Loving Hut

A trip to Ikea last Friday evening had me in two minds for dinner options - back to Thanh Nga Nine for some delicious Vietnamese food or to give the Loving Hut a try. I'm satisfied with our choice to visit the Loving Hut despite not being blown away by all of the dishes we tried...

The traffic into Richmond was horrendous and by the time the man and I arrived at the Loving Hut we were extremely hungry. The place was only about 1/4 full when we walked in but became progressively busier during our dinner.

We started with some spring rolls and fried dumplings. The spring rolls were incredibly crispy and along with their dipping sauce were a fantastic start to the meal. The only problem with the serve was the odd number of rolls which meant that it couldn't be split evenly. The fried dumplings were OK but the ginger and 5-spice in the filling was too overpowering for my liking. 

Then we were onto the mains. The man selected the rendang which arrived first so we tucked into this straight away and it was sensational. It's a meal I wouldn't recommended if you are not a mock meat fan as this makes up the majority although there were a few potatoes and carrots included as well. The sauce had a wonderfully spicy coconutty flavour, of which I could have drank a whole bowl and I would have indulged a lot more if I wasn't waiting on my laksa... 

When the laksa finally arrived, my stomach was getting to the point where it really didn't need much more food and I could tell that the man was not going to be very helpful with assisting me in tackling this almighty bowl. The laksa turned out to be a disappointing choice, mainly because the broth seemed to be lacking in the blend of intricate flavours that makes a good laksa shine. My other gripe with it was that there was only one type of vegetable included, green beans. The other components of the bowl were fried tofu puffs (not my favourite type of tofu), different varieties of mock meat and two types of noodles.

The service throughout was attentive and cheerful, however the wait staff were a little bit confused about which meals were ordered at each table. The sequence of meals was also rather strange, one entree came out first, followed by the other entree served with one of the mains and then a long wait for the laksa. It was a cheap feed, the bill coming in at a bit over $30 for 2 entrees and 2 mains! The rendang and spring rolls are definitely an incentive for us to revisit the Loving Hut and one of their many tofu dishes might be a better selection next time.

Unfortunately there are no photos to share as my camera wasn't with me and I'm blaming my hunger for forgetting to take some phone pics. ;-)

Loving Hut was also reviewed soon after it's opening by Shawna, K @ In the Mood for Noodles and Katie Carrot.

Loving Hut
Shop 10, 242 Victoria Street
Richmond
9427 8916