Upscale French-Vietnamese Restaurant Pasteur is a must re/visit place to go!

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Pasteur
5525 N. Broadway Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640

Dining in Pasteur had me thinking of the movie “The Lover“. Imagine Indochina still under the French colonial empire. European luxury and sophistication meets sweltering heat and lush culture in a class divided Southeast Asian country. Pasteur embodied the sexy and luxurious ambiance with the traditional Vietnamese menu. One would almost expect a man wearing a fedora with his flapper date will eventually walk in. Well, one can only wish.

The combination of the food and ambiance in Pasteur is a destination in itself. It was really hard to pull ourselves away from reading through the menu and not order everything from it. Overall it was a great experience and one that will need to be replicated more often.

We started with some cocktails to whet our appetites. We ordered a rum-based mango cocktail and a Lychee liquer martini.

Me So Mango - Jamazican Rum, Bacardi Limon, Mango Pulp, Ginger Liqeur, Ginger simple syrup in a spiced rum glass.
Me So Mango – Jamaican Rum, Bacardi Limon, Mango Pulp, Ginger Liqeur, Ginger simple syrup in a spiced rum glass.
Kumite - Lychee liqeur, St. Germain, Vodka, Lemongrass Sour garnished with lychee
Kumite – Lychee liqeur, St. Germain, Vodka, Lemongrass Sour garnished with lychee

For appetizers, we had a rice flour crepe dish, rice paper-rolled shrimp, and Dumplings.

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Ban Xeo – A coconut milk and rice flour crêpe filled with chicken, shrimp and straw mushrooms. Served with lettuce for wrapping and fresh herbs.
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Goi Cuon Tom (Shrimp Spring Roll) – Fresh rice paper roll with poached shrimp and fresh herbs. Served with a plum sauce, topped with ground peanuts.
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Dumplings – your choice chicken, vegetable or pork dumplings, steamed or fried. Served with a light ginger and scallion soy dipping sauce.

Then we followed that with the most satisfying bowl of beef soup.

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Pho Bo – Ha Noi beef noodle soup with eye of round beef and brisket. Served with bean sprouts and fresh herbs.

On to our entrees, we had Sauteed Calamari, Steamed Fish, and Bacon-wrapped tenderloin.

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Tom Xao Sa-te (Shrimp Sa-te)
Shrimp sautéed with a caramelized glaze of baked dried red peppers, onions and garlic
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Ca Hap (Steamed Fish)
Catch of the day fish with cellophane noodles, woodear mushrooms and scallions in a light black bean ginger soy sauce
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Seared Pork Tenderloin
Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, sautéed with mushrooms, carrots and zucchini. Served with a whole grain mustard and apple sauce

And who would pass the dessert? Not us!

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Fried plantain topped w chocolate sauce and green tea ice cream

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“When the past is recaptured by the imagination, breath is put back into life.”-Marguerite Duras, author of “The Lover”

All photos used here are owned by Chicagonista.

 

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