Vietnamese Dinner @ Lotus Palace, AMU Plaza Hakata City, Fukuoka

 

"Hey let's go get some South East Asian food."

"Yeah lets go." 

A friend of mine who I have not seen for a long while wanted to have something different than usual. And since there is a recently opened Vietnamese restaurant, I think this calls for a timely visit. 

Welcome!

It was the first time I had been to Lotus Palace, which is located on one of the upper floors of the Hakata Station building complex. But being the behemoth that is Hakata Station, there will be something to be found here. And the top floors of the AMU Plaza, a shopping complex connected to the station, have something for everyone. Well, there is Din Tai Fung here as well! But that will be the topic for another day. This restaurant was pretty interesting as it has all the usual suspects from a Vietnamese establishment and more. There is pho on the menu. But it may not be easy to share. So rather, we picked a platter of different spring rolls, banh xeo pancakes, and a plate of glass noodles. And to clean them down, we ordered a pot of lotus tea. Well, got to play with the namesake right? 

Holy Trinity

The spring roll platter stood at a hefty 1650 yen. With 3 types of spring rolls and 3 types of sauces, it was something that was indeed special. They the classic deep-fried and fresh versions were tasty and a sure fire way to start a good finner. However, it was the slightly unusual one with steamed rice flour skin which was what I really enjoyed. 

This was pretty special

It felt more like a cheong fun, and in fact tasted a lot like one too. The texture was soft and silky on the outside. However, the skin was still pretty pliable and was able to support all the fillings. It was savoury and sweet, even without the sauce. It was pretty punchy too, as it seemed to be infused with a lot of fish sauce and black pepper.  

Massive!

And from something that was a simple one-bite wonder, to something that takes a lot of effort to chow down was the banh xeo pancake. Standing at 1520 yen, it was absolutely massive. Even the plate that it was in cannot contain it. Its golden hue and size did give out an impressive visual. Being crispy on one end and chewy on another, it was a bit tricky to break down and eat. However, it was absolutely delicious. The pancake was loaded with various vegetables, shrimp and seafood. With a small inclusion of coriander, it was filling but mildly refreshing at the same time. Not to mention the pancake batter was just bursting with coconut flavour. 

Vietnamese yakisoba

To round it all off was a serving of seafood glass noodles. It was simple yet pretty tasty. The seafood here was very generous with huge chunks of shrimp and squid. It was also incredibly spicy, even though it does not look particularly dangerous. The flavours here were well balanced and you can feel the charred flavours between each strand. Also, another filling entre and we did not regret in ordering it. 

A cuppa tea while trying to ignore the action next door. 

The total bill was about 5370 yen, which was quite modest considering the quality of the food. Also, we are in a slightly higher-end part of town, so such prices are not much of a surprise. However, the view of the place was amazing. We were placed close to a window and I really wanted to take a photo. But the couple next to us were getting a bit overboard with displays of affection and taking a photo may make us look like voyeurs. So I rather not cause any trouble. Still, it did not detract away from my enjoyment of this dinner. So if you fancy a go, then the address is as follows:

〒812-0012 Fukuoka, Hakata Ward, Hakataekichuogai, 1−1 10F