The walk from Vineyard Cafe to Maya Bar is a well known route cutting through those monolithic Huanglong stadium beams, arms, legs and tracks and so it was with quite a surprise to see that a restaurant has opened somewhere amongst that lot. And a Vietnamese one to boot. The location is a little curious and the name more so – The Locomotive Vietnamese Restaurant (火车头越南饭店). There is no railway, nor train anywhere near this part of town. Anyhow, mental note to go.

Viewhangzhou seems to write pretty positive reviews about places. There are too many good known restaurants to canvas and comment about to bother re-visiting a crappy one, but I am just keen to go to a restaurant never before visited and have a terrible time eating inedible food so that I can rant about how awful the place is. Well, the Locomotive, sadly, yet again isnt that place.

The place doesn’t get any real prizes for the decoration, although there is nothing wrong with it. The big heavy black granite tables look good, and the banks of benches and chairs are comfortable. The restaurant hasn’t yet finished it’s soft opening phase and the menu is not yet completed – still some photos to go and so ours was a simple bound photocopy. And there seems to be a lot of stuff on there – loads of milkshakes and other fruity looking things, not really my thing so skipped on to the beer. Thank God that came quick and cold.

They’d had a big evening when we got there, typically late. Much of the curries were gone and I am not sure that our noodles really were the famous Pho. What we got came fast and was good; spring rolls were great and came with a spicy sauce, clams in a Thai style Tom Yung Gong that packed in the heat, and some other bits and pieces.

The owner is Chinese, but has lived for years in Vietnam and owns restaurants there too. The food was pretty good and well priced, but, despite never having been to Vietnam I just got a small feeling that the grub wasnt amazingly authentic. However it’s right behind Vineyard Cafe, so it might be worthwhile popping in there before one of Wade’s bashes.

The Locomotive Vietnamese Restaurant | Xixi Road, behind Zhongtian Building
火车头越南饭店西溪路

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