Cham Cham cafe
..I felt a bit drained…from all the working and the alcohol the night before….it’s 9 hours onto the next day and we’re making our way to the Paragon.
I was not particularly that hungry…nor was I felt excited about food court food in Vietnam. Cham Cham Express kind caught my eye. Paragon is always empty whenever I was there so the food court was kinda the same… The name stood out.
The menu was confusing. They had 4 – 5 sets: western, thai, viet, indian, and something else. But what triggered my ‘trial’ was the ad behind the counter ‘ KhaisilkCorp’. So I thought ‘his’ resto in Dien Bien Phu I’ve been….it’s odd enough to have a average food named after the rich dude….does he do food court?
For 50.000VND I opted for the western…it reads:
1. Pumpkin Soup
2. Salad
3. Beef Lasagna
I find the combination weird enough. The plate arrives in a stylist -ish setting. With a glass of coke…..
Normally food court is kind fast food….and they dont car for plating and sizing is also big….so diners feel value for money. This is quite the opposite. All of the dishes are small portions, esp the ‘beef lasagna’, a round slenderly thin piece of food.
Dig in…
I was amazed…pumpkin food had some cumin and asian spices…so it was not the too rich kind. Salad was mainly lettuce, slices of tomatoes but the onions slices must have been marinated in vinegar before hand…and a few slices of red cabbage. The ‘lasagna’ was of course not the kind we all expect with cheese, thick, oven feel, and creamy. The filling lies inside 2 extra thin layer of flour….I dont quite recall the taste right now but it was mince alrite. And a full swirl of tomatoes sauce/ketchup.
For 50.000VND it’s actually not bad. Compare to my 70.000VND usual Korean tofu soup….I did not feel too full, but a pleasant experience. It was not wow or anything remotely high cuisine but it was just right. Maybe it was also a quite environment versus the one in Hung Vuong where is always packed, noisy, and you feel like you have to hurry eating. This place is the opposite.
Im hoping to try Indian taste on the menu next time….odd but fun.
