Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

 

After a couple of days of eating seafood and Vietnamese flavours to our liking at Flamingo Cát Bà Beach Resort, we started to miss our pasta. It seems to me that we all like the noodle-like pasta, be it our traditional way of having rice pasta or Chinese wheat pasta, or Italian pasta. At home, we'd have a pasta dinner where we'd make a chicken alfredo, my daughter's favourite, or spaghetti bolognese, everyone else's favourite. 

Our pasta crave took us to The Sea Restaurant, located in another building at Flamingo. The large space was well decorated and beautifully lit with bamboo rattan lanterns. The front desk, decorated for breakfast buffet at other times, looked like a boat ready to set sail. 

The overall vibe of the place was nice and calm, perfect for a long dinner, enjoying not just our food, but the fresh breeze, and most importantly, each other's presence.

To start with, we ordered a mushroom cream soup (VNĐ142,000), which was smooth and tasted just right: the mushrooms were well sautéed, the soup wasn't watery and the amount of cream was enough to make it rich. 

As we browsed the menu, the most striking item on it was the beef on a hot cast iron with egg and a special crab pate, served with chips and buns (VNĐ500,000).

Our team consists steak lovers. They immediately dived for the beef on the hot cast iron plate. The meat was tender and juicy in a bed of mild sauce.

The egg was nice, but we all didn't like the crab pate and it did not seem to pair well. Maybe they were inspired by the recent innovation of people adding sliced beef to a hot bowl of bún riêu (crab roe noodle). Regardless, in my opinion, crabs are better consumed for either breakfast or lunch. 

We ordered side dishes in the form of boiled broccoli and carrots (VNĐ80,000). Like any other meal, we liked to share the food, but that did not include the carbonara (VNĐ 250,000) my child ordered and wanted to keep for herself.

She somehow generously offered me one bite to try, which was enough for me to get the spaghetti al dente, and the carbonara sauce was getting a bit cold. But it was still delicious.

We discussed the usual – school, work, and then turned to the much-anticipated Big Bang show. The South Korean group did a European tour in September and are heading to Việt Nam this weekend.

At this, my eight-year-old asked if she could have a one-way ticket to South Korea to audition to become a K-pop idol. It was a shocking question to me, and after a moment I gathered my thoughts. "Sounds great, my dear, and you will become the first one in the family not to go to college!"

I thought my answer would discourage her but, against my expectations, she later said it was a cool answer, leading her to think she had the green light to achieve something most spectacular and unique for the family. 

The discussions moved on, thankfully. The Sea Restaurant is a spacious place that can seat up to 250 people, fit for a company trip or small weddings, but on our particular visit it was very quiet.

Visitors can also head up to the 17th floor to chill out at the Sun Bar & Restaurant, with a fantastic view that embraces Lan Hạ Bay, and where you can sit outside if it doesn't rain. It has also been known to have live music, as my friend's family music band used to sing with the resort band when they stayed at there.

Whether or not this still takes place on a regular basis, however, I was unable to ascertain. Regardless, when we were there, it was a quaint and quiet evening that we all ultimately enjoyed. — VNS

Box

The Sea Restaurant, Flamingo Cát Bà Beach Resort
Cát Cò Beach 1, 2, Cát Bà Island, Hải Phòng
Tel: 0225 3888 686
Notes: Pasta and pizza served in a nice restaurant by the beach