This is our "regular" and I am actually quite surprised I haven't been back until now. But on this hot Saturday, we could think of nowhere better than some good old reliable Asian fare.
Food
We started off with the old favourite, Rare beef noodle soup (pho) ($7.00). The stock has great depth of flavour and the noodles are thin and slippery. Add onions, bean sprouts and some beef, and it's proof that simple is often the best. Next came the Chicken rice Hai Nam style ($7.00). This one was not the best, the rice being oily and the chicken fatty, but that great Hai Nam taste was a bit faint. Pretty soon, the Fresh prawn and vegetable fried noodles ($9.80) arrived. I was surprised that a few prawns came with this, as well as an assortment of tin veges (bamboo shoots, mushrooms, baby corn). The noodles were fine, but the sauce too oily and rich, overpowering the dish. Well, they've saved the best for last, the Vermicelli sheet with fried braised pork and salad ($8.50) was even better than we've last tasted. You take the crispy and juicy pork grilled over coal, wrap it in lettuce, add an assortment of mints, carrots, cucumbers and vermicelli, and pour a liberal amount of the sweet and sour nuoc cham sauce over the mix. And bite!
We washed all these down with their signature homemade soy-bean drinks. I prefer the nutty taste of the black bean while Slokky likes the mild taste of the white bean.
Stick with the Vietnamese offerings and you will be rewarded. I can also highly recommend their hot pots.
Rating - 7
Atmosphere
This is one of the more spacious place on the joint. It's certainly cleaner than its neighbours, but there's usually a crowd. Turnover is quite quick however so that shouldn't be a problem.
Decor is the usual cheap Asian chic, with wooden laminate tables, a huge assortment of condiments and utensils fight for table space with the thermos tea jugs.
There's an assortment of people here, families, couples, singles. All seem to enjoy themselves, and when it quiet downs, you can usually hear some soppy canton pop playing in the background.
Rating - 1.5
Service
The staff speak multiple languages. They handled our requests for small bowls, drinks...etc without any fuss. They were also very willing to explain how to eat the vermicelli wraps to us too.
Rating - 3
C-factor
All up, the bill came to $40.20. It's not the cheapest Asian around but they always offer above average food and pretty good service. That's why I keep going back. Add good company to that - bliss.
Rating - 1.5
Brownie Points - 13
Info
12B Henley Rd,
Homebush West
NSW 2140
Phone (02) 9746 5486
