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It would be an understatement if I say I had a miserable dining experience few days back. I should say the interior is well-designed, except a few little pointers (being so fondly into interior myself, I need to have my say). CoDo is lit with ambience too dark for the good soul. Anyone can feel the gloominess in the stale air. Deadneningly, I was expecting soft music of the Vietnamese tunes like sway of paddy, serenity and traditional rhythm like T’rung. My friend was highly complimenting their decor and the golden menu, while I was already dread every second I have to spend in there. Somehow I’m amazed that my continuous negative ranting didn’t pushed Ken to throw me out from the second floor. Maybe he was equally glad that he doesn’t have to endure such tormenting moment by himself.

Since I’m too critical about the restaurant, I decided to let him do the honor of selecting dishes which are not that awful to swallow. First came were out drinks, mine - Vietnamese jasmine tea, tasted like any other jasmine tea. Food came soon after that. Here’s my two hoots about each dish:

Lotus cake - As badly as it looked, too greasy as it tasted in my mouth, it was not much different than those sold in Pasar Malam (night market).

Rice paper wrapped chicken - Basically somewhat similar to “chee cheong fun”, with chicken fillings instead of the usual prawn or “chao siew”, sided with bean sprout. Another casual dish yet to be forgotten over time.

Deep-fried mushroom - Originally blant. Dressing could be better with more mustard to give it a kick to the taste bud.

Beef noodle - Salty soup with overcooked lumpy noodles. If I was given a choice to choose between this and a bowl of beef noodle from Chinatown, I know I’ll opt for the latter.

Garlic fried rice - Too personal to comment since I’m no fan of this aromatic ingredient.

Once I was told, if you dreamt that you are seeing or eating garlic, means your practicality and sensibility in matters of the heart; you look for security over love. And if you saw a garlic patch in your dream, foretells of your rise to wealth and prominence in your business.

Lastly, we were served with three soup spoons of rice with shredded vegetables topped with a tiny piece of “rock” hard chicken. Do I need to say more?

Alright, everything is hideous to post in my blog. I’ll just have the menu here (courtesy of Ken). On our way out, we noticed a couple heading up the stairs. Oh well, at least they’ll have two more victims for the time being. I’ll be “counting down the days” of when they will close their business. And just so happened that Natalie Imbruglia is saying the same with me.