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Banzi was a small Vietnamese restaurant near [[Surrey Quays Station]]; it has now closed. It initially closed for refurbishment in early 2010, then reopened around April 2010 with a new head chef from Vietnam and a new name, Huong Sen <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4624366665/ photo]</small>. By October 2010 the premises were occupied by another Vietnamese restaurant called Viet Diner, and by April 2012 this had been replaced by a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant called Thu Do <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7080863041/ photo]</small>. Thu Do in turn had closed by March 2014 <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/13112538404/ photo]</small>. The information below is retained for people who want to know what it used to be like as Banzi. <div class="old_info"> Small Vietnamese restaurant near [[Surrey Quays Station]], opened in March 2009. They also do takeaway and delivery. It has seating for about 35 people inside, mostly at four-tops. The decor is clean and simple, with white walls set off by orange lampshades, dark red banquettes, and simple cafe-style tables <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3412294496/ photo]</small>. [[Kake]] and [[bob]] visited on a Saturday afternoon in April 2009. There were a few other customers who came and went during our visit, but there was no problem finding us a table by the window. Heart radio was playing. We started with Vietnamese spring rolls (£3.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3411507135/ photo]</small>; these weren't bad at all, with plenty of vegetables inside as well as meat. They were freshly fried, too. [[Kake]]'s only criticism might be that they were perhaps very slightly overcooked, with the wrappers being a little hard in places (this had been rectified by the time we tried them again in August 2009). To follow, [[bob]] had pork and pork skin rice (£6) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3411522181/ photo]</small>. The pork was quite nice, properly chargrilled with a good barbecue flavour. The pork skin was interesting, but I don't think I'd order it again. It was chewy rather than crisp. The rice was fine. [[Kake]] had grilled pork banh mi (£4) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3411773557/ photo]</small>. This was my first ever banh mi, so I'm not an expert on what they should be like, but I was happy enough with it. The baguette was better-quality bread than the bog-standard fake "baguettes" you get in some places, and the crust was crackly but not too hard, which is the way I like it. The pork was moist and flavourful, the pickled vegetables were crunchy and only lightly pickled, and the pate had a decent bit of texture to it. My only regret is that there were no chillies included (this had been rectified by the time I tried it again in October 2009). We visited again a couple of weeks later, this time on a Tuesday evening. Again, there was no problem finding us a table. This time we started with salt & chilli squid (£4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3469992319/ photo]</small> and summer fresh rolls (£4 then, £4.50 as of August 2009) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3468233271/ photo]</small>. The salt & chilli squid was fine, neither greasy nor soggy, and not overcooked. The summer fresh rolls were OK; though [[Kake]] would have liked to taste more herbs, and there was also a slightly muddy flavour to the prawns suggesting they could have been cleaned a bit more carefully (this had been rectified when we tried them again in August 2009). I preferred the summer rolls I had a couple of days later at [[Mama Pho, SE8 5DG|Mama Pho]] down the road. We followed this with pho bo tai (rare beef noodle soup, £6.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3470061037/ photo]</small> for [[bob]] and pork & preserved egg congee (savoury rice porridge, £6) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/3470672309/ photo]</small> for [[Kake]]. Both went down pretty well, and [[Kake]] would happily return for more of the congee, which had added textural interest from the slices of fried dough stick served on the side. Sadly, a takeaway order of chicken congee a couple of months later did not include dough stick. They also do delivery, and [[Kake]] and [[bob]] gave this a go in August 2009. Deep-fried frog legs (£6) weren't bad; the meat was nice and tender but the batter coating was very salty and also slightly sweet in a rather unpleasant way. Summer fresh rolls (£4.50) were fine but the wrappers had all burst in transit (this was again the case on another order two months later). [[Kake]]'s chicken rice (£6) was really good; very flavourful and tender-but-not-mushy chicken with a modest amount of fat and plenty of crispy skin — a simple dish done well. [[bob]] had pho bo tai (£6.50) again, and was again pleased with it, though [[Kake]] tasted the broth and felt that it was oversalted and lacking depth. Accessibility: Step-free access to get in, but the toilet (a single unisex cubicle) is down one step. See also: * [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/sets/72157616344592722/ Kake's Flickr photoset including photos of the takeaway menu as of October 2009] * [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surrey-Quays-London/BANZi/97039613202 Facebook page] * [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/580036#4671130 Chowhound thread] * [http://rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/banzi-vietnamese-surrey-quays-london-banh-mi/ An American In London review] * [http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/22262.html Time Out review] * [http://cheap-eat-london.com/2009/08/12/banzi/ Cheap Eats In London review] <div class="last_verified">Food last sampled by [[Kake]], October 2009.</div> </div>
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