DO NOT GO HERE ...

I do not think I have ever 'discouraged' a reader on this blog to try a restaurant. This one is my first. It is not like it was BAD in block capital, it was just an unpleasant experience. This is how the story goes.

A member of our group wanted to sample Vietnamese food in Paris, a not often correct notion that the French knows something about Vietnamese food from colonizing the latter. Not quite, I have yet to find a real Viet-joint in Paris, after quite a few tries. We consulted the Concierge and was given this name 'Tan Dinh' ... 'one of the city's favorites' ... he claimed. Located at the end of a quiet street, a stone throw from an Indian curry house, it was not easy to find. There is no doubt Tan Dinh has seen better days, judging from the dusty awards decorating the stairway. After 5 days of French bistro fare we were dying for a noodle. The following was what transpired with the grumpy looking and not particularly well attired Manager.

"Do you have Vietnamese Pho like soup noodles ?"
"Where do you come from?"
"Hong Kong."
"I see, Hong Kong only serves low end Vietnamese food, hence you asked for noodles."
"We are a top end restaurant in Paris, we do not serve noodles here."

That ruined our appetite instantly but we were too tired to go elsewhere, and we did not dare to argue in fear we might be served something bad from the kitchen. Well, it was a quick fix. The dishes had little to do with Vietnamese cooking, adulterated low end pseudo-Cantonese with cheap ingredients was more appropriate. There really was not a single true blue Vietnamese item (except a rice roll look alike) but we soldiered on. We were hungry so we inhaled what was in front of us and left.

One last exchange for the record ... "Do you carry Vietnamese beer?" "Yes, Tsing Tao."  Hello? I rest my case and no, I did not ask for a card. You absolutely do not want to be there, trust me.