In Vietnam, the drinking culture is all about being communal – you’d hardly find anyone having a beer alone and it’s even considered rude if you take a sip without the rest of the group. This means that for many travellers, one of the first Vietnamese phrases they will learn is “mot, hai, ba, zo!”, or “1, 2, 3, cheers!”.

By naming her restaurant after the toast, 33-year-old Vietnamese Amy Tran is clear about the experience that she wants to create at her two-month-old Viet barbecue restaurant 123 ZÔ (pronounced “yo”) in Geylang. “Drinking in Vietnam is a lot of fun. It’s noisy and there’s a lot of energy. If you go drinking, you’re gonna get drunk – that’s the Vietnamese way,” she tells us with a wide grin.

She also explains how the toast works. Basically, you’ll be saying it a lot. “Whole table is talking? Cheers! Talk to the next table of strangers? Cheers! When the conversation stops and you want to bring the energy up? Cheers!”

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg

Amy, who is from Hue (say “way”), an ancient city in central Vietnam, wants to highlight unique dishes from her hometown at 123 ZÔ. “Central Vietnamese food is not really represented in Singapore, except for a few dishes here and there. Vietnamese food is not just pho, banh mi and spring rolls – I want to introduce new items to Singaporeans through my restaurant.” These items include ‘nem lui’, a kebab-style dish that uses lemongrass stalks, and whole grilled snakehead fish.

Amy tells us she wanted to open a restaurant because she misses the experience of eating out in Vietnam, specifically, the streetside grill joints in places like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. “The way we gather and toast with friends is unique, and I want to recreate that experience here,” says the peppy boss, who used to own a bubble tea chain in Ho Chi Minh.

Compared to mookata, a Thai-style BBQ and steamboat hybrid that uses a domed pot (meats are grilled on the dome while the surrounding moat of soup acts as a hot pot), Vietnamese BBQ is less common in Singapore – there are only a couple of other outlets available here. Vietnamese grill is also more straightforward and less greasy (no fats from grilled meats dripping into a hot pot here), simply cook your marinated items on the tabletop charcoal stoves.

The distinct yellow-gold decor and colourful lanterns hanging at the entrance of the two-month-old Vietnamese grill restaurant are hard to miss among the shophouses at Geylang Road.

These are deliberate design elements meant to echo the iconic architecture style of Hoi An in central Vietnam. Many buildings in the city’s ancient town are bathed in a similar golden hue, which is commonly believed to symbolise luck and wealth, while paper lanterns are lit every night after the sun has set in the riverside town.

The interior of the 44-seater is also unmistakably Vietnamese, including an exuberant melange of non la (traditional conical hats) and leaf mats painted with scenes of Vietnam, and of course, low stools and tables.

Portable charcoal grills are brought to your table when you order the barbecue items. Expect to have your hair and clothes smelling of smoke when you leave – even if you go for the non-BBQ stuff – as most of the customers will be grilling their food around you. The eatery doesn’t use any exhaust hoods or ventilation system apart from fans. A K-Pop playlist keeps the lively ambience going, while friendly, attentive service is just a quick wave away should you need help with grilling your food.

The restaurant’s co-owner is Amy’s husband, Peter Tan, 46, who cheekily introduced himself as “my wife’s worker”. The Singaporean, who works in mergers and acquisitions, is often found recommending dishes and chatting with customers at 123 ZÔ.

“Vietnamese barbecue is not that common here. At the start, I’d say [our customers were made up of] 60% Vietnamese and 40% locals, so it’s been a little surprising that we’re getting more local customers through word-of-mouth and walk-ins. It’s very encouraging, especially when they’re open to trying our recommendations. We’re starting to get return customers too,” he says.

The couple met through mutual friends in Vietnam and has been married and living in Singapore for four years. Prior to opening the restaurant, Amy was a stay-home mum looking after two boys, aged two and four.

