Aobaba - Vietnamese Baguettes in Dublin!

I was doing a bit of research this past week and guess what I found?! ANOTHER Vietnamese restaurant. HURRAY! It's called Aobaba and is located on Capel Street. I had some errands to run on Saturday so headed in that direction and grabbed some items to take home and eat in our sunny backyard. (BTW, this is set up more like a cafe then a restaurant. It's not full service dining, but there are some tables that you can sit and have your meal).

Abbreviated menu 

I ordered 3 Vietnamese Baguettes, Summer rolls (but mistakenly got Spring rolls- or maybe I mistakenly ordered them- not sure.) and Banh Cuon.  I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy wolfing everything down, but I would definitely go back again.

• The Vietnamese Baguettes were not as AMAZING as the ones (not a lot of meat in the sandwich) that I get in say San Francisco or Boston, but they were a good substitute. Also they were the size of my arm. No joke. For 4 euros, I would definitely be going back to get more. 

• The Spring Rolls-I thought I had ordered summer rolls (was trying to be healthy), but when I got home I had spring rolls in my bag. I was a little bit sad, but I got over it quickly. These tasted like my grandmother's egg rolls which are very different from my mother's egg rolls. It has pork and mushrooms where my mom uses chicken, carrots and bean thread (thin, clear noodles). Still delicious though! 

• Banh Cuon- This was my favorite of all the dishes probably because I can probably make the above two but have no idea how to make this one. It was delish and tasted like my grandmother's. I would DEFINITELY come back for this dish. 

I highly recommend this place. It's really inexpensive and relatively authentic. Enjoy! 

Little Luxuries

It's been FREEZING cold here this week, and there are no signs of the weather warming up. As a treat, the gals and I decided to hole up in the very swanky Westbury Hotel this weekend to attend afternoon tea. We dined on lovely little sandwiches, gorgeous sweets including macaroons, lemon meringues, brownies and red velvet cupcakes and, of course, scones. Warm tea, a cheeky glass of champagne and live piano music in the lovely luxurious tea room were the perfect topping for our afternoon. 

While this was on my to- do list and a lovely luxury, it's definitely a one time/very special occasion event. It was pricey for the food and desserts that came, but made us feel like we were in Downton Abbey. 

After that lovely treat, Hubby and I headed to Howth on Sunday to cozy up in a pub with some delicious seafood. I couldn't recommend King Sitric highly enough! They are a hotel and restaurant, and I LOVED the oysters there. We've been twice now. The first time we went to the fancy restaurant which was fine. This weekend, we went downstairs and I LOVED it. Definitely try all the oyster options they have. SO GOOD! 

Oysters three ways - Rockerfella, Raw and Bloody Mary- YUM! 

Neon 17

After the driving test diaster, I just need a cocktail and some girlfriend chats to forget my sorrows. Luckily, I had a date with some gals at the new Neon 17 on Camden street.  It's a cute place, and their  concept is "Asian Street Food". I checked out the menu before going and ...they had Vietnamese PHO!!!!

I had very very low expectations and I was right to go in with low expectations :)

This is what a normal bowl of pho looks like

Source 

And this was Dublin's answer to Pho

Um... not really the same at all. It was like a bowl of pad thai in soup. However, it was only 5.50 Euro and was filling. If you weren't expecting Pho, this would be a delicious bowl of soup. 

The restaurant was basically an upscale take away. You went to the counter and ordered food and then they bring it to you in take-away containers. However, there were bowls in the middle of the table so you didn't have to eat out of the take away containers. A bonus... every meal comes with a soft serve ice cream cone (random, but I'll take it!) Overall, it was good value for money and helped me forget how silly I was earlier in the day.