Caramelized salmon cooked in a clay pot– Ca Kho To – $20.50
Duck Salad – Goi Vit – $10
Prawn Wrapped Sugar Cane – Chao Tom Banh Hoi – $12.80
Chinese Broccoli with Garlic – Cai Ro Xao Toi – $13.50
Bay Tinh’s Famous Ballotine of Chicken – Ga Rut Xuong – $27.50
Bay Tinh’s interior.
Leaving Bay Tinh.
Bay Tinh is a little Vietnamese restaurant conveniently located just down the road from where I work. I’d never been there before, but I’m usually up for eating Vietnamese food, so it wasn’t too hard to convince me to go along and try the Crows Nest branch of the original Marrickville shop.
On a Tuesday night, Bay Tinh was full. An older crowd, the menu had a wide selection of food with many safe menu items – meaning that you could easily go here with, say, my Mum – who is scared of South East Asian cuisine because it’s all “too spicy”. Sigh. But this is a good thing… I can go eat Vietnamese food for a family dinner and my parents can feel a little bit cultured and then we all go home happy. Done and done.
I decided to opt for all the Chef’s Specialties, because why not? If the chef says it’s good, then I’m going to believe them. First up were prawns wrapped around sugarcane which is eaten in lettuce with veggies and spices. I’ve had this, and loved this at other Vietnamese restaurants, and this one was no exception.
It seemed that everyone was ordering the duck salad, so we jumped on the bandwagon and ordered one too. I didn’t expect a salad resembling a san choy bau to reach our table, nor for the waiter to suggest eating it like a mini burger. But hey, it was fresh and a tiny little bit spicy plus I like eating anything that has any association with a burger. Even if it wasn’t really.
Their famous ballotine of chicken was… Confusing. It didn’t look Vietnamese at all. I’m guessing the French influence was heavy on this one. But what was most confusing about it was that it looked like a chicken, but it has the consistency of chicken loaf. Alongside the chicken we ordered some greens, just to be a little healthier. The sauce was quite thick, and the vegetables weren’t overcooked which can ruin a nice, simple dish like this.
The final dish was a salmon which was very sweet and saucy. But so many bones (and not little ones) made this one treacherous dish to eat. I wouldn’t say this was a great date dish as you would spend a fair bit of time picking bones out of your mouth.
So if you’re in Crows Nest and don’t really feel like eating Japanese (gasp) or pub food, perhaps wander down Falcon Street to Bay Tinh for some Vietnamese.
Bay Tinh Crows Nest’s details
Address: 6 Falcon St Crows Nest, NSW, 2065
Telephone: 02 9438 5118
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 5.30pm – 10.00pm
Website: http://www.baytinh.com.au/
Fashimi was a guest of Wasamedia and Bay Tinh. Thanks guys.