INDOCHINE
Food & Wine | Food
Iconic NYC hot spot
Retro Glamour
French-Asian Specialities
In a city that never sleeps, some things are constant. Indochine, thankfully is one. As soon as you step into the luxuriance of its tropical interior, with its iconic banana-leaf print wallpaper, plantation style wicker chairs, colonial décor and profuse foliage, you'll be transported to a glamorous era when the clientele here were just as lush. Famous for being almost as famous as its legions of fabulous fans, in its 1980's heyday pop stars, models, glitterati and the elite, from Grace Jones to Jagger, all flocked here for the see-and-be-seen scene. If its boldly patterned walls could talk, they'd tell a saucy tale or two; its no surprise therefore that this legendary NY spot is one of the few restaurants that can boast its own glossy coffee table book Indochine: Stories Shaken and Stirred. But the pleasures Indochine presents go way beyond the literary - Indochine does not rest on its laurels (or banana leaves for that matter) and presents sensory pleasures also in its cuisine. The menu is comprised of a combination of French-Vietnamese, Chinese and pan-Asian flavoured dishes. Start with a refreshing sliced beef salad given a fruity sweetness and subtle heat from the spicy tamarind sauce. The Steamed Vietnamese ravioli is given depth with Shiitake mushrooms meanwhile the Summer Roll of Vegetables is fresh with crisp greens and served with an unctuous black bean sauce. Fish dishes include Amok Cambodgien, a rich filet of sole with coconut milk and served in the thematic banana leaf, Crispy Whole Red Snapper served with Asian cabbage and sweet and sour pimento and Sea Bass, served steamed with ginger-soy broth on a bed of baby bok choy. Meats are also flavoured with Asian spices and rich pastes, standouts being the Hanger Steak marinaded in chimichurri and miso soy sauce with thai eggplant and the deliciously sticky five-spiced Roasted Boneless Cornish Hen. For dessert Asian Pear Wontons are crisp yet melting inside or perhaps in homage again to the banana wallpaper, the sweet steamed variety comes drizzled with coconut milk tapioca. Cocktails like the Lychee Saketini get the party in full swing. No question that today at Indochine, as its retro-fans would no doubt agree, much 'satisfaction' is guaranteed.
Contact
Indochine
430 Lafayette Street
New York,
NY
USA
10003
+001 212 505 5111
www.indochinenyc.com
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