HA NOI

GC: EAT

HA NOI

LIMASSOL

Like most of the places we review, I have often driven past them a million times and never gave the place much thought. Sitting at home craving some Southeast Asian food, I was surprised to find that the place that was often a blur in my rear-view mirror whilst driving past the entrance to Dassoudi beach, this under the radar eatery had the highest score for Asian food in Limassol.

How could this be possible when I had been to every Asian place in the city and never heard of it?

Taking my offspring eating partner with me, I explained we were going to have Vietnamese food which was met with silence (which is usually worse than ‘Daddy, it has bits in it’) that gave me trepidation and the long-held knowledge that we would have to make a second trip on the way home to fill her up with food…however, we hit the jackpot.

When you get there, don’t expect The Ritz as the seating is limited and best to be outside in the hot summer months. However, this shouldn’t take away from the fact that it is one of the best restaurants based just on its food in Limassol. That’s not to say it is slum like conditions, far from it is clean and comfortable. The service is great, and it does give off the real Asian vibes of eating near a loud street where you can smell the amazing cooking coming from the kitchen.

I must confess I did go a bit over the top when I ordered, which could easily have fed six people. But it all looked so delicious from the pictures. One thing I implore anyone visiting is that you order their signature dish called Pho, of which you can choose many of the different iterations.

If you are not aware what this is, it’s a Vietnamese noodle soup with or without meat in it. This could easily be a meal on its own and you would be perfectly happy. We went deeper into the menu ordering various dumplings, sesame prawn toast, seafood spring rolls, garlic beef pho, stir fried beef with shaking (I was going to order more, but the waiter stopped me) and to finish one banana fritter and one apple fritter. I found the food not as heavy as Chinese or Thai and has an incredibly diverse menu which is something you do not find in other local Asian restaurants. From experience most of them are just serving the greatest hits of Asian cuisine such as Pad Thai and cashew chicken.

When you visit, push yourself to try something which you would not normally get, as it will all be of an incredibly high standard and give you confidence to try other dishes when you return. You will not be disappointed. I almost feel sad writing this review as it will become more challenging getting a table and filing my face, with what is without doubt the best Asian food in the city. This place is well worth a visit any time of the day. Finally, since the first visit we have returned three times to eat, with each time improving on the last. The big-name restaurants do have their place, however this easily rivals any of them for food quality and that feeling of being in central Hanoi with its street ambience. *I liberated the pictures from the internet as I forgot to take some. PM for photo credit.