Review: Mui Ngo Gai Offers Singaporean and Vietnamese Dishes

Interesting decor choice for this Singaporean/Vietnamese place

On Thursday an acquaintance invited me to check out a relatively new restaurant on Kingsway near Victoria Drive called Mui Ngo Gai, which serves Singaporean and Vietnamese dishes. Walking in was a bit jarring because the decor was very western, with a colour palette of burgundy and teal, floral murals on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 

A white guy in a tank top came in looking for a cheap bowl of pho and was frustrated he couldn't get one and walked out, while another group of non-Asians also left when they didn't understand the restaurant concept.

Grilled eggplant with tomato and shrimp

It's interesting Mui Ngo Gai offers these two different cuisines pretty much equally and in this western-style interior, where the wait staff wear uniforms that make them look like flight attendants.

Flipping through the menu you are overwhelmed by how many dishes there are; some are carefully explained, while others assume diners know what they are. The menu has lots of pictures which helps see what's in the dishes, but in some ways makes it harder to decide what to eat.

My friend likes to sample food so we were over ambitious when we ordered and probably lucky for us, one that we wanted wasn't available, so we ordered four dishes. Since we requested so much food, the waitress suggested we change tables, and we moved from the back of the restaurant to the front, by the window with banquette seating.

First to arrive was our only Vietnamese dish, grilled eggplant with prawn (C$25) that was presented on a very pretty plate and the eggplant looked like a fish, its flesh (alternating pieces of shrimp and tomato) covered in a tomato sauce. The eggplant was delicious and didn't need the prawns, or tomatoes for that matter. 

A bowl of congee with frog legs and dried chillis

Next came two small claypots, one with "porridge" or congee, the other was a black concoction with frog legs and dried chillis (C$23). We were instructed to put some porridge in our bowls and then add the frog legs and mix together before eating. 

The frog legs were delicious, very tender and had a spicy kick. Because everything was covered in a black sauce (not explained in the menu) that I didn't know I had bitten into a chilli. I had to order another glass of sour sop to douse the metaphorical flames burning in my mouth.

We also had a plate of lady fingers fried with sambal (C$25) that were on the stringy side even though they were sliced lengthwise -- they could have been poached first. 

By this point we were pretty full when a giant pot arrived with our fish head curry (C$68)! It was a big head of a snapper, but it was unrecognisable except for a giant pectoral fin hanging off the bowl. The curry had pieces of more okra and eggplant in there. Again the okra could have been chopped up instead of in whole pieces.

Fish head curry with eggplant and lady fingers

The fish head actually didn't have that much meat and sadly was a bit overcooked. Nevertheless the sauce was pretty appetising; we used roti prata (C$5) to mop up the sauce, but it was a bit too buttery for our taste.

Our waitress explained the restaurant didn't have desserts available yet (even though they were printed on the menu), but we were much too stuffed to try any; she also suggested next time we try the chilli crab, which sounded tempting!

Perhaps Mui Ngo Gai is trying to make Southeast Asian food more upscale with this kind of decor and service. The food almost matches this ambition, though the crockery used is very inconsistent. Nevertheless we hope to be back!

Mui Ngo Gai

2052 Kingsway

Vancouver, BC

(604) 876 8885