Secret Cottage Cafe Dining & Boutique

title_image

Since Tripadvisor rated this restaurant 48 out of 3850, my hubby & I decided that we should go and check it out for ourselves. After all, since it was in District 1, it would make perfect sense to visit yet another authentic Vietnamese restaurant. Oh yes, this is what we constantly do every night; searching and blogging about every new restaurant we've been. I think we do qualify to be food bloggers for this country.

Firstly, the name sounds so secretive that it calls for all our curious cells to be activated. From the comments from Tripadvisor, it seems like a difficult restaurant to find in this city. And I have to 100% agree with it. We actually got lost at first because we got distracted by other available restaurants along the way but we stood firm to finding this secret cottage !

The entrance from the street is totally impossible to find. We almost missed it if not because of the signage which we so happen to see as we looked up into the sky. Even then, we did not knew that we had to walk into a shop that was selling handbags and souvenirs and eventually find a small stairway at the back; walking up the stairways, we still weren't sure that we were on the right direction. Not until we reached the top floor ( after 2 flights of stairs ), that we realised we have reached our destination. Mr Google would surely not be able to help us in directions !

Thankfully, we were greeted by the wait staff who welcomed us and brought us to a high bar table facing the streets of HCMC. The interior of the restaurants seemed rather holy and spiritual if you asked me; with lots of Chinese Buddha statues all around us. There was even a huge Buddha looking statue situated in one corner. One part of the restaurant seemed to be under renovation or construction which I consider strange that it is even allowed to be operational under such a condition.

The menu was impressive though with many selections and photos to help us decide. I was too busy taking photos that I left the decision to my hubby. We ordered an appetiser & a rice dish to share. The rice dish was one of the Signature dishes in Vietnam - Broken Rice. Not sure what is the history for broken rice but I have seen it being served in many other Vietnamese restaurants but never tried it before. So, this was a tryout for both of us.

The appetiser was excellent. 4 different varieties with 2 pieces each; so we each had 1 piece to ourselves. But, we didn't fancy the broken rice very much. The texture of the rice wasn't fully cooked and had burnt after taste - I felt it was too hard for me so we didn't finish it. But the BBQ pork meat that was served with the rice was tasty. I ordered the passionfruit tea drink for myself - sweet and sourish, just the way I like it!

There were at least 3 other tables with diners catching an early dinner like us; all with different orders on their tables, all uniquely presented. I do like the way the place is decorated especially on the chinaware used. I wonder where did they get their plates and bowls; they are very impressively carved.

In terms of ambience & service, it has gotten full score marks from us. Food wise, apart from the broken rice, I would give them an 8. But, there was an incident when we arrived at the restaurant, which I would give them a 0 for hygiene level. I'm not sure if it's me but I seemed to have this sort of attraction for rodents ! I saw a tiny mouse running along the pipe lines above the bar counter.

Oh yes I did ! I was contemplating not to dine there but hubby said we should give it a try or perhaps I was wrong. I am 100% sure I wasn't but instead of making a scene, I obliged and went along.

Would I return here again ? I'm not sure. Would you ?