Suppose you were on a date. I was unfortunately not, owing (I’d like to believe) to the fact that I am a recent arrival to the country. But suppose you were on a date - then this would be the perfect place to got to: the "Cau do" or "Red Recas" by Ho Truc Bach, the lake of white silk.

It’s a restaurant. And it’s a bar. Two separate areas with two separate entrances: the back is old-school Vietnamese and leads to the restaurant which is itself quiet and old-fashioned; the front entrance is that of a typical modern lounge, leading to a lively air-conditioned cocktail bar with beats pulsating from the speakers.

From the start, you feel as if you’ve stepped into two distinct worlds simultaneously, able to switch back and forth - and isn’t that a great definition of that crazy spark called romance: the possibility to switch between worlds?

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves - this is about a restaurant, about food. Love comes second – but certainly not last