Review: Lo Quay – Not the Vietnamese Cuisine That Most Would Imagine

In a city where there are plenty of Vietnamese restaurants to choose from, Lo Quay makes its debut with a re-imagination of the Southeast Asian cuisine. Helmed by Chef Quynh Brown who previously came from contemporary izakaya Zuma, Lo Quay means “discover” and is her invitation to guests to explore her thoughtful, bold reinterpretation of Vietnamese cuisine. Here, the country’s vibrant and familiar flavors are recast with contemporary techniques.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the ground floor shophouse unit that Lo Quay occupies are the number of artworks hanging on the wall. Many of them depict memories that Chef Quynh had growing up in Saigon and practicing rooftop farming with her grandfather during a challenging time in the country. These art prints were actually made using AI, although the extremely vivid and lifelike details made me question that.

I was invited by the restaurant to check them out, where I tried the Discover menu (S$148) which comes with 12 courses. Lo Quay also offers a 4-course menu that starts from S$98.

We started with 4 cold snacks, with the Amela Tomato, Shiso and Soursop setting the tone of the meal with its balance of sweet and sour to open one’s appetite.

This was followed by a trio –

The Wagyu Tartare, Onsen Egg, Shrimp Salt Puffs were delightfully crispy with hand-chopped wagyu tenderloin, cured quail egg yolk, mayonnaise and shallots sitting on top of a shrimp puff.

The Amberjack, Pomegranate and Umezuke is done up sashimi style with the tangy flavors of sorrel leaves, fresh pomegranate seeds and pickled Japanese plum.

Lastly, the Pate Choux, Scallop, Ikura was akin to a small burger. It’s made of kaffir lime pate choux with Japanese scallop mousseline, ikura pickled in shiso amazu and kimchi remoulade.

After the cold snacks came a series of 3 hot snacks –

The Oyster, Bone Marrow, Caviar featured Murotsu Bay oyster from Japan blanketed in hollandaise sauce, aburi searing and a dollop of hybrid caviar.

Fruity young jackfruit with meaty undertones came to define the Jackfruit, Tomato, Tamarind course. The medley of flavors was a novelty to me. Partly fruity and also somewhat savory, this was a play on “cha ca,” the Vietnamese grilled fish dish from famous Hanoi restaurant Cha Ca La Vong.

The last hot starter was the Obsiblue Prawn, Sticky Rice, XO – fried and coated with sticky rice. The prawn was sweet and tangy and came with a prawn head that has been cooked tempura style.

One of the most talked about dishes at Lo Quay is their interpretation of Pho Bo. This can be seen as a bite-sized version of the iconic Vietnamese dish, with no noodles and using offal bits in addition to wagyu. The broth, which carries a rich beef flavor, takes 18 hours to make.

Another bite-sized version of an iconic dish, the banh mi here is presented in a puff pastry. Inside, there’s grilled Iberico pork jowl with pork crackling, house made pork liver pate and kombu butter. The shape and consistency of the pastry harkened some similarities to Singapore-style tarts. I loved the flavorful filling. However if this dish wasn’t called banh mi, I would not have easily made the connection. 

Prior to the mains, we received a salad as a sharing dish. Made up of pickled kohlrabi, endive, red chicory red, orange, baby gem lettuce and shallots; the salad is tossed in calamansi juice and tamarind miso dressing. There’s also a bit of peanut as garnishing, lending an extra crunch. 

For the mains, diners are given the option to select between a lamb, fish, duck or wagyu dish. We chose the latter which comes with a supplement of S$18. The 100g MB 7 Australian tenderloin wagyu came with 2 sauces – a pumpkin puree as well as squid ink puree. The beef was tender and well-seasoned although the Vietnamese element here was less pronounced. 

We ended the meal with the Cafe Phin Parfait, Espresso, Dulcey. Inspired by Vietnamese coffee, the espresso kahlua parfait and condensed milk gelato made for a rather intense pairing with the coffee flavor being quite pronounced.

While the Vietnamese elements were rather subtle overall, I would have to say that I tremendously enjoyed the Discover menu at Lo Quay. The dishes contained elements that I tend to like in a dinner – tangy flavors, a juxtaposition of textures as well as pleasant surprises and here and there. If there is anything else I would look for, I would probably wish for a carbohydrate dish – this being a Vietnamese-inspired restaurant after all.

Lo Quay
88 Amoy Street
Singapore 069907

+65 3129 7556