And just like that its time for another edition of my lockdown eating series! After seeing lots of people raving about the at-home option from Bia Hoi I knew I had to try it for myself. It’s safe to say I was absolutely not disappointed either! I ordered the vegetarian-for-two menu – so let’s see what was inside!
The Bia Hoi at-home menu changes each week and is $60 per person including a cocktail, which felt like excellent value given the amount of food! I also loved that they thought about all the details – the cocktails came with all kinds of garnishes and everything was really well labelled. While it was a heat-and-eat option everything only needed a few minutes to prepare, and also didn’t require lots of pots and dishes, so there were limited clean up afterwards! Anyway, on to the food!
There was an excellent mix of smaller dishes, salads and mains which allowed me to really turn this into a special evening meal. These mock-pork betel leaf skewers were an excellent way to kick things off, and I’m not even a huge mock-meat fan! The combination of the salad, rice noodles and mock pork made for a really fresh and flavourful dish, with just a hint of chilli for good measure!
The lemongrass grilled king brown mushrooms with crispy cucumber salad was a heartier dish, but absolutely no less delicious. The mushrooms were incredibly well marinated, and their rich flavour was perfectly balanced by the fresh, crunchy salad. I particularly loved that this only needed a handful of minutes in the oven before serving.
Another highlight were these rice noodles filled with mushrooms – clearly Bia Hoi know how to use mushrooms! Silky rice noodles, topped with crunchy shallots and bean shoots – what’s not to love!
The other main dish was this ‘mock fish’ with a tomato and dill salsa, and it was equally excellent. The ‘fish’ had a really delicious texture, and I have no idea how they managed to make the faux-skin so crispy, but it certainly lived up to the name. The salsa was heavy on the dill, which I loved, and this whole dish was perfect served over the rice that was also included.
There was also a dish of snow pea sprouts and garlic which was unsurprisingly right up my alley, but so delicious I didn’t get a photo! And while I don’t want to play favourites, this faux duck and banana blossom salad may just have taken that top spot. Crispy, crunchy, fresh – this salad covered all bases!
The combination of all this food plus cocktails made for a seriously excellent lockdown meal (or three!). In fact, it was so good I may have ordered from Bia Hoi again the very next week!
What have you been eating in lockdown? I highly recommend you give Bia Hoi a try!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!