Friday 19 August 2016

Low Carbing When Eating Out


This bowl of delicious salad happened a few months ago. When? I forget. I was at Du Viet Uptown Damansara for lunch. At the time I was on my low-carb eating plan (yet again). So. No rice. No noodles. Though I was really hankering for some beef noodles.



I had the whole place to myself. Every time I come to Du Viet, be it during the day or evening, the place seems desolate. Maybe it's because I am usually early. After all, they have been in operations for many years, so they must be doing alright.

Since I could not eat rice or noodles, I opted for the Dry-Style Noodle Salad with a special request for the noodles to be substituted with extra vegetables. What I appreciate is that the restaurant happily obliged.


While waiting, three customers walked in and took the table beside mine. They were very chatty and I could not help eavesdropping. 

The guy was telling the two girls how much he loves angkoo kueh. He bought 10 it seems and told his mum not to touch any because he wanted to eat all of it (hah..hah...). Then he said that he loves angkoo kueh because of the chewiness. Hey, me too. I'm an angkoo kueh fan too.

Anyway, I stopped being a busybody and focused on my salad.

The dressing is not exactly low carb as it contains sugar and peanuts. 

This salad is the Special Mixed Grilled served with Skewered Lemongrass Chicken, NZ Lamb and Beef. What I like to do is to remove the meat from the skewers and mix it into the salad. Ouch! The meat was piping hot! Which is a good sign.

I love the two salad dressings, one a vinaigrette and the other a peanut sauce. I was happy that I was given a very generous serving of vegetables in lieu of the noodles.


I just mixed it all up. The meat was tender and succulent. And very very tasty. 


That was a very good salad and one I would opt for when I am in need of a low-carb meal. However.......there is a however. There were occasions when the meat was hard and dry. So, there is no consistency here.



I did not have a good experience one evening when I was there with my partner. I requested for the special beef noodles without noodles and to substitute with more vegetables.

They could have given me more beansprouts (which don't cost much) but they did not (maybe they ran out). The beef slices were hard and dry. Not only that, I detected the smell and taste of rotten onions in my soup.

My partner's chicken noodles did not fare any better. We requested for steamed chicken but the meat appeared to be some sort of dry processed meat. Maybe they ran out of fresh chicken and just used the next alternative.

Needless to say, both of us did not feel too good the next day. I should have spoken up that evening. No, not to the people at Du Viet. But to my partner. Actually I wanted to go to Ampersand hah..hah..


The only thing nice that evening. The cili sauce was very spicy. Yum!

28 comments:

  1. I must change my diet, learn to eat like what you did...

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  2. Everything also point back to Ampersand. Sh*t! I really must try to find my way there when I go back to KL... >.<

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  3. The meat...inconsistent? Hard and dry? Rotten onions? Processed chicken? Well, that's probably the reason why the place is empty each time you're there. I certainly won't be back after just one visit! >.<

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  4. There are not many cheap Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, London. My regular, probably the cheapest joint has been around since the 70s and is usually good but on some days it's not. This eatery is usually packed with customers.
    I have learnt to look around at the food on other tables and will order accordingly ie simple wanton noodle (consistent) on their off day and other food on their good day.




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    1. That's the issue I have with the eateries here - inconsistency. If it so happened that you visited for the first time and the food is not good, then most likely you won't be back.

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  5. The food looks inviting and nice for me. I would normally request for any extras when ordering, just like your bean sprout case. Last night I ordered Nasi Lemak and asked them for extra sambal to maximum!! FREE!
    I still could not find time to visit Ampersand.. Haiks!

    Why you don't call your partner as my lahling or my hubs?? sounds so corporate... LOLOL

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    1. The food is actually good when they do it properly but it looks like they have mood swings hah..hah... OK, too corporate huh? Next time I call him my babe. LOL!

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  6. I love chewy angkoo kueh too! It has been a while since I had a good angkoo kueh.

    What a disappointment. Ruined your dinner with your loved one.

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  7. Oh? Not always good? The salad looks good. I have a post on quality control too, scheduled for sometime next week. Quite pissed off when one day, something is good, next day, not quite so. Yeah, the beef noodles sure does not seem very appealing but yes, the chili dip really looks awesome.

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    1. That salad is actually very good - on some days hah..hah...

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  8. ah...must be the usual Chef gone on leave that day

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  9. I think beef noodles don't have much carb cos the pho is so thin and the portion is also small. Next time pick ampersand over this place all the time!

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    1. Well, I haven't been back there. I wonder how they survived for so long.

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  10. here i thought the story would end with you and the other three customers striking up a conversation and friendship because of your joint love for ang koo kueh (which i love too, for the mungbean filling) ;)

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    1. Well, that did not happen hah..hah...because I am too shy :)

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  11. Well, that salad looks special, actually salad can be the main course also, not just appetizer, to me la! Hehe!

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    1. Yeah, salad can be the main meal for me too :)

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  12. Phong Hong,
    Glad that the salad was good and tasty. The boring me will just chew on boiled chicken and cherry tomatoes.

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    1. Hi Karen! I don't mind boiled chicken and cherry tomatoes. I will just add some dressing or soya sauce hah..hah..

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  13. So you are a fan of angku? Me too.. I like those filled with lots of beans and less skin.. (know what I mean?) I bought 5 boxes from Eaton, Penang yesterday, assorted mini angkus... Very soft and nice...

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    1. Oh yes, love angku! My grandma used to pan fry leftovers and it was so yummy!

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  14. You guys really have high tolerance, if I were you, I'll complain gao gao to those smelly onion and dry chicken meat >_<

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    1. We don't intend to go back again after this.

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