Now, her days revolve around daily visits to Geylang Serai market to select fresh ingredients, making sauces and supervising her three Vietnamese kitchen staff as they prepare, marinate and grill the meats and seafood.

Amy tells us the sauces are the star of the show here. “Vietnamese people like dips. A table will ask for at least five different sauces – we expect different dips for different food.”

The most popular dip is a vivid, orange sauce made from fermented bean curd, chilli and other “secret” ingredients. The salty-sweet depth provides a nice change from the more common soy sauce or fish sauce-based dips. This is a pungent sauce, and may be an acquired taste for some. However, if you like the distinct aroma of fermented bean curd, you will definitely enjoy smearing the briny dip onto grilled meats.

Red chilli, garlic and coriander are blitzed to form the backbone of the spicy and sour red sauce. We love the balance of heat from the chilli and acidity from fresh lime – it’s no wonder this versatile sauce is a crowd favourite.

Other specialty sauces include the bright and spicy green dip, which has a nice zing from the generous use of green chilli and more piquant compared to the red chilli sauce, and the sweet-sour brown sauce, which is a tamarind-based dip that Amy says is great with fish.

We find that most of the sauces are slightly more salty than what we’re accustomed to (the Vietnamese way, we’re told), so dip your grilled items with restraint to temper the sodium spike.

There are about 40 items on the barbecue menu, including familiar options like chicken wings, tiger prawns and various meat skewers. We recommend going for the more unique fare like ‘bo la lot’ or Beef Rolls In Betel Leaf ($2 per stick). After grilling over charcoal, the betel leaves become crisp and unleash an herbaceous fragrance with a mild bitterness, pairing nicely with the juicy, garlicky minced beef filling.

We enjoyed the pleasant, slightly smoky char of the crisp skin, which tears away easily to reveal tender, juicy meat. The marinade, which includes lemongrass and fish sauce, hits all the right notes – a simple and satisfying dish that’s great for sharing.

Amy tells us this popular street food item requires tricky preparation. The egg white and yolk are removed from the shell and seasoned with salt, pepper and fish sauce before being poured back into the hollow shell to be steamed at low heat for an hour. Grilled before serving, the resulting texture is akin to firm custard, and the tasty eggs are infused with a light smokiness from the charcoal grill.

These frogs (the whole frog is served here but not the heads as is common in Vietnam, whew) are served grilled from a charcoal stove in the kitchen, instead of at your tabletop, as stronger heat is needed to provide the level of char that Amy wants. The garlic-chilli marinade lends a slightly spicy flavour to the meat, and the chunky legs (with gulp, their webbed feet still attached), are especially tender and give a springier bite than chicken.

It’s notoriously easy to overcook quails, so we’re applauding the eatery for getting it right. The skin is evenly and beautifully browned, while the meat remains moist. Skip the dips during your first bites to sample the quail’s delicate and mildly gamey flavour.

The aromatic scallion oil and crunchy toasted peanuts work well to elevate an otherwise simple dish. Make sure you scoop up all the garnish when you’re eating the scallop to enjoy the explosion of flavours.

This is Amy’s take on ‘nem lui’, a pork skewer dish originating from Hue, her hometown. Typically served on lemongrass stalks acting as skewers, Amy’s version omits the sticks for convenience. Instead, we get a platter of grilled pork sausage, cut into strips, as well as pork crackling, Vietnamese vermicelli and sprigs of vegetables and herbs like Thai basil and coriander that you can use as filling for the rice paper wrappers. Order this as a refreshing accompaniment to the heavier grilled meats on the barbecue menu.

A fuss-free, affordable place to kick back with an ice-cold beer and experience Vietnamese street-style barbecue. We like how the meats are well-marinated but not overpowering, so you get to enjoy their original flavours before dipping them into Amy’s homemade sauces. The menu is expansive – we recommend visiting in bigger groups to try more items.

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg

Photos: Kelvin Chia