Ăn Là Ghiền

Ăn Là Ghiền is a casual Vietnamese restaurant at 45 Lorong 27 Geylang. It serves home-style dishes from Vietnam, along with hotpot sets and charcoal BBQ. The restaurant translates its name as "eat and you'll be addicted".

The brand started in 2019 with a single shop. It has since grown to several outlets around Singapore, and this shop on Lorong 27 was the first. It suits relaxed meals with friends, family dinners and larger groups who like to share.

What to order

The menu is long. The restaurant says it offers more than 300 dishes, so it helps to come with a few people and order widely. Dishes are listed with their Vietnamese names next to English ones.

• Noodle soups: phở with sliced beef, beef balls or chicken, and bún mắm, a noodle soup made with fermented fish.
• Dry noodles: bún chả Hà Nội with grilled minced pork, and bún thịt nướng with grilled pork over rice vermicelli.
• Snacks to share: bánh xèo (a crisp Vietnamese pancake), fried spring rolls, fresh rice paper rolls and bánh mì.
• Shellfish: a big section of cockles, clams, sea snails and scallops. They come cooked with garlic, lemongrass, tamarind or butter. Shell platters let you try several kinds at once.
• Rice plates: cơm sườn nướng (grilled pork chop rice with egg) and claypot stewed catfish with rice.
• Hotpot sets: beef, tom yum or pickled fish broths, made for sharing.

To drink, there is fresh coconut, tamarind juice, Vietnamese tea and Vietnamese coffee, black or with milk. Beer is also on the menu.

The setting

This is a simple, informal eatery rather than a formal restaurant. It is the kind of place where groups gather around a hotpot or a table of shared plates. Lorong 27 is one of the numbered side lanes off Geylang Road, an area known for local food.

For bigger parties, the brand also runs event spaces with private rooms and karaoke. Ask which outlet suits your group size when you book.

Good to know before you go

• Booking: reserve through the restaurant's website, or call or send a WhatsApp message to the number on the site.
• Online orders: the website has an online ordering page.
• Vegetarians: the main menu leans on meat and seafood. The brand runs a separate Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant, Yuki Duyên Chay, on Sago Street in Chinatown.
• Sharing: hotpot sets and shell platters work best with three or more people.

Getting there

The restaurant lists this branch as next to Aljunied MRT station on the East-West Line. Taxis and ride-hailing cars can drop you on Lorong 27.

Nearby

Geylang has plenty more to eat. No Signboard Seafood (Geylang) is a long-running seafood restaurant in the area. For a bowl of prawn noodles, try Jalan Sultan Prawn Mee. Geylang Serai Market has a large hawker centre, and Old Airport Road Food Centre is a short ride away. Browse more Thai, Korean and Asian restaurants or all restaurants in Geylang and Paya Lebar. The full menu is on the Ăn Là Ghiền website.