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Imagine sipping your mulled wine with the world famous Qutub at the backdrop on a cold chilly evening? The city’s au-courant Ambawatta complex that also happens to be the poshest shopping and dining complex right in the heart of the city sees this new Vietnamese all day kitchen and bar in town- CHO. A reflection of the street food and regional favourites of the Mekong Delta and Nguyen Dynasty, CHO is surely displaying a wide variety of Vietnamese flavours. CHO, that was opened to public this month is the brainchild of chef Vaibhav Bhargava, Samrat Banerjee and Sujan Sarkar.
Décor
The moment you enter this 160-year seater place wall-painted murals and hand-painted tiles catch your attention. The place sees a very well divided indoor, outdoor and terrace seating area. The use of wicker, bamboo and steel in the interiors give a feel of Vietnamese household. Overlooking the city’s revered Qutub Minar, thw word CHO is derived from the word ‘CHÔ nhà’, which means a cottage or a home in Vietnamese.
The broad arches and lush of greenery outside and those cane chairs makes for a very comfortable dine-in place. If you are sitting in the outdoor seating near the arch, don’t miss the beautiful neem tree, trust me that makes great for clicking pictures.
Food
The menu that sees street food and regional favourites from Vietnam has been carefully crafted by chef Vaibhav Bhargava. He has shown his expertise with brands like Guppy by Ai, Viet Nom and more. As I comfortable sat sipping in my Vietnamese High Ball the small plate of peas and avocado mousse topped with edamame seeds and paper-thin vegetable chips was served. Next followed was the iconic Pomelo and Grapefruit salad in which the rice crisp and peanuts gave the right amount of crunch. This one was absolutely fresh and flavourful. Next on the plate was Vietnamese tapioca dumplings served with chilli oil with bright micro-greens followed by tofu hidden in a rice paper rolls and prawns in a rice paper rolls in the non-veg option. They taste absolutely fresh. As Vaibhav comes for a little chit chatted he actually explains how he has taken the effort to elevate each dish a give it a new facelift. One dish on the menu that changed the whole idea of Vietnamese food for me was Tenderloin in betel leaves.
For those who are vegetarian try the warm crispy eggplant, where the eggplant is garnished with peanuts and glazed with chilli caramel sauce. Chef Bhargava has absolutely made sure that each dish the flavour brings out authenticity. Not miss the part that here all locally-available ingredients are mindfully sourced. He has created a Vietnamese pizza with a rice paper base with chicken salami toppings and some siracha and mayo dressings. This reflects the fun street side eat. The main course is not complete if you have not tried the PHO HOANG-Tenderloin noodle soup made with sliced sirloin, meatballs, rice noodles, onions, cilantro,18 hour simmered roasted marrow and oxtail bone broth. For desserts I was served Choux with Water Chestnut Mousse, some Tres leches.
With a sharing style menu, Vaibhav has also focused on creating or customising the dishes with dietary restrictions with gluten-free and vegan options. Don’t leave the place without clicking a picture with Qutub at the backdrop and sipping some Vietnamese coffee as the place do boasts of a great coffee menu.
We have also got the recipe for Vietnamese Tofu Mushroom Pizza
PREP TIME: 5min COOK TIME: 10 min TOTAL TIME: 15 min
COURSE: snack CUISINE: Vietnamese SERVING: 1 pizza
INGREDIENTS
• 1 no Rice paper
• 1 no Egg
• 20 gm Spring onion
• 50 gm Grilled Sillicon tofu
• 20 gm Kewpie mayo
• 20 gm Sriracha
• 50 gm Sauteed mushroom
METHOD:
Heat cast iron pan on low to medium heat. While that's heating, mix egg and half of the chopped spring onion.
Place one sheet of rice paper in the pan and pour on the egg mix, spreading to the edges immediately with the back of a spoon. Rotate the pizza a few times with tongs to make sure it's not sticking.
Cook the grilled silicon tofu and sauteed mushroom, sprinkle over the pizza.
Swirl as much mayonnaise and sriracha as you'd like on the top and leave the pizza to cook for an extra minute or two, rotating every now and then until nice and crispy. Sprinkle over with the remaining spring onion.
Serve by either cutting into slices - or a more authentic experience - fold the pizza in half / thirds and wrap in newspaper to eat by hand.
