So good we ate it twice

Ben Thanh night market in Saigon is home to a number outdoor eateries, most of which will offer grilled fish in various forms. Myself and fellow travellers stumbled across a restaurant called Hai Lua, having seen and smelled the grilling of the red snapper pictured below.

Think crispy, caramelised skin. Think chilli heat, and subtle sweetness. Think juicy flesh. So addictive was this dish, that two days later, we came back. And ordered two of them. Oh and if you're sharing, remember to fight over the unctuously luxurious fish cheeks.

If you fancy a bit more variety in your meal, also order their deep fried elephant ear fish, pictured above. The crunchy skin and meaty flesh of the fish make perfect for wrapping with bun noodles, vegetables, star-fruit and herbs in a rice paper roll and dipping in the accompanying punchy prawn dip.

Review: Nizuni

7.5/10

22 Charlotte St, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 2NB

Contemporary Japanese food, from the guys who brought you Koba. It's not their slogan, it's just an easy way to remember their approach to cookery. This is also reflected in the sleek, dark decor which is everpresent throughout this restaurant. We first went for the tako (octopus) starter with tosazu (vinegary) sauce. To be honest, it was a wee bit disappointing - the octopus was a tad tough and the sauce didn't quite match the sweetness of the ocean-dweller's flesh.

Better, however, was their tuna tataki (seared tuna) with ponzu jelly. The citrusy dressing, slippery jelly and succulent tuna were a masterful combination of flavours and textures. Another winner was their salmon skin roll; a beautifully crafted maki roll studded with the crispy hits of the salmon skin and fresh crunch of spring onion. As a filler, we went for their katsu don (pork cutlet with egg on rice), which came with a few non-standard frivolities like potato-croquette type things. Tasty, but then again it's hard to go wrong with katsu don.

To finish, we went for their chestnut cake with matcha (green tea) ice cream. I didn't quite get it at first, but after the first few bites, the sweet, muffin like consistency of the cake had actually found a reliable friend in the form of the bitter ice cream. Pretty good pairing, I'd say. With efficient service and the price totting up to just under £25 a head, I'd say Nizuni represents fair value - though I would have preferred the portions to a on the slightly more generous side.

Review: Fenan Klein Afrika

7.75/10

Jan Pieter Heijestraat 147, 1054 MG Amsterdam

Ethiopean and Eritrean food is the not most famous of world cuisines, but one day, I hope it can be. This little eatery just off the Overtoom really backs up the case I'm making for this food eminating from the Horn of Africa. The concept is quite simple, curry or sauce based meat, fish and vegetable dishes on injeera bread, a soft pancake-like bread which marries fantastically, no, undescribably well with the said dishes. Why? The magic of the bread is its sourness, which beautifully offsets the heaviness of some of the curries.

You can kind of mix and match the dishes you want. Not being an expert on this cuisine, we asked for 3 meat dishes and 1 fish dish to be served on top of a huge plate lined with injeera (and asked for extra injeera, you can't really get enough), and other fellow diners shared 4 vegetarian dishes amongst themselves. The standout dish was the fish dish (which I believe to be Nile Perch) whose flesh tender and oozing with slightly spicy notes. In the middle of your injeera-lined platter (your main dishes lie around the edges) you'll find some interesting chickpea purees, another interesting little aspect of the meal.

This food is also fun to eat; grab some injeera bread with your hands, and use it to grab and absorb whatever dish you wish. Service however was a tad slow. From start to finish (including a very strong coffee at the end), the meal took around 3 hours, which is pretty long considering only a main course was indulged upon. Having said that though, at around 15 euro per person for the food, this was smashing value, and thus a highly recommended place for a (very) easy going dinner.