Vietnamese

Ms. G’s

Burrata, “strange flavour style” sesame sauce, chilli oil, spinach, peanuts

It was the “strange flavour style” description that drew in our attention, but it didn’t taste strange at all. The Asian flavours nicely complemented the creamy burrata, and this was quite an enjoyable dish.

★★★☆☆

Kingfish, aged ponzu, konbu, chives

Fresh and delicious.

★★★★☆

Cheeseburger spring rolls

I loved how these tasted exactly like cheeseburgers, although $6 per spring roll was a bit steep.

★★★★☆

Warm salad of calamari and pork belly, soft egg, caramelised shallot dressing, “bibim style”

A delightful Asian salad that had a good variety of flavours and textures.

★★★☆☆

Homemade fettuccine, octopus cooked with kimchi, spicy marinara sauce

An interesting fusion dish that was spicier than expected.

★★★☆☆

Stoner’s Delight Part 3

(doughnut ice cream, peanut dulce de leche, peanut and pretzel brittle, crispy bacon, mars bar brownie, raspberry curd, potato chips, deep fried Nutella)

So wrong yet so right.

★★★★☆

Raj Mirage #2

(pandan, calpis, lime, fresh mint, soda)

★★★★★

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Pash a Panda

(yuzu, passionfruit, cranberry, soda)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Brilliant experience at a place where the menu is quirky and interesting, the atmosphere buzzing, and the service quite speedy considering how busy this place is.

Ms. G’s

155 Victoria St, Potts Point, NSW

(02) 9240 3000

http://merivale.com.au/msgs

Red Spice Road

Chiang Mai pork relish with cassava crackers

This relish had such fantastic punch! A harmonious blend of sour, sweet, salty and spicy flavours made this pork relish very Thai and very delicious.

★★★★☆

Tamarind chilli chicken with red peppers and green onion

Sweet, sticky, spicy, standard.

★★☆☆☆

Pork belly, chilli caramel, apple slaw, black vinegar

Just as amazing as everyone says it is! The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender and had a marvellous crispy skin, while the vinegar balanced out the sweetness of the chilli caramel sauce.

★★★★★

Barramundi, watermelon, cucumber, hot mint, chilli and coriander salad

I liked this salad except for all the soggy pieces of fried fish. If only the fish had been served on top of the salad rather than tossed into it.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

We ordered the $29.50 per person Express Lunch Banquet which included an appetiser, 3 mains and steamed rice. The servings were surprisingly generous making this banquet option fantastic value for money. Although I’m not the biggest fan of their circular communal tables, I do like the atmosphere and I would definitely come back for the pork belly!

Red Spice Road

27 McKillop St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9603 1601

http://redspiceroad.com/

Pho n Thai

Pad Thai

Stir fried noodles with meat, egg, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts

★★☆☆☆

Beef Japchae

Sweet potato noodles stir fried in sesame oil with vegetables, sliced beef and soy sauce

These noodles were tough and chewy, and the sauce was exceedingly sweet.

★☆☆☆☆

Singapore Noodles

Stir fried rice vermicelli with meat, bok choy, soy sauce and curry powder

★★☆☆☆

Laksa Noodle Soup

Coconut curry noodle soup with meat and vegetables

An average laksa that was overloaded with onion.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Despite the name being ‘Pho and Thai’ this place actually offered a range of Asian cuisines, and was completely staffed by Koreans. Food was passable, service was average and the atmosphere laid-back with orders taken at the counter.

Pho n Thai

39-49 Lake St, Cairns, QLD

(07) 4031 6001

Saigon Sally

Spicy Mi Goreng

(thin egg noodles, chilli jam, fried shallots and 63° egg)

★★★☆☆

Eggplant XO

(mushroom XO, tempura eggplant, chilli and mint)

★★☆☆☆

Grilled Quail

(stuffed with sticky rice, spring onion, shiitake and lup cheung)

★★★☆☆

Vietnamese Chicken Colesaw

(coconut poached chicken, crisp vermicelli and peanuts)

★★☆☆☆

Bia Can Chicken

(whole roasted chicken, bia Hanoi, Hainanese style)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Funky ambience, great service (our waiter helped with dish recommendations and even advised us that we had initially ordered too much), a fresh vibrant take on modern Vietnamese cuisine.

