Beef up on robust chargrilled dishes

Spacious: Moo's a typical example of the new restaurants in Ha Noi: They are huge, they try hard to satisfy customers and you get better service than the allegedly famed ones. — VNS Photos Nguyen Le Hung Scrumptious: Grilled steak seasoned with sesame and cream sauce. The steaks come in various sizes. Satisfying: The New York strip steak is simply delicious. You can still smell and taste the rosemary and pronounced char on the meat. Moo beef steak Address: Lane 52, Nguyen Thi Dinh Street, Trung Hoa, Nhan Chinh, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi Tel: 0975991984 Website: Moo beef steak.com Opening hours: 10am-11pm Price per person: VND 300,000 – 400,000 (US$15-20) Comment: A nice, spacious place to enjoy premium beef steak. Accepts all major credit cards.

The place isn't big, it's huge, sparkling with illuminating chandeliers that reflect a shade of honey out onto the street. The interior designer calls it Texan chic. The irony here is that the fine decor contradicts the name Moo, which was probably chosen by a five-year-old.

Like most restaurants that specialise in beef steak, Moo's menu is limited. But in this case, it seems a little too limited with around thirty dishes, just five or six options for each course. Clearly, this place still has a lot to learn about what else they can do with their beef to expand their menu. The problem here could be all about access. In Vietnamese steakhouses, all beef is imported, so it's ten times harder to choose the perfect beef, the one that gives you great texture and rich flavour. The price of raw imported beef is also very high, so steakhouses have to find ways to use as little beef on the menu as possible.

Moo's prices are generally affordable but not that different from prices of restaurants in the Old Quarter.

For appetisers, savour grilled beef kebabs with mango salsa (US$3.5 for two). They are slightly charred, but the richness, which is lacking in the beef, is made up for by the home-grown tropical spices, and they really whet your appetite. One of Moo's proudest creations are the squid rings with creamy passion fruit sauce ($3 for two). It's one half squishy, one half crunchy and a lot of fun. Accompanying these appetisers with an Italian minestrone is the right way to start your meal.

A perfect amount of time later, when the appetite is screaming at its highest note, the steak arrives. You can either order a chuck eye or rib eye, and both come in different sizes. The sensible choice is a large New York rib eye strip steak with red wine sauce and a large side of fries and tomatoes ($20). It is as good as non-aged beef steak can get. You can still smell and taste the rosemary in the grilled meat, and a pronounced chargrilled flavour. It's a joy to savour with a glass of red from the wine list, which ranges from non-premium to $95 a bottle, which by the way you have to buy by the bottle. If you are the old fashioned type, order a portion of Moo special, a large steak accompanied by a spinach salad, and of course, mashed potatoes, naturally. And what a steak it is. Even before I saw it I could smell it – the acrid top note of its charred exterior and the funky bottom note of prime beef seasoned with a simple dash of salt and pepper. I could even hear it, still sizzling from its time on one of the high-temperature griddles. The beef has a subtle tang, an intense mineral quality, an over-the-top richness and a variety of textures: crunchy at the edges and tender in the middle. Even my knife seemed to love the steak at it eagerly slid through the succulent meat. I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy, slow down.

But Moo definitely has a problem when it comes to consistency. I have visited it several times. Sometimes the steaks have a pronounced chargrilled quality and sometimes just a faint one. Sometimes the richness is overwhelming, sometimes it's hardly there. Sometimes they come medium rare as requested, sometimes they're slightly overdone.

Main course options also include a variety of spaghetti dishes and smoked salmon but honestly, they are just menu fillers and a little overpriced.

Small portions of beef meatballs and fried bacon are also available if you want a little extra cholesterol with your meal. I tried them but they're really not worth clogging your arteries over.

The only dessert served exactly as the doctor ordered is the fruit plate ($3). It's fresh and tasty as it should be. A variety of imported beers ($15/can) and liquors are also available.

