As promised in my Mikuni review, here is the second of my two favourite restaurants in Frankfurt: Toan is the Vietnamese owner and head chef of the restaurant of the same name - in his kitchen he produces some of the most gorgeous food you will find in Frankfurt, certainly not the most complicated and sophisticated dishes, but nevertheless offering wonderfully combined flavours and aromas in a great variety. If you haven't tried Vietnamese food before, imagine Thai food taken up by about 20 notches... You will find spicy dishes, owing their heat to red chillies of various "seriousness", but also a large range of mild or medium spiced dishes, fragrant from lemongrass, coriander, mint and many other aromatic ingredients. Soups are even better than in Thailand (Tom Yam fades to insignificance next to some of the Vietnamese soups) and the salads are not unlike the ones you can find in Northern Thailand, but yet different and often more delicate.
The restaurant's website is in German only, unfortunately, but the standard menu and the suggestions menu are available in Vietnamese, German and English. Here are my top favourites: Canh chua tôm, an absolutely unique and irresistible soup; Pho, the traditional rice noodle soup with beef - best enjoyed as a main course if you're not too hungry (or binged on too many starters already); all of the dishes listed under "Cold Appetizers" - the salads (and the summer roll is basically a rice noodle salad rolled into rice paper) are all in their own league and all worth trying; the baked sole which is served with a ginger sauce - even most of the best Italian restaurants in Frankfurt will struggle to prepare a better sole; Bo La Lot, grilled beef in lot leaves, a mild but again very aromatic dish; and from the suggestions menu: Muc nuong toi, spicy grilled squid, served with a crushed black pepper, salt and lemon dip; Vit quay sot me, duck with tamarin sauce - simple, but very well prepared; and Ga nuong la chan, grilled boneless chicken legs with lime leaves, served with mixed veggies and garlic rice. The online menu is missing page 2 from the suggestions menu (probably because it includes frog legs, which may upset some people) but includes another gorgeous dish, stuffed chicken legs with tamarin sauce, an absolutlely brilliant dish. These are just my personal highlights though because they are either very difficult to find elsewhere or just especially well prepared - you will also find classic curry dishes, stir fries, chicken saté, spring rolls, etc. which are also very good. Ah yes, and my oldest daughter and I disagree on the best pudding (there isn't much choice but these two are very nice): grilled banana in coconut milk (my favourite) or Banh bi, a sesame / coconut ball with vanilla ice cream.
Toan is located near the Frankfurt Zoo and easily reached by Underground (U6, U7 to Zoo) or car (if you really can't find a parking space in the road, go to Parkhaus Zoopassage. Prices are very moderate given the quality of the food and there is a good choice of Cocktails. I have never looked into the Wine list but if you're interested just post a comment and I will check it out next time I go.
9/10 - I have tried a good number of Vietnamese restaurants, including "extensive research" in Vietnam, and this is as good as it gets - I dread the day when Mr. Toan will retire!
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