The thought and detail that's gone into the decor of this restaurant is amazing. Every inch of the space is optimised - open plan kitchen, communal tables, private tables, outdoor settings, a bar for those waiting for a table and an L-shaped front desk. The interior design is beautiful - everywhere you look there's a touch of different Asian cultures that reflect what's on the diverse menu.
On my first visit, we tried the chicken salad entrée (refreshing! highly recommend), caramelised pork (the egg was deeeelicious! though I'm used to the sauce being a lot saltier) and Luke Nguyen’s famous pho. It’s a very hearty pho soup – not a flavour I’m used to. So while I think Dad Pham’s pho rules the universe, I still recommend everyone try Luke Nguyen’s at some point because Dad Pham won’t cook for you unless you’re one of his kids.
Little Sissy Pham came back the following week to try more dishes but I failed to get photos because my stomach trumps my brain when it comes to eating and I finished most of the food before I remembered I should have paused to take a photo. This is why I will never be a food blogger.
This time we had the grilled pork neck skewers which are impossibly juicy and delicious (highly recommend this!), then the prawn and pork rice paper rolls that I nearly refused to get because I can easily make them at home BUT the sauce mix is gorgeous! My sauce doesn’t taste like that! Nobody’s sauce tastes like that. How does he do it? Then we shared a main of grilled pork cutlets with broken rice, a fried egg and Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon. It was the best pork cutlet I’ve had - I’ve had that dish in a lot of Vietnamese restaurants and at home and the cutlets have been yummy but dry and chewy. This cutlet was moist and so flavoursome.