it’s only available for parties of 4 – but our waiter was able to recommend his favorites from the normal menu. We started out with the Goi Cuon (traditional rice paper rolls). They were very good, with lots of mint and large prawns peeking out. There was a spicy peanut-based dipping sauce too. (Truth be told, I think I prefer the Lime & Garlic from Chop Chop, but this was still very nice.) We also went for one of the entree specials: grilled scampi (i.e. langoustine). I’d really only ever seen these on Iron Chef before. ZOMG, SO GOOD. Sweet, creamy meat – not fishy in the slightest – with luscious butter and black pepper and coriander on top. Between the two of us, we were scraping the shell clean in our desperation to savor all of it. For the main, we had the house speciality Cha Chien Don, whole fried snapper with fish sauce, lime, and ginger. It was BEAUTIFUL. The meat came off in juicy hunks, and I even found myself scrabbling after the crispy skin. (Me. The pickiest child in the world eating FISH SKIN. My mother’s head will be spinning, I tell you.) We were too full for dessert, so I finished the night with a Vietnamese liqueur coffee that was so strong it’d curl your hair. So in summary, I had three courses with seafood and I loved all of them. That’s pretty much the highest recommendation I can give right there. (Also, langoustine might be the new truffle. I MUST HAVE MORE.)