FOLD, a new contemporary Vietnamese restaurant and bar and the first to specialise in foldable food and rice paper dishes will open on Brick Lane on 9 November. This exciting new concept introduces a very traditional style of Vietnamese eating that hasn’t yet been represented in London. It brings to the fore the ‘rice paper fold’. Known to us as a summer roll in the UK (or crystal roll in the US), it is healthy, gluten free and low in carbohydrates, yet delicious and customisable in a myriad of ways.
At FOLD, rice paper will be available freshly steamed, grilled, soft or fried. Fresh folds will include Tiger prawns with lemongrass and hot mint and Roast beef with sesame and purple shiso. DIY Folding sets – for diners to fold ingredients inside sheets of rice paper (similar to how one eats Chinese duck in pancakes), will feature Cha ca (Chunks of Asian Basa fish marinated with fresh turmeric, galangal, dill and finely sliced spring onion) and Slow cooked caramelised ginger poussin. All DIY sets include fresh Vietnamese herbs, finely sliced vegetables, sheets of rice paper and vermicelli noodles.
Cocktails made with base infusions of tropical herbs, spices and wild honeys sourced directly from the jungles of Laos and Vietnam will also feature alongside wine on tap, Prosecco, Vietnamese beers and Vietnamese dark roast drip coffee.
The 65-cover restaurant and bar with a lunchtime takeaway kiosk and interiors by Gundry and Ducker (The Palomar, Voodoo Rays) will be open seven days a week for lunch, dinner, cocktails and takeaway rice paper folds.