Hai Ky Vietnamese Restaurant
1931 E. Oltorf, Ste. B, 693-2464
Daily, 11am-10pm
Hai Ky is nestled between the South Oat Willie’s and a laundromat, on the south side of East Oltorf in a strip center. It’s an ideal location for those of us who live south of the river, or those who prefer one-stop-shopping for great Vietnamese food, smoking paraphernalia, and clothes washing. For the foodie pundits who have noticed a similarity between the menus at Hai Ky and Tan Tan (on Ohlen Road, up north), there’s a reason. The two restaurants are owned by brothers, and as good as Tan Tan is, you’ll find that Hai Ky is even better.
Hai Ky (named after the owner, Hai Tran) is spare but meticulously clean, and the table service (performed by the son and daughter of Hai) is superlative. They are adept at describing every menu item and efficient without being obtrusive. The music is a mild mix of Vietnamese rave and pop, and unconsciously sets the toes to tapping.
The menu features the requisite mix of Viet noodle house items, from appetizers to pho, bun, and rice plates, with a smattering of Chinese stir-fries thrown in for the timid or uninformed. Hai Ky also features a “Specials” board that contains some true gems. What sets Hai Ky apart from the crowd of competitors is the care of the preparation and presentation of the food and the service one gets once the food arrives.
We began our first meal at Hai Ky with Pan Fried Dumplings ($4 for 6) from the blackboard menu. The plentiful pork filling was encased in browned pasta wrappers, and the toothsome flavor was enhanced by a zippy tamarind, garlic, and vinegar dipping sauce. Next came fresh Spring Rolls ($2 for two) filled with a nice mix of shrimp, pork, veggies, noodles, and mint, accompanied by a peanut sauce. The marriage of flavors and textures is excellent, and there is no typical scrimping on the shrimp or pork.
The noodle soups at Hai Ky stand heads above most in town; the key is the richness and full flavor of the stocks used. In many Viet cafes, once the noodles and salad items are added to the soup, the stock is overpowered and thinned beyond recognition. Not so at Hai Ky, where the stock retains a robust flavor after everything is added. We tried the Egg Noodle With BBQ Pork ($4.50 for a “small” bowl) and found it to be delicious, with the sliced pork cut to a nicely manageable size and perfectly seasoned.
Next came a bowl of vermicelli Bun with Broiled Shrimps, Pork, and Lemongrass ($5.50). The portion is huge, with perfectly al dente noodles, a nice amount of sprouts and crisp lettuce hiding on the bottom, and a respectable quantity of nicely grilled shrimp and pork on top with a pleasantly spicy nuoc cham sauce to pour over all. Round one was definitely a winner.
The next visit started with an item from the blackboard, beef saté ($6.25). We expected a platter of skewers, but what arrived was nirvana. A large platter is filled with a big mound of thin-sliced tender beef that is flash-grilled to medium-rare, resting in a nest of crisp lettuce. The spicy marinade has a hint of vinegar and garlic and the meat melts in the mouth. On the side you’ll find shredded sweet onion, a mountain of rice, slices of cucumber and tomato, and a bowl of dipping sauce. The surprise was very pleasant indeed.
Item two was delivered, and the whole cafe filled with the aroma of the Bun Vermicelli With Shrimps in Curry Sauce ($5.50). Numerous shrimp are tossed with jalapeño, carrot, Napa cabbage, onion, and bathed in a spicy curry sauce. Next arrived Assorted Meats With Pan-Fried Egg Noodles ($6.95), an attractive presentation of thin, crispy egg noodles in lettuce nest, topped with chicken, shrimp, beef, jalapeño, carrot, water chestnuts, and sprouts bathed in a spicy brown sauce. Both items are very appetizing and even with their large portion size, vanished quickly.
At Hai Ky you’ll get delicious Vietnamese food at nice prices, with big portions and first-rate service delivered in a clean, bright space.
This article appears in September 21 • 2001.
