Xich-Lo

TrustedBot ^{Business Member}

8th February 2007

0 found this helpful

Xich Lo restaurant is another 'dream come true' for Norwegien Chef Odd Arne Braute and his Vietnamese wife, May. Pronounced ´Zit Low´, it is the name of Vietnam´s cycling rickshaw.  The museum like entrance showcases this low slung bike connection between this particular mode of transport and the restaurant´s unique name. 

The menu is anything but traditional Vietnamese street food.  Some dishes are not recognisably Vietnamese, but distinctly European, like the beef tenderloin with sautéed mushrooms and red wine sauce.  And every dish is paired with a recommended wine.

The owner/chef, Odd Arne Braute is Norwegian and his Vietnamese wife, Mai manages the front of house.  The couple have spent years studying Vietnamese and French culinary traditions and have newly opened this London restaurant having owned the first Xich Lo in Oslo since 1996.

Chef Braute is highly trained in the French tradition.  This French approach influences many dishes on the menu, but he has had the sense to leave Vietnamese classics alone.  East – West fusion is difficult to get right, but the Brautes excel at it!

Xich Lo´s Set Dinner Menu at £25 with 7 different dishes chosen daily by the Chef.  It is served over 3 or 4 courses, with a choice between 2 mains, served with plain or Xich Lo tasty rice, as well as a dessert. 

Chef´s Speciality Dish

The Chicken Salad Goi Ga is an excellent version of shredded white meat, green papaya, carrot and lotus root, given a kick with nuoc cham, the Vietnamese herb rau thom and a peanut dressing.

Or for dessert - an amazingly smooth and tangy passion fruit creme brulee, an artwork of a biscuit with a scoop of light coconut sorbet inside, topped with a chrysalis, exotic fruit and with a berry coulis on the side.  Simply sensational!