Island restaurant makes specialty of seafood

Sunset: Mango Restaurant on Phu Quoc Island makes the best of a sensational location. — VNS Photos Traditional: Rice paper rolls (Goi cuon) are even more delicious when you wrap them yourself. Great location: Watching the day turn to night over a peaceful sea makes the dining experience more pleasureable. Mango Restaurant&Bar Add: Ong Lang Beach, Phu Quoc Island Tel: +84.77 398 16 93 Hours: 10.00am to 10.00pm Price: VND60,000 to VND390,000 Comment: Wonderful sea view, fresh seafood and vegetables

For years the restaurant and bar has been seducing customers with its charm. The decor and structure made of local natural materials is subtle yet fresh and reflects the chic image of the eco-resort.

Mango Bay's restaurant is located only metres from the sea, touched by cool breezes.

Following a suggestion from our waitress, our choice was baked fish in banana leaf, a favourite with western tourists.

The succulent barbecued seafood with complex flavors was especially delicious, and was served with vermicelli and herbs, accompanied by a traditional peanut sauce and chili dip sauce.

Linh, the chef, has tried to capture the essence of Phu Quoc with a menu offering a diverse selection of seafood using fresh local produce.

She offers a wide variety of Asian flavours, with typical Vietnamese dishes and others from neighbouring countries, as well as a more westernized selection.

We also ordered a seafood hotpot with prawns, squid, fish and vegetables, served with a spicy stock.

While the broth simmered, we tossed all the ingredients into the hot pot, enjoying the pungent smoky aroma.

Another dish we enjoyed was a rice paper roll with colourful fillings arranged in a small palm-leaf conical hat. The roll contained red prawns, light pink pork, green herbs and lettuce leaves, and white-rice vermicelli.

Wrapping a rice paper roll is an art. If you're not clever enough, it will easily break because the paper is quite delicate, especially when it is wet and soft. But if you wrap it yourself, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and your enjoyment of the food and experience will be enhanced.

For dessert, we had mango and banana cakes with chocolate sauce. We poured honey over the top of the cakes, which were covered with crispy golden-brown rice paper, and dipped them in the sauce.

The savory organic food served at the restaurant includes fresh seafood or vegetables handpicked from the island's gardens.

Drinks are a specialty as well. "Staff training is something that we take seriously and our bartenders have been trained by a professional mixologist," said Le Bihan Ronan, general manager of the resort.

"We want to give our guests the feeling that they are truly on a relaxing holiday when dining at our restaurant," he said. "The service is attentive, yet relaxed and welcoming. Even background music is chosen to blend into the sounds that nature around us provides."

Mango Restaurant is one of the pioneers in Viet Nam taking part in the pledge to take endangered blue-fin tuna off its menu, as part of the global "Out of stock, out of excuses" campaign.

Along with the delicious organic food, the resort has environmentally friendly architecture designed to make the most of the dramatic view and at the same time blend in beautifully with Phu Quoc's landscape.

The resort, which uses natural materials whenever possible, was the first in the country to use rammed earth for its rustic bungalows.

Among other sustainability initiatives, Mango Bay supports the local community, uses wood, thatch leaf and locally made furniture, and has planted over 7,000 trees in Phu Quoc's forest. — VNS

Island restaurant makes specialty of seafood

Sunset: Mango Restaurant on Phu Quoc Island makes the best of a sensational location. — VNS Photos Traditional: Rice paper rolls (Goi cuon) are even more delicious when you wrap them yourself. Great location: Watching the day turn to night over a peaceful sea makes the dining experience more pleasureable. Mango Restaurant&Bar Add: Ong Lang Beach, Phu Quoc Island Tel: +84.77 398 16 93 Hours: 10.00am to 10.00pm Price: VND60,000 to VND390,000 Comment: Wonderful sea view, fresh seafood and vegetables

For years the restaurant and bar has been seducing customers with its charm. The decor and structure made of local natural materials is subtle yet fresh and reflects the chic image of the eco-resort.

Mango Bay's restaurant is located only metres from the sea, touched by cool breezes.

Following a suggestion from our waitress, our choice was baked fish in banana leaf, a favourite with western tourists.

The succulent barbecued seafood with complex flavors was especially delicious, and was served with vermicelli and herbs, accompanied by a traditional peanut sauce and chili dip sauce.

Linh, the chef, has tried to capture the essence of Phu Quoc with a menu offering a diverse selection of seafood using fresh local produce.

She offers a wide variety of Asian flavours, with typical Vietnamese dishes and others from neighbouring countries, as well as a more westernized selection.

We also ordered a seafood hotpot with prawns, squid, fish and vegetables, served with a spicy stock.

While the broth simmered, we tossed all the ingredients into the hot pot, enjoying the pungent smoky aroma.

Another dish we enjoyed was a rice paper roll with colourful fillings arranged in a small palm-leaf conical hat. The roll contained red prawns, light pink pork, green herbs and lettuce leaves, and white-rice vermicelli.

Wrapping a rice paper roll is an art. If you're not clever enough, it will easily break because the paper is quite delicate, especially when it is wet and soft. But if you wrap it yourself, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and your enjoyment of the food and experience will be enhanced.

For dessert, we had mango and banana cakes with chocolate sauce. We poured honey over the top of the cakes, which were covered with crispy golden-brown rice paper, and dipped them in the sauce.

The savory organic food served at the restaurant includes fresh seafood or vegetables handpicked from the island's gardens.

Drinks are a specialty as well. "Staff training is something that we take seriously and our bartenders have been trained by a professional mixologist," said Le Bihan Ronan, general manager of the resort.

"We want to give our guests the feeling that they are truly on a relaxing holiday when dining at our restaurant," he said. "The service is attentive, yet relaxed and welcoming. Even background music is chosen to blend into the sounds that nature around us provides."

Mango Restaurant is one of the pioneers in Viet Nam taking part in the pledge to take endangered blue-fin tuna off its menu, as part of the global "Out of stock, out of excuses" campaign.

Along with the delicious organic food, the resort has environmentally friendly architecture designed to make the most of the dramatic view and at the same time blend in beautifully with Phu Quoc's landscape.

The resort, which uses natural materials whenever possible, was the first in the country to use rammed earth for its rustic bungalows.

Among other sustainability initiatives, Mango Bay supports the local community, uses wood, thatch leaf and locally made furniture, and has planted over 7,000 trees in Phu Quoc's forest. — VNS