Madame Hanoi: Adelaide’s touch of Vietnam
Madame Hanoi dishes up a safe version of Vietnamese for Adelaide’s out-of-town crowd. But why the ordinary pho?
Son-in-law duck eggs from Madame Hanoi. Picture: Mark Brake (Source: News Corp Australia)
The Pitch: Once upon a time, someone at Adelaide Casino woke from a deep slumber and realised they had two potentially excellent restaurant sites on-title, but not much going on. So they did a deal with Irish-born chef Sean Connolly to front the beautifully designed and realised space that is now Sean’s Kitchen, and another with Auckland-based Australian chef Nic Watt (Masu) to consult on Madame Hanoi. Madame is the more recently opened, a three-level, deceptively large space that has been turned into an Indochine theme park. “A desire to feature dishes that are both uniquely Vietnamese and unmistakably French, sit in unity alongside dishes that harmoniously blend the two,” says the website.
The reality: The early-20th-century structure that is the casino/railway station has been transformed delightfully, and the location — on North Terrace, among the hotels and public building — is perfect for a restaurant. The French colonial theme has been carried through at great expense and with considerable design integrity. And that extends to the crockery and general presentation. You won’t blink and suddenly think you’re in Hanoi, but it’s the kind of easy option a traveller — staying nearby — needs. With Adelaide’s entrenched, value-conscious Asian food culture, a lot of locals are going to see MH as, perhaps, a little bland and a little expensive.
The cuisine: Madame Hanoi is to Vietnamese what Jamie Oliver is to Italian. And the franchise with Mr O’s name on the shingle is doing very well, thank you, just down the Terrace. So, as an introduction to Vietnamese flavours this might be a gentle push-out from the shores and on to the lake. Anyone with a solid feel for the cuisine will find it a little emasculated. The guff about “dishes that are unmistakably French” is a little unconvincing. A couple of toasted sandwiches — croque or otherwise — don’t really make a solid case for French colonialism.
Highlights: The look. I like it. And there’s a striking, detailed mural of the restaurant’s namesake with suggestive anatomical detail. You’ll need to visit. Son-in-law duck eggs in piquant tamarind sauce are a fine snack, as is a salad of salty confit duck leg with watermelon, tomato leaves, herbs and hoisin. On the bigger dish roster, a soupy tamarind-based hotpot of prawns, eggplant and lemongrass is a good thing too, with rice on the side and a spoonful of their sweety-sour salad of shredded green mango, papaya, peanuts, chilli and lime. The wine list is extensive and, while not overpriced, is in line with the casino’s P+L expectations.
Lowlights: Pho. It’s all about the broth. Bones and lots of spices, most notably star anise. A Vietnamese restaurant without great pho is on shaky ground. Madame’s pho is fake pho, all watery broth, soft noodles and round-eye Asian. Get it right. In the end, it’s all, you know, kinda safe. The prickly edges of fermented sauces and chilli, pungent herbs and spice have been honed fairly hard for a mum-and- dad audience.
Will I need a food dictionary? No, the translations seem perfect.
The damage: Compared with trad Vietnamese restaurants, expensive. Compared with competitors, such as Jamie’s Italian, reasonable.
Address: Adelaide Casino, North Terrace, Adelaide, (08) 8218 4166, adelaidecasino.com.au
Style: Vietnamese-ish
Open: Lunch, dinner daily
Rating: 3 out of 5
Source: The Australian , John Lethlean, July 6th 2015
