It’s simple: if you want to know what good Vietnamese seafood is, eat here. A Roi, extremely popular with locals and discerning Asian tourists, has menus in several languages including English, Vietnamese and Chinese. The old adage, ‘eat where the locals go’, couldn’t be more apt than when applied to rough and tumble A Roi.
On this visit there were over fifty diners but we were the only Westerners. Do not let that put you off. At A Roi you’ll be treated like royalty in a venue full of Vietnamese party spirit. And, just as it is at the more illustrious Golden Sand Resort across the road, you’ll be understood and served efficiently and with a smile.
A Roi is an unpretentious space, with solid wooden tables and plastic chairs (the larger ones thankfully), half in and half outdoors. On the floor several hefty plastic containers house the live seafood on offer.
Our banana flower salad was as good as I’d ever had – super fresh, piquantly dressed – a little tangy/a little sweet – a wonderland of different textures. ‘These grilled scallops are the best I’ve had in four years in Vietnam’, declared my companion. The other dish, rice speckled with squid, was pretty good too: light and not too oily as is common. But the big shock was the cost. With prices running between 60,000 and 200,000 VND (3-9 USD) we’d hit a gold mine.