Saigon Sally

2 Duke St, Prahran

9939 5181

http://www.saigonsally.com.au/

Mama’s Buoi

Mama’s Buoi is all about authentic home-style Vietnamese cuisine. Unlike other Vietnamese restaurants, this place offers more than just pho noodle soup and rice paper rolls. Co-owner Tin Ly explained to us that he could never get his favourite Vietnamese dish “caramelised pork belly hot pot” from anywhere but home. I had never even heard of this dish before and couldn’t wait to try it out.

Chicken and pork liver pate with sesame crackers

Pulled duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce

Rice noodles stuffed with pork, mushroom and fried shallot

Shell on school prawns with salt, pepper and citrus

Steak roll Vietnamese salad wrap with citrus and green chilli dressing

Roast pork belly and crackling with pickled veg

Reconstructed Can Chua (sour soup) with fried noodles, mussels, calamari and prawn

Ginger chicken stir fry with bok choi

Steamed barramundi wrapped in bamboo with lemongrass, chilli and citrus dressing

Mushroom and snow pea stir fry

Caramelised pork belly hot pot with boiled egg

Reconstructed three colour drink with black jelly, pandan jelly, rum and mung bean puree, basil seeds, jack fruit and coconut milk

Lychee & Watermelon Martini

(vodka and lychee liqueur muddled with lychees and watermelon)

Overall:

Talk about being well fed. Not only did the food look amazing, it also tasted fresh and delicious. The standout dishes for me were the chicken and pork liver pate, the shell on school prawns, the reconstructed three colour drink and of course the caramelised pork belly hot pot! The cocktail list here was also quite interesting. I wasn’t daring enough to try their ‘pho’ cocktail, however I was pretty happy with my lychee & watermelon martini.

Mama’s Buoi has opened me up to a whole new range of Vietnamese food. With its cheery homely atmosphere (bright colours, raw timber tables, festoon lighting, photo album-like menu), this is a place I would gladly return to.

Mamas Buoi

Mama’s Buoi

G25 Postal Lane, GPO, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9671 3426

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*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Mama’s Buoi.

When I was in North Vietnam…

Pho bò (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

A trip to Vietnam is incomplete without pho.

Pho Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

I had pho almost every morning and found the broth to be simple and light. Although less ingredients are used compared to South Vietnamese pho, I found North Vietnamese pho to be delicious!

Ha Long Bay

Hạ Long Bay

Cá kho to (Vietnamese caramelised & braised catfish)

Nem cá (deep fried fish spring rolls)

Thien Cung Grotto

Buddha’s hand fruit

I saw these being offered at quite a few Buddhist temples and found their appearance to be completely bizarre. Although I didn’t get to sample any of this fruit, I discovered that aside from representing Buddha’s hands in prayer, they also represented good luck, happiness and longevity.

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

Sen Xanh Jelly Fish Salad

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The Presidential Palace of Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House

Chùa Mot Cot (One Pillar Pagoda)

Văn Mieu (Temple of Literature)

The Huc bridge and Hoan Kiem lake

Thang Long Water Puppet Show

Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Pork Roll)

Twee’s Hut

Shop 26 343 Little Collins St, Melbourne 9917 2017

Twee’s Soul Bowl (dry)

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade and Freshly Pressed Juice

Thoughts:

Twee’s Soul Bowl – egg and rice noodles, pork, prawn, quail egg, lettuce, fried shallots, spring onion, coriander and peanuts. There are 2 options with the Soul Bowl: dry (which comes with soup on the side) or soup (which comes with soup already in the bowl). This dish is their very own version of Pad Thai and would have been terrific had they toned down the amount of sweet chilli sauce that was added = Not bad

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade – essentially a pork and prawn rice paper roll. In addition to the pork and prawn there is vermicelli, cucumber, lettuce, mint leaves, coriander and sesame seeds. This was fresh and tasty but needed more meat = Not bad

Freshly Pressed Juice – I tried the ‘Island Kiss’ which comprised of pineapple, orange and apple juice. I like how the juices here are freshly pressed on order, and that no sugar is added = Good

Overall:

Opened in November last year, this bright and cheery place is run by a husband and wife team who have created a menu inspired by family recipes. What’s great about this place is the location. Situated in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, Twee’s Hut is the perfect place for city workers to drop by for a quick and tasty lunch. I found a few things different about this place compared to other Vietnamese restaurants that I have been to. Firstly, this place is VERY clean (eg. gloves were used when the baguettes were being put together, no sticky tables, no sticky floors), they do not offer any free hot tea, and the way that dining in here works is also different. So when you dine in your name is taken down, you go and find yourself a table, and then your name is called out once your order is ready to be picked up from the counter. Different. Note that the current opening hours are 11am – 3pm.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Twee’s Hut. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit.