When you think of Vietnamese food what comes to mind? One word - PHO. According to wikepedia, Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). The soup includes noodles made from rice and is often served with Thai basil, lime and bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the diner. Pho is the perfect antidote to winter's gloom and a cheap feed for the soul.
Here's my take on Top 5 Vietnamese in Melbourne.
1. Co Do
196 Victoria Street Richmond (03) 9421 2418
My friend San San has a theory - that all the good restaurants are on the right-hand side of Victoria St, Richmond (coming from the city). I think she's right. The most amazing Vietnamese restaurants are situated there! Go there and observe it. Anyway, Co Do is by far my favourite Vietnamese restaurant for beef pho. Why? The sliced rare beef is fresh, thin and tender - not over-cooked and stringy. The soup is flavoursome, with rich beef stock, cooked painstakingly for hours on the stove and extremely comforting on a cold winters day. The noodles are soft, slippery and perfectly cooked. There are some other great dishes there - for instance, make sure you try the crisp Vietnamese pancake with fresh prawn, mixed salad and fish sauce dip - ideal for sharing.
2. Pho Chu The
My friend San San has a theory - that all the good restaurants are on the right-hand side of Victoria St, Richmond (coming from the city). I think she's right. The most amazing Vietnamese restaurants are situated there! Go there and observe it. Anyway, Co Do is by far my favourite Vietnamese restaurant for beef pho. Why? The sliced rare beef is fresh, thin and tender - not over-cooked and stringy. The soup is flavoursome, with rich beef stock, cooked painstakingly for hours on the stove and extremely comforting on a cold winters day. The noodles are soft, slippery and perfectly cooked. There are some other great dishes there - for instance, make sure you try the crisp Vietnamese pancake with fresh prawn, mixed salad and fish sauce dip - ideal for sharing.
2. Pho Chu The
92 Hopkins Street, Footscray (03) 9687 8265
270 Victoria Street, Richmond (03) 9427 7749
69 Main Road West, St Albans (03) 9356 0188
This Vietnamese restaurant is renowned amongst the true Viet pho lovers. It has 3 locations and they all offer the same top quality beef pho. Fresh ingredients from the sliced rare beef to the crunchy herbs and been shoots, robust beef stock and smooth rice noodles make for a fantastic and cheap feed. I would recommend only going there for the pho and maybe spring rolls as it gets pretty packed and you might feel a little rushed for an extended meal there. Quick, delicious and cheap - in and out you get of PHO CHU THE.
3. Sapa Hills
This Vietnamese restaurant is renowned amongst the true Viet pho lovers. It has 3 locations and they all offer the same top quality beef pho. Fresh ingredients from the sliced rare beef to the crunchy herbs and been shoots, robust beef stock and smooth rice noodles make for a fantastic and cheap feed. I would recommend only going there for the pho and maybe spring rolls as it gets pretty packed and you might feel a little rushed for an extended meal there. Quick, delicious and cheap - in and out you get of PHO CHU THE.
3. Sapa Hills
112 Hopkins Street Footscray (03) 9687 5729
Clean and modern, Sapa Hills is a polished gem in this rustic Footscray area. Named after Sapa Hills - situated in the mountainous region of Vietnam's northwest, this is a welcoming cheap eat offering traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The pho is a star attraction with fresh sliced tender rare beef, rice noodles and aromatic beef soup with a generous serve of spring onion garnish for a touch of freshness. My friend Debbie likes the pho here primarily because she reckons there's minimal MSG in the stock and she doesn't suffer the side effects of MSG laden beef stock afterwards.
4. Thanh Nha Nine
Clean and modern, Sapa Hills is a polished gem in this rustic Footscray area. Named after Sapa Hills - situated in the mountainous region of Vietnam's northwest, this is a welcoming cheap eat offering traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The pho is a star attraction with fresh sliced tender rare beef, rice noodles and aromatic beef soup with a generous serve of spring onion garnish for a touch of freshness. My friend Debbie likes the pho here primarily because she reckons there's minimal MSG in the stock and she doesn't suffer the side effects of MSG laden beef stock afterwards.
4. Thanh Nha Nine
160 Victoria Street Richmond VIC 3121 (03) 9427 7068
My friend James who's a massive foodie recommended this joint and I knew I had to try it. No regrets. The star of the show was the special crab meat noodles with an actual swimmer crab shell in the soup! At $12.50, we were wowed by the dish as the deep flavour of the crab came through in the stock, the actual stuffed crab shell was a surprise and the soup was flooded with crab roe and straw mushrooms. Yummy and exciting at the same time. Another top dish was the mini prawn pancakes - sweet, savoury and unexpected all at once. This dish is apparantly a traditional Vietnamese dish - with tiny crisp round pancakes stuffed with fresh prawn, mung bean paste and served with coconut sauce. It was like nothing I ever had before - simply fabulous.
5. Hien Voung
My friend James who's a massive foodie recommended this joint and I knew I had to try it. No regrets. The star of the show was the special crab meat noodles with an actual swimmer crab shell in the soup! At $12.50, we were wowed by the dish as the deep flavour of the crab came through in the stock, the actual stuffed crab shell was a surprise and the soup was flooded with crab roe and straw mushrooms. Yummy and exciting at the same time. Another top dish was the mini prawn pancakes - sweet, savoury and unexpected all at once. This dish is apparantly a traditional Vietnamese dish - with tiny crisp round pancakes stuffed with fresh prawn, mung bean paste and served with coconut sauce. It was like nothing I ever had before - simply fabulous.
5. Hien Voung
37 Leeds Street Footscray (03) 9687 1470
Hien Voung is a cheap and cheerful place - from the bright fake flowers, to lucky fat cat decor, to the friendly and personable owners, the pho speaks for itself - delicious beef broth with massive portions too. I should have ordered the small as the medium was a struggle to finish. I like how they have 3 different sizes to suit different levels of hunger - small at $8, medium at $9 and large at $10. Order the 3 colours drink to complete your meal - featuring sweet red kidney beans, green tapioca strings in shaved ice and sweet coconut milk. I secretly liked how they played my dad's old favourites in the background from "Take me home, country road" by John Denver to Tom Jones' "Green green grass of home".
Hien Voung is a cheap and cheerful place - from the bright fake flowers, to lucky fat cat decor, to the friendly and personable owners, the pho speaks for itself - delicious beef broth with massive portions too. I should have ordered the small as the medium was a struggle to finish. I like how they have 3 different sizes to suit different levels of hunger - small at $8, medium at $9 and large at $10. Order the 3 colours drink to complete your meal - featuring sweet red kidney beans, green tapioca strings in shaved ice and sweet coconut milk. I secretly liked how they played my dad's old favourites in the background from "Take me home, country road" by John Denver to Tom Jones' "Green green grass of home".
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