Oi Vietnam – August 2019

OI VIETNAM 47

mocktails as they do with their cocktails.

Mocktails are mostly overlooked and

discredited as drinks for those with an

abstention to alcohol. At Blank they

are made with a variety of different

native spices, fruits, vegetables, herbs

and juices, they are just as rousing and

imaginative as their boozy counterparts.

The limoncello martini (VND190,000),

salted lime pisco sour with kumquat

juice (VND220,000), and Bombay

sapphire with pho herbs (VND200,000)

will make your sunset afternoon distinct.

So, what do you do when your lounge

is inside the newest iconic skyscraper in

Saigon? You compose everything just as

impressive as the view. 

poached egg, cashew cheese all on top of

a slice of lightly toasted sourdough bread

with a smear of Thai basil pesto and it

indeed becomes a flavor explosion of

savory, sweet and sour. The side of salad

with fish sauce pairs well with the smoke

and salt from the salmon and caviar,

creamy flavors from the cheese and egg,

and the garlic from the basil pesto.

Then there is the buffalo roll

(VND130,000), with pho flavored

buffalo floss, banh hoi noodles, an

assortment of peppers, carrots cucumber,

pickled purple cabbage and accented

with basil fish sauce, and vanilla and

carrot sauce. Perfect for sharing with

your date, client, or friends.

I would also recommend the

tiger prawn and scallop ceviche with

coconut crackers in a creamy coconut

sauce (VND170,000). For snacking;

the pho-spiced buffalo jerky (Yes, pho

spiced!), and coffee coated cashews

(VND140,000). For those with a

sweet tooth, the coconut mousse with

passionfruit (VND140,000) inside of a

chocolate casing shaped to look like a

coconut shell will satisfy.

Blank's beverage program takes the

meticulous and time-consuming onuses

of making their own syrups, limoncello

and bitters. What also sets them apart is

that they pay equal attention to crafting

We had a broad array of dishes,
with the beetroot cured salmon toast
(VND260,000) as the most brilliant
choice among a stellar selection. The cured
salmon could stand with the legendary
Russ and Daughters' from the former
Jewish enclave of the Lower East Side of
Manhattan. Add the black caviar, perfectly

Assorted Munchies

Salted Lime Pisco Sour

Stranded Coconut