two hungry bees

Just a tiny word about the most delicious Vietnamese meal.  Saturday night saw me at the Hill Station Cafe, attending a pop up evening hosted by Two Hungry Bees (find out about them on Twitter as @twohungreybees).  I have walked past the Hill Station many times and, day or night, it is always inviting, buzzing with activity.  But each time I walk on and think 'soon! Another time'.

But back to the food.  I had that wonderful experience - rare as an adult - of tasting new flavours and ingredients.  An inauspicious nettle-looking leaf with a very distinctive flavour (Red Perilla) was beneath some shredded salad; we wrapped it all up in the leaf and dunked it in the dipping sauce.  Heaven!  Later, making our own summer rolls I found the pretty 'heartleaf' to add in with the salad.

New, too, were combinations of flavours, which made me completely redress the way I look at some very ordinary ingredients.  Zinging herbs, chilli, lime, noodles - all turned into something quite new when put together.  I have no idea what is in it, but always, always I love the thin, astringent dipping sauce for spring and summer rolls.  New to me too was the rice pancake we wrapped the summer roll in, with its improbable thin, brittle texture transforming into sticky cling film, in which to envelop a modest few items.  Rice pancake and vegetables with a few flakes of salmon somehow transformed into the most fresh, flavourful mouthfuls. The stock to make Pho is a mystery to me - and can stay that way, as long as I can get to Mo Pho or the Two Hungry Bees market stall once in a while!

But most of all that evening, I enjoyed the warmth.  Our hosts talked about their family food and demonstrated how dishes are usually eaten.  From this lovely, intimate presentation, to the welcoming people I sat with who shared their evening with me, to the pretty Cafe itself, which always exudes laughter.  Only this time, I was on the inside.