Le Dalat
47/1 Sukhumvit Soi 23
Tel:02 260 1849

I have heard many good things about this place over the years, but have never somehow got round to trying it out. It was a birthday I could not ignore, and since it was not mine, I did not think a six-course gastro treat would be appreciated so I ended up at Le Dalat.

It was a Wednesday and I never thought of booking. In the end we were okay but had to wait fifteen minutes for a table, although soon after there seemed to be plenty of room. So it looks like there is an early rush and the second sitting is around 8.30. The location is in an old house with the dining room split as per the original rooms. The décor is a mass of old pictures and objets going back to the Colonial glory days of Viet Nam.
The appetizers on the menu are mainly different spring rolls. I was once again in a Vietnamese restaurant wishing they had a mixed starter plate, but now I had to try my hand and got in (luckily) very right. I ordered two spring rolls - one fried and one described as ‘fresh’. The first item to arrive was two plates of greens - one lettuce and one herbs. Within the lettuce plate there were a few pickles including some sweet pickled onions. The first real dish to arrive was the fresh spring rolls. They were described as thinly sliced minced pork with herbs and annamese condiments. They were unsullied with cooking and were light and aromatic. Not what I expected at all, when I ordered spring rolls. Next up came something that was exactly what I expected when I ordered spring rolls, fried and filled with minced pork, prawn and crab meat. I enjoyed them both.
As I was uncertain about the starters, we waited until we finished them before ordering mains. We had watched a large crab appear on the next table and that is what On wanted. It was described, we were told, as fresh sea crab fried in our infused sweet and sour tamarind sauce. Obviously Le Dalat has a good supply of large crabs and it was devoured with enthusiasm. I had the mutton curry cooked with Malabar spices. This came with baguette or rice. I found this curry fairly uninteresting and it was nowhere near hot - in truth rather bland, whereas the crab claw I purloined was first rate.
For finals, we had apple and banana fritters which were suitable flambéed at the table.
I had started with a very pleasant bottle of Gewurztraminer from Alsace which went so well with this food I wanted a repeat, but they did not have one. So I had a bottle of Aussie Gewurztraminer Riesling which was marginally too sweet.
On the whole, a very good meal in very pleasant surroundings which the birthday girl enjoyed.