Restaurant review of Quan Viet Nam a now closed place on Dingxi lu in Shanghai.

Meaning “small Vietnam restaurant” it would seem that they got the naming a bit wrong. Firstly the restaurant on two floors is not particularly small. And then the food is, perhaps, not particularly Vietnamese. The Vietnam spring rolls (Y22) whilst delicious were not wrapped in rice paper and did not seem to contain cellophane noodles. With Hanoi taste baked mandarin fish (Y48) I expected something like cha ca but got a fish stuffed with galangal, lemon grass, and Thai basil, encased in a foamy almost meringue like egg. The Phnom Penh (isn’t that the capital of Cambodia?) fried rice noodles (Y22) were good with a slightly sweet taste along with the sourness of lemon juice. The food, whilst good, seems to be more South-East Asia inspired rather than authentic Vietnamese. Also, if you’re looking for a kitsch Vietnamese experience you’ll be disappointed, this restaurant is modern and minimalistic. Headset controlled staff are efficient and attentive.

Mark Andrews has written about everything from Japanese houses to heli hikes on New Zealand glaciers, test drives of Chinese cars to bar and restaurant reviews. He currently specialises in travel articles and reviews of Chinese cars plus articles about the Chinese auto industry.