Ooh La La Du Du!

Com Tam

La Du Du in north west London is a Vietnamese restaurant clearly proud of its roots. The menu informed me that La Du Du means papaya leaf in Vietnamese. And did you know, proclaims a sign on the wall, that Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world? Frankly, I didn't - and I'm not sure I needed to but hey ho!

We chose a range of starters: the cha gio (or spring rolls) were deep fried, stuffed with crispy pork, prawns and lettuce. Quite delicious but a smidgeon too oily; I actually wiped mine on a napkin before eating - and it left a massive smear. The muc don thit - stuffed baby calamari - were less familiar but much more tasty, plump with filling that spilled generously when you cut into it. Finallly, to refresh the palate, our final sharing starter was summer rolls (goi cuon) - rice paper wraps enfolding pork, prawns, vermicelli, cucumber, lettuce, coriander and mint. These were light and genuinely reminiscent of summer, setting a high standard for the main course to follow.
From the wide range of entrees, my companion opted for the com tam - pan fried marinated pork chops served with shredded pork skin with roasted rice powder, steamed crabmeat cake with a fried egg on top. Oh and don't forget the mountain of rice that accompanied the dish. And yes it was as mountainous as it sounds. My companion actually considered asking for a doggy bag! While the pork was lovely and tender, the shredded pork skin was disturbingly gelatinous and floppy and we just didn't like it. The crab cake was a real treat though - meaty and fresh and beautifully seasoned. I had the com da ga gion - twice cooked marinated crispy skin chicken with tomato rice. Although this was a bit more usual shall we say, the portion was equally garguantuan and I only ate about half of it, which was a shame as it was delicious - like the best roast chicken you've ever had at a family dinner on a Friday night.

By this point, we were so stuffed that we couldn't even contemplate dessert but we agreed that La Du Du would be a great first date venue as the food provided enough talking points to keep even the most nervous suitor articulate, while the prices were reasonable and the restaurant itself sophisticated enough without being too formal.

Learn more or make a reservation via www.ladudu.com