Give Me More

It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? The unassuming ones, without bombast and fancy decorations which we tend to dismiss, that when we finally give them a chance, prove themselves beyond a doubt. Such is the case with Me Me, the Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Fulham Broadway. The decor is certainly plain, functional and the lighting scheme (if you can call it that) unabashedly bright. Positioned as it is next that that night club that always seems to be shutting down, near the games hall and some of the other not-so-fancy features of the Broadway, I had always slightly dismissed it as a bit cheap, probably a bit nasty. But not so. For anyone who really enjoys Asian food (and not just for the bright colours, and exotic presentation), this is a true authentic gem.

Prices are really reasonable (£5-10, sometimes a little higher for fancy things like Sea Bass), especially as the portion sizes are fairly ample, and the food we had was fresh, fragrant and full of flavour. Service is quick, but a little haphazard (although very friendly, the restaurant is family run), so my advice would be to order several things to share, and let everybody dig in as and when it arrives. We sampled the traditional Vietnamese spicy noodle soup, Bun Hue, served with prawns and crammed full of fresh herbs and invigorating light and aromatic stock, as well as the Beef Pho, which was a pretty good rendition of the classic Vietnamese noodle soup. The stand out dish was the soft shell crab battered in chili, garlic, salt and pepper, but the 'sizzling beef' also drew inelegant grunts of approval.

Reviews of this place have been fairly mixed, but my experience was really positive. Don't go expecting a fancy night out, and do order a variety of dishes and share. There were plenty of things being carried out to other tables that caused me definite pangs of food envy. If you're looking for a casual, unpretentious evening, and some really refreshing, fragrant, light and spicy food, without breaking the bank, you may have found a new neighbourhood favourite.

Me Me Vietnamese Restaurant
565 Fulham Road, London
SW6 1ES
www.memerestaurant.co.uk