The meal was quite satisfying. I definitely ate a lot. Sure I'll be back, unless my cardiologist gets wind of what I'm eating. — VNS

Beef up on robust chargrilled dishes

Spacious: Moo's a typical example of the new restaurants in Ha Noi: They are huge, they try hard to satisfy customers and you get better service than the allegedly famed ones. — VNS Photos Nguyen Le Hung Scrumptious: Grilled steak seasoned with sesame and cream sauce. The steaks come in various sizes. Satisfying: The New York strip steak is simply delicious. You can still smell and taste the rosemary and pronounced char on the meat. Moo beef steak Address: Lane 52, Nguyen Thi Dinh Street, Trung Hoa, Nhan Chinh, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi Tel: 0975991984 Website: Moo beef steak.com Opening hours: 10am-11pm Price per person: VND 300,000 – 400,000 (US$15-20) Comment: A nice, spacious place to enjoy premium beef steak. Accepts all major credit cards.

The place isn't big, it's huge, sparkling with illuminating chandeliers that reflect a shade of honey out onto the street. The interior designer calls it Texan chic. The irony here is that the fine decor contradicts the name Moo, which was probably chosen by a five-year-old.

Like most restaurants that specialise in beef steak, Moo's menu is limited. But in this case, it seems a little too limited with around thirty dishes, just five or six options for each course. Clearly, this place still has a lot to learn about what else they can do with their beef to expand their menu. The problem here could be all about access. In Vietnamese steakhouses, all beef is imported, so it's ten times harder to choose the perfect beef, the one that gives you great texture and rich flavour. The price of raw imported beef is also very high, so steakhouses have to find ways to use as little beef on the menu as possible.

Moo's prices are generally affordable but not that different from prices of restaurants in the Old Quarter.

For appetisers, savour grilled beef kebabs with mango salsa (US$3.5 for two). They are slightly charred, but the richness, which is lacking in the beef, is made up for by the home-grown tropical spices, and they really whet your appetite. One of Moo's proudest creations are the squid rings with creamy passion fruit sauce ($3 for two). It's one half squishy, one half crunchy and a lot of fun. Accompanying these appetisers with an Italian minestrone is the right way to start your meal.

A perfect amount of time later, when the appetite is screaming at its highest note, the steak arrives. You can either order a chuck eye or rib eye, and both come in different sizes. The sensible choice is a large New York rib eye strip steak with red wine sauce and a large side of fries and tomatoes ($20). It is as good as non-aged beef steak can get. You can still smell and taste the rosemary in the grilled meat, and a pronounced chargrilled flavour. It's a joy to savour with a glass of red from the wine list, which ranges from non-premium to $95 a bottle, which by the way you have to buy by the bottle. If you are the old fashioned type, order a portion of Moo special, a large steak accompanied by a spinach salad, and of course, mashed potatoes, naturally. And what a steak it is. Even before I saw it I could smell it – the acrid top note of its charred exterior and the funky bottom note of prime beef seasoned with a simple dash of salt and pepper. I could even hear it, still sizzling from its time on one of the high-temperature griddles. The beef has a subtle tang, an intense mineral quality, an over-the-top richness and a variety of textures: crunchy at the edges and tender in the middle. Even my knife seemed to love the steak at it eagerly slid through the succulent meat. I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy, slow down.

But Moo definitely has a problem when it comes to consistency. I have visited it several times. Sometimes the steaks have a pronounced chargrilled quality and sometimes just a faint one. Sometimes the richness is overwhelming, sometimes it's hardly there. Sometimes they come medium rare as requested, sometimes they're slightly overdone.

Main course options also include a variety of spaghetti dishes and smoked salmon but honestly, they are just menu fillers and a little overpriced.

Small portions of beef meatballs and fried bacon are also available if you want a little extra cholesterol with your meal. I tried them but they're really not worth clogging your arteries over.

The only dessert served exactly as the doctor ordered is the fruit plate ($3). It's fresh and tasty as it should be. A variety of imported beers ($15/can) and liquors are also available.

The meal was quite satisfying. I definitely ate a lot. Sure I'll be back, unless my cardiologist gets wind of what I'm eating. — VNS