PROFILE BY BEST RESTAURANTS
A mother and daughter team run this authentic Vietnamese ship with an efficiency the navy would be proud of. Bay Hong, named after daughter Hong, is a restaurant that breathes simplicity and elegance dressed up with small iconic emblems from their homeland. The matriarch of the family has brought all her secrets to the kitchen, giving bright orange chopstick wielders some of the best Vietnamese cuisine this side of Saigon.
Pearl balls of sticky rice with marinated chicken, prawn and pork are a steady favourite among diners who, quite predictably, quickly move on to one of the lip-smacking sharing plates. Before you know it, you and your fellow diners will be lapping up tender beef mince, wrapped and grilled in lolot leaf and served on home-made square noodles with hoi-sin sauce, and thin-layered crispy mung-bean pancakes filled with prawn, pork, bean sprouts and fish sauce. The crispy skin whole fish in ginger sauce with roasted lime leaves has the bones ceremoniously removed at the table while the braised duck is wok-seared with mixed vegetables and comes served in an edible crispy noodle basket. Bay Hong has strayed from the stereotypical vermicelli noodles and pho that Sydney-siders have grown accustomed to, bringing a fresh and authentic interpretation of Vietnamese cuisine.
Annabel Wise