Tag Archives: Vietnamese food

spontaneous PhoTUB antics

When you go out with a bunch of folks you’ve invariably made friends with thanks to Twitter and engage in any form of social activity, everything becomes <insert activity here>TUB because many of us will have met each other via MTUB. This was the case one evening when a bunch of us decided to check a pho house in Preston called Pho Hung, a few doors down from the more esteemed Noodle Kingdom (review of that place coming soon! edit: here we go!). It all started with a Foursquare update – someone had gone to Pho Hung earlier in the day, declaring they’d had the best pho ever there. One person read it wanted to go and before you knew it, spontaneous pho party.

As can be imagined, pho was had by all but before that we ordered some entrées, many of which were to share. There was one serve of spring rolls, but seriously once you’ve seen spring rolls, you’ve seen them all so no photo of that. My choice was beef wrapped in vine leaves. I generally like to order my bun topped with this, but it’s too cold for bun.

beef wrapped in vine leaves

Our chum Anthony had the crispy chicken. Not so shareable, alas, but boy does it look appetising. Deep fried chicken never fails to please.

crispy chicken

The standard rice paper rolls with pork were also ordered. If I were smarter (which I sadly I wasn’t), I would have taken a picture of these mid-chomp so you could see inside. Whoops.

rice paper rolls with pork

Jon and Tristan both chose the beef brisket pho. Tris reports that it was okay, but not as awesome as Pho Chu The in Richmond.

beef brisket pho

I decided to stop being the second worst Asian ever* and challenged myself by ordering the beef with tripe pho. In fact, I was so excited, I sent Billy a text message to inform of this fact. I’m not particularly rad with offal though as a kid I loved blood pudding (bit of a Brit delicacy). Go figure. We lose so much adventurousness growing up. Anyway, the pho. Not as flavoursome as some I’ve tried, evidenced by the fact that I went nuts adding chilli to it. Yep, the chilliphobe hit up the chilli hardcore.

beef with tripe pho

Pho Hung is okay, but it’s not serving pho I’ll be dedicating sestinas to (and sestinas are pretty fecking hard to write). However, it’s casual, cheap and filling. I’d go again to hang with my PhoTUB crew.

Pho Hung on Urbanspoon

*in conversation with dear friend Lindsey, it transpired that I apparently wasn’t the worst Asian ever because he knew an Asian that got lost en route to the casino. By my own admission, that’s pretty bad.

it sort of sounds like ‘fur’

I’ve just returned to work again after a bout of sickness post-Sydney trip. Naturally, I am broke. The Bank of Dad has been awesome, and the Bit O’ Meat makes sure I’m a kept woman. If I can dine out on the cheap at present, I will do so and in Melbourne, cheap fare of excellent quality is not a rarity. Melburnian foodies are a little spoilt that way (yes, yes, I know I sound like a besotted Melburnian…)

Very kindly, said Bit O’ Meat took me out on quite the hot date night – dinner, and a ticket to see Deerhoof and friends at the Corner Hotel. It seemed natural that pho in nearby Victoria St be sampled. All I had to do was pick a place, and Urbanspoon helped me narrow it down, as did fellow food blogger and Twitter chum @cloudcontrol, and a wonderful review by Iron Chef Shellie (essential reading for the adorable pho pronunciation aid poem! Definitely helped me). Thus, I ended up at Chu The Pho Bo Ga.

I wasn’t quite game to order @cloudcontrol’s suggestion of the special beef pho, and decided on the admittedly tame shredded chicken pho, and Bit O’ Meat splashed out on the beef and chicken pho. The waiter that greeted us and took our order was very friendly by direct contrast to my previous dining experience at Ling Nam in Chinatown. We were immediately served hot tea, which I believe is complimentary. Next to where we were seated, a page from one of The Age’s 2006 weekend magazines was proudly laminated and glued to the wall. So others think the pho here ain’t too shabby, eh? Good to hear!

shredded chicken pho

I got right in there and heaped mung bean shoots and holy basil served on the side. So yummy.

combination beef & chicken pho

See the deliciousness that lurks beneath the soupy surface! I stole a piece of the thinly sliced beef from my dining companion. The broth on this dish was much darker. To be complete greedy guts, we decided to get an order of pork spring rolls. They were served with fresh lettuce leaves and dipping sauce. The companion had more than I did as the pho had filled my belly up good and proper.

pork spring rolls

Not the flashiest restaurant, but my gosh, I’d so go back – will definitely try the special beef pho on another occasion. There was a steady stream of diners and take-away-getters, and on a Wednesday night too. Though rice noodles are less flavoursome than egg ones, I actually prefer them. My tummy does too, digestion-wise (it can be a bit…temperamental due to IBS). This humble eatery will definitely have me as a repeat customer. I think I’ll make it my pre-gig pho go-to, giggle.

Chu The Pho Bo Ga on Urbanspoon