MANGO MANGO — Restaurant in Hội An

Above average food at high prices (Vietnam context) but yet unable to provide a decent atmosphere: Restaurant cannot afford functioning aircon, and customers are left perspiring inside, which is a sore mismatch of what customers pay vs what they get A nice touch is that the staff provides ice cold towels to cool us down but that does not help much in Hoi An weather

Starters/sides: Mango-viche (Red Snapper) This dish is very refreshing and a very good start to our meal! The fish was well pickled, and having it with fried rice paper provided a nice crunch to it as well

Love of the sea (Calamari Tempura) Calamari is very fresh, and the fried onion, ginger & carrots adds more textural pop for the overall experience. The spicy chipotle sauce can afford to be more generous and spicier, but 1 drawback is that this dish is rather greasy.

Mains: Chasing the Chick (Chicken) The pan fried chicken thigh is very well cooked, locking in the juiciness while achieving a solid nice crisp on the skin. The nuts complements the chicken.

This dish comes with white rice, which is unnecessary since the rice is plain while the chicken is not extremely flavorful, hence there is no need to balance it out. The chicken can afford to be saltier, and I wish the sauce could have a light acidic touch to complete the whole dish

I love Seafood (Red snapper, calamari, prawn) Generally, the seafood here is of superb freshness. Similar to the other dish, the sauces can afford to have a stronger taste, either sour or spicy , but the sauce did nothing much to highlight the seafood. Also, the skin on the red snapper was rubbery and tasteless, which could have been alleviated either by drizzling hot oil over the skin or searing it a little

Dessert: Savall Chocolate The whole meal thus far was good, until the dessert, which made me think that the restaurant is lazy - it looked like some store bought chocolate topped off with some sliced mango and cheap-tasting chocolate drizzle

I would have given a higher rating if not for the dessert and the aircon, which is unacceptable when we are paying such prices for the food.

This place is not recommended unless you want to try something different from the usual local cuisine with a slight...

I'm happy to pay the high price. But I expect outstanding food and service then - and was disappointed. This review is going to be very snobby: 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 desert, 3 cocktails, 2 espressi, 1 bottle of water: total 2.2M=90 USD. Given that's the equivalent of more than half an average salary in the bit cities, I think expecting outstanding food is reasonable.

Food: Starters: Tuna rolls (Lust in Translation): something was not quite rounded up here. Maybe a squeeze of lime? Crispy rolls vegetarian (rocking rolls): the veg version lacks umami. Would have been nice to replace the meat with something else to give umami.

Main: Tuna steak (In the mood for love): great tuna, well grilled and seasoned but the mango tomato salad was super high in acid. My mouth still burned of acidity half an hour later. Seemed like way too much vinegar. Yellow tail: great fish quality, well seasoned, my favorite dish of the evening. The salad bed it came on somehow a bit to vinegary too though.

Cocktails: These are great! Had the Asian Invasion, Mango Sunset and Mango Sparkle. All great. Reasonable prices too for these!

Ambiance: We sat on the terrace with a nice view. Doesn't feel like luxury, no table cloth, but whatever, not a biggie.

Service: Friendly but unmotivated. Forgot two of our requests. She was pregnant in the 8th month and I understand it's hard work then - but again. For this price tag I expected good service.

Summary: I had my expectations too high. I honestly think my Banh My from Madame Khanh's that I had for lunch tosay was better than any of the...

Great quality food amongst all the fast food / tourist traps in the area. Look beyond gimmicky names like Chasing the Chick or Lust in Translation - the dishes are cooked with flair and sophisticated flavour pairings - could be a Michelin 1 star restaurant. Book the upstairs seating along the balcony which has a great view of the Lantern bridge, and is a lovely spot for cocktails and people watching.

Best dishes of the night:

Chasing the Chick - chicken was crispy and remained so well into our lengthy dinner even amidst the smoky bell pepper sofrito

Black Rice - not your usual French style duck confit, but a gem in our opinion served with a nutty glutinous black rice, soft lotus seeds, with the carrot and apple puree lending a touch of sweetness. Duck confit could have been crispier if not for the puree topping it.

Keeping Flower Ly - huge river prawns with a tasty and generous sauce (which we also used to mix in fresh greens that accompanied other dishes as a salad of sorts)

Passion fruit creme brulee for dessert was a highlight! Almost like a passion fruit mousse and not too sweet. Great end to a wonderful meal

P.s. they have a kids menu too so eating well even with kids...