Vietnamese has never been a cuisine I have much delved into. Funnily enough, the Yorkshire dales never nurtured much of a food scene for it. And so, on reading a most impertinent review by A.A.Gill, Critic for the Sunday Times, where he described Vietnamese eatery Mien Tay as the sole reason for crossing the river, I was sold on checking it out.
The place is a tiny little cubby on Lavender Hill, Battersea/Clapham Junction. Its utterly thriving trade must be based entirely on its reputation for quality, because if you judged it on appearances alone, you would surely never dare enter. Shabbier than your average high street chicken shop, and with less peculiar service. Prepare yourself to be either shouted at or ignored entirely. But all this is made worth it by some deeply fabulous fare.
Begin with the quail, grilled with honey and spicing. It’s served with table salt and lime. This won’t be explained to you, but squeeze the lime into the salt and use it as a dipping sauce. Don’t be afraid to eat with your hands- it’s the only way and it’s that sort of place anyway. Just fabulous – bitter char and sweet honey. Sour with lime, salty with…well, salt. The stuff of my dirtiest dreams.
The place is a tiny little cubby on Lavender Hill, Battersea/Clapham Junction. Its utterly thriving trade must be based entirely on its reputation for quality, because if you judged it on appearances alone, you would surely never dare enter. Shabbier than your average high street chicken shop, and with less peculiar service. Prepare yourself to be either shouted at or ignored entirely. But all this is made worth it by some deeply fabulous fare.
Begin with the quail, grilled with honey and spicing. It’s served with table salt and lime. This won’t be explained to you, but squeeze the lime into the salt and use it as a dipping sauce. Don’t be afraid to eat with your hands- it’s the only way and it’s that sort of place anyway. Just fabulous – bitter char and sweet honey. Sour with lime, salty with…well, salt. The stuff of my dirtiest dreams.
Grilled Quail
The spring rolls are also excellent and unlike any I’ve ever had. The wrapping is composed of multiple, crispy strands, resulting in something that looks almost like cylindrical mini filled bird nests. Far crispier than the usual paper like wraps. Fresh rolls with prawn are also good- they’re ice cold and wrapped in ‘rice paper’, gelatinous (in a good way) wraps made of rice or tapioca starch. They could improve their prawn crackers, which arrive in bucket loads at your table – these were no different than you’d get at your average take away and are at odds with the high quality of the other dishes.
 Fresh Prawn Rolls in Rice Paper |  Spring Rolls |
Mains wise – everyone raves about the goat with galangal. And with good reason – it’s one of the nicest things I’ve eaten in a while. Really strong in deep meaty flavour, born from the goat and the spicing. A dark sauce, punctuated with twangs of galangal and ginger. It’s really really good. Also delicious is the beef in rice paper; a sort of stir fried, spiced beef served alongside rice paper wraps for you to construct your own rolls. I was less impressed with the stir-fried duck with cashews – it was a little fatty, lacking the crisp saltiness of properly rendered skin. Another issue with Mien Tay is its variability. I’ve eaten there a lot now and ordered the same dishes frequently. What you get tends to vary – and not in a good way. The first time I ate the Goat was mind-blowing, the second less so.
 Beef in Rice Paper |  Stir Fried Goat in Galangal |
But for a truly authentic experience of Vietnamese cooking, you can’t beat it. I went back 3 times in the first month. If you can brave the ferocious service and handle the bustle, you’ll love this place as much as I do. One of my South West London ‘must-go’s.
Average main course: £7.50. Starter: £4. Dinner for 2 with wine: £30
180 Lavender Hill Battersea Rise, London, Greater London SW11 5TQ
020 7350 0721
http://www.mientay.co.uk/
Average main course: £7.50. Starter: £4. Dinner for 2 with wine: £30
180 Lavender Hill Battersea Rise, London, Greater London SW11 5TQ
020 7350 0721
http://www.mientay.co.uk/
