Healthy Food: Beef Pho

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Madame Nhu: Vietnamese, The Galeries, CBD Sydney (1 Nov 2011)

Shop 5, Lower Ground, The Galeries

500 George Street, Galeries Victoria, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.madamenhu.com.au

Opening special a tasty bargain

Madame Nhu has just opened this week and her opening $5 special for all dishes has become very popular indeed. It's so popular that you'd best get there early before dishes sell out and queues get really long to take advantage of one of the cheapest lunches you'll find in the city until this Saturday, 5 November. The Vermicelli Sugarcane prawn ($9.50, $5 opening special) is served on a plate but to make it easier to mix I'm thinking a bowl might have been better like they do at Pasteur. There's a little bit of lettuce I used to wrap up a bit of everything although a few rice paper sheets would have been great. The flavour was quite prawny which is quite nice with the other ingredients. The sugarcane stick was a little hard to try and chew which you can sometimes do. Their Pho noodle special beef pho ($10.5, $5 opening special) could maybe have been served a bit hotter but flavours are quite nice and the stock isn't too oily. There's a fair amount of beef balls to consume as well. The Caramelised pork kho ($10.50, $5 opening special) is slow-cooked berkshire pork belly and rice. The meat is pretty tender as hoped and nicely flavoured. Beware of the thick fatty skin if you're health conscious which simply melts in your mouth.

If I had the time I'd probably try and come back every day for the $5 lunch to try other dishes on the menu. The renovations of the food court are looking pretty good compared to the old one which was very basic. The seating in the centre surrounded by a curtain wall reminds me a bit of Spice Temple. It's nice to see a few decent new eateries are now settling in including Top Juice which make a great fruit salad that I believe also supply to David Jones Food Hall.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Food court seating and decor has been renovated, Presentation and flavours fairly decent for the special price, Buzzer provided to let you know when your order is ready

CONS: $5 special only until Saturday 5 Nov, Long queues due to special pricing, Some of the food court ceiling lights are a bit bright and angle directly into your eyes

MUST TRY: Other dishes on the menu

—

Vermicelli Sugarcane prawn ($9.50, $5 opening special) — decent flavour although if served in a bowl might be a little easier to mix and eat

A bit more lettuce would have been good to make little wraps

Signature đặc biệt - Pho noodle special beef pho($10.5, $5 opening special) — could have been hotter in temperature, flavours OK

Caramelised pork kho - Traditional slow-cooked berkshire pork belly & rice ($10.50, $5 opening special) — tender meat, fatty skin

Service counter

Limited store seating, looks a little squashed

2 dishes for only $10 during promotion. Buzzer provided for when your meal is ready

Busy kitchen

Take away bag

Bright ceiling lights can sometimes be angled straight into your face which isn't nice

Food court seating

The Galeries entrance via Pitt Street

View Larger Map

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Bò 7 Món THANH TÂM: Vietnamese, CBD Sydney (29 Nov, 3 Dec 2010)

50 Hunter Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 8252 7815

Hunting down a new Vietnamese

If you can't get a seat at the ever popular Malay-Chinese then check out the new Vietnamese restaurant next door and downstairs in the Hunter Bar which has only been opened for about 6 weeks. It's got plenty of seating, the owner always seems to be smiling and the dishes are reasonably priced and pretty tasty. On my first visit the Beef Noodle Soup ($8) is decently sized and the broth isn't too oily. The meat could be a little rarer and thinner but I'm pretty happy with it. The Crispy Chicken with Egg Noodle Soup ($9.50) is certainly crispy and one of the better ones I've come across in the city with it's moist meat. Accompanied with a large bowl of noodle soup it's quite good value. The Pork Chop, Shredded Pork and Fried Egg Rice ($9.50) is served on a large plate and comes with a nicely cooked soft egg ready to combine with the rice.

On the second visit a few days later it's noticeably more busy and the Chicken rice noodle soup ($8) is reasonably sized and not too oily as well. There seems to be an introduction of set menus and the Set 4 menu ($10) comes with a Fried Won ton which unfortunately wasn't particularly hot but the freshly cooked Grilled charcoal pork rice noodle was reportedly pretty tasty. The set menu includes a drink for which a soft drink was chosen. A beer or wine can be chosen with the set menu but there's a supplement to pay for this which wasn't clearly stated. Orders receive a buzzer so you know when your meal is ready to collect from the service counter giving you time to purchase your drinks from the bar and find a seat. I'm looking forward to trying other dishes on the menu.

Other visits to Bò 7 Món THANH TÂM:

• 25 July 2011 - Fried Spring Rolls, Steamed Chicken Rice, Vietnamese Coffee, Grilled pork and spring roll with rice noodle

• 29 Nov 2010, 3 Dec 2010 - Beef Noodle Soup, Crispy Chicken with Egg Noodle, Pork Chop, Chicken Rice Noodle Soup, Pork Rice Noodle

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Plenty of seating, Reasonably priced, Tasty dishes, Alcoholic drinks available at the bar, Toilets available, Friendly service, Open for lunch and dinner

CONS: Queue for ordering can get long when busy, No windows and natural light, Decor a bit dark, Service can struggle a bit as they find their feet when very busy, There seems to be different menus outside and inside so it can be a little confusing what's available, Wine and beer supplement on set menu isn't clearly specified, Possibly MSG used

MUST TRY: Crispy Chicken with Egg Noodle Soup, More of the menu

—