Savour Authentic Flavours
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday April 2, 2003
If you thought Wollongong had no more room for another Vietnamese restaurant, think again. Twins has a fresh new edge, writes JESSICA HOUGH.
AS you're walking down lower Crown St, Wollongong looking for a place to eat, you may pass the new Twins Vietnamese restaurant in favour of one of the cute eateries with footpath dining.
But Twins has something better than alfresco dining to offer. It has a beautiful tree-lined courtyard at the rear away from the noise and smell of traffic.
The narrow restaurant located next to Santana Books and Coffee is modern but unpretentious and there's plenty of seating inside.
The restaurant served its first meal on Thursday and is already attracting decent crowds.
Twins chef Bao Tran says the main difference between his restaurant and others is the attention to detail.
Mr Tran, who has worked in Wollongong's hospitality industry for 20 years, admits Vietnamese cuisine in Australia has been modified for a different palate, but says he's going back to fundamentals.
``What I'm cooking here, it's more traditional. Most other places it's not. It's half Vietnamese and half Chinese; it's for Australian tastes. Here it's more traditional," he said.
This philosophy is evident in the food which is more flavoursome and varied than usual offerings.
But if you like your current Vietnamese restaurant and don't want to get any more adventurous, fear not, the Twins menu has all the favourites.
On the dinner entree menu is prawn rice paper rolls ($5.50), vegetarian mini spring rolls (four for $5) and chicken skewers ($7). There's a great range of soups and salads and on the main menu there is a large selection of vegetable, chicken, beef, pork, duck and rice dishes.
There's also a seafood section that will make your mouth water.
If you are in an adventurous mood, however, go straight to the Chef's Suggestion section of the menu which has the traditional Vietnamese meals. You can have sizzling bone fire beef, salt and spicy fresh king prawns, steam boats and shaky beef (bon luc lac).
A few of the Chef's Suggestions are for two people so you can take someone along for experience.
Twins also has a versatile banquet menu which makes eating in larger groups a lot easier.
Suddenly when you think you've tried them all, Wollongong comes up with another offering.
The lowdown
What: Twins Vietnamese
Where: 55 Crown St, Wollongong
Contact number: 42289919
Hours: Monday to Saturday, lunch from 11am till 3pm and dinner from 5pm until 10pm.
Food: Vietnamese.
Chef: Bao Tran.
Vegetarians: There's a vegetarian version of nearly everything on the menu.
Crowd: So far, it's business people at lunch and tourists at dinner.
Seating: Approximately 100.
Wheelchair Access: No.
Cards: Yes, all.
Bill: Lunch for two with a shared entree, two mains and drinks is around $27, and dinner for two with entrees, mains, coffees and corkage is around $60.
Licence: BYO only (but conveniently located near the Oxford Tavern).
Drinks: Tea, soft drinks, iced coffee and tea, juices, coconut juice, milkshakes, hot chocolate, brewed coffee and espresso.
Parking: Have to take your chances on lower Crown St.
Takeaway: Yes.
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury