In search of banh mi

I was born and raised in Sydney, originally living in and around Marrickville before moving down to THE Shire (there is no other, apparently) partway through primary school then disappearing for a few years to live in Hong Kong. We returned to THE Shire for me to complete the bulk of my high schooling and I remained there until getting married a couple of years ago and migrating across to the North Shore. It really is considered a migration – people joke that I had to get a visa and surrender my passport before leaving THE Shire, such is the amount of pride felt by the locals. (We’ll leave the jokes about everyone being inbred and cut off from the mainland for another time, teehee!)

Growing up in the inner west meant easy access to Greek and Italian sweets as well as Vietnamese breads and pastries. My mother would often purchase crusty baguette rolls with their soft, fluffy innards and a croissant for me. I would spend seemingly forever attempting to eat one, usually only getting halfway, by patiently peeling off individual layers and marvelling at their delicate translucency.

Banh mi thit, or Vietnamese pork rolls, are not something I grew up with but something I’ve grown to love since adulthood. Now while my current living area is diverse in Japanese and Cantonese cuisine options, with a steady increase in Korean eateries in recent years as well, it is definitely lacking in the Vietnamese department. I know of only three Vietnamese restaurants in my immediate vicinity, and I struggled when it came to thinking of Vietnamese bakeries from where I could procure banh mi thit for which I’d had an unexplained craving for 48 hours.

This is the journey that it led me on.

Food to nurse hangovers

It’s hot and stuffy. The sun is blazing outside and rudely creeping in through the blinds. Oh, my eyes! Why is it so bright? You move to roll over. Whoa…the bed, or wherever you parked yourself last night/this morning, feels like a tiny dinghy bobbing about on rough seas. *Bob, bob, bob, bob…* It’s too hot to keep sleeping and you really need something to settle down the party which has been continuing in your stomach and bloodstream despite you stopping hours ago.

Good morning (or afternoon), and a happy new year to you, your stomach, your pounding headache and…so nice of you to join us, Hangover!

Although there are no foods which can miraculously cure hangovers, there are certain foods that somehow make you feel better through nothing other than comfort or placebo effect. If you’re wanting something fast-food yet can’t bear the usual international chains, then Ocean Foods has many deep-fried and more virtuous non-deep fried options. The grilled barramundi with chips (below) is just one of them – it is unbattered and cooked on the spot like all their hot foods. Paired with some sweet, crunchy and not-at-all greasy crab claws as well as a small tub of salad (coleslaw in this instance, pictured below) and you can soothe that hangover whilst having a balanced meal. For something in a more central location, there’s that famous soft-shell crab omelette (unpictured) from Café Ish which the husband keeps raving to everyone about.

Or perhaps you want something a little more pure and soothing. Pho An has any combination of beef, fatty beef, beef meatballs, beef tendon, tripe, chicken, etc in a fragrant Vietnamese beef or chicken broth with slippery flat rice noodles where chewing isn’t even required. Topped with fresh herbs to awaken the senses, stir in chopped chillies for warmth and slurp to restore some much-needed hydration. Noodle bowls are available in small (regular) and large sizes, and your food will appear almost instantly by magic. Peruse the menu at the doorway or ask for a printed menu when seated, as the wall menus are in Vietnamese and Chinese only.

To combine the best of both worlds Ton Ton Regent has ramen, karaage chicken, gyoza and tempura amongst other things, whilst Menya Mappen has udon, soba, lots of fresh crunchy tempura and kakiage, poached egg and small rice bowls all for very affordable prices. And runny eggs always make things better.

Gumshara will give you a thick, sticky, flavoursome and soul-restoring soup where each bowl is taste-tested by the master himself before being served. The noodles are springy and the pork is plentiful. Add a soft-boiled egg and you’re absolutely set for the day. If you want an alternate to noodles the ‘Special Rice’ bowl is serious value at around $8 with a foundation of rice mixed with sesame seeds, soft-boiled egg and vegetables topped with roast pork, and then the whole thing repeated on top of it again – it will satisfy the most ravenous of hangover hungers.

For a variety of eats including deep-fried things, rice, noodles, soups and Hong Kong fusion-style pastas then you simply cannot go past a “cha chaan teng” (茶餐廳). Iced lemon tea rates highly on my long-time loves even though it’s only black tea, sugar syrup and fresh lemon slices. You’ll find sweet drinks incorporating azuki (red) beans and grass jelly as well as Hong Kong-style French toast “sai dor see” (西多士) – typically two slices of white bread sandwiched with peanut butter, deep-fried in eggy batter before being served with butter and golden syrup. Trolley/cart noodles used to be street food sold, well, from a mobile cooking trolley, allowing for personalisation of soup noodles (flat rice noodles, rice vermicelli, Hokkien noodles, flat egg noodles, thin egg noodles, etc) and toppings (dried squid, fish balls, fried fish skin, luncheon meat, ham, pig’s blood jelly, beef meatballs, pork meatballs, chicken wings, mushrooms, etc and an array of vegetables). Not available at many Hong Kong fusion-style cafés in Sydney, Victoria Noodle Restaurant offers a great selection of noodles and toppings as well as other menu items. Try their salt and chilli chicken wings with rice – hangover or no hangover – if you get a chance.

For something healthy and sweet, wowcow serves 98% fat-free yoghurt with active cultures that is smooth and slides easily down the throat. One of Sydney’s earlier frozen yoghurt chains, mix in whatever toppings take your fancy from their display window and pair with cinnamon-sugared wow-sticks (baked churros) for dipping. I spotted Joh Bailey bringing a group of friends here late one night, and don’t forget to crane your head back (provided it doesn't induce too much dizziness) to marvel at the cow feature adorning the ceiling!

Ocean Foods

Corner of Lyons Rd & Gipps St, Drummoyne NSW

Tel: (02) 9181 4336

Opening Hours:  7 days  9am-9pm

Café Ish

82 Campbell St (cnr Foster St), Surry Hills NSW

Tel: (02) 9281 1688

Opening Hours:  Mon-Tues  7am-4pm

                        Wed-Fri  7am-10pm

Sat  9am-10pm

Sun  9am-2:30pm

Pho An

27 Greenfield Pde (near cnr Stewart Ln), Bankstown NSW

Tel: (02) 9796 7826

Opening Hours:  7 days  7am-9pm

Ton Ton Regent

Shop 10.16, Ground floor of Regent Place, 501 George St (cnr Bathurst St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9267 1313

Opening Hours:  7 days  11:30am-10pm

Menya Mappen

Shop 11, Ground Floor of Meriton Tower – Skyview Shopping Plaza, 537-551 George St (near cnr Liverpool St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9283 5525

Opening Hours:  Sun-Wed  11:30am-10pm

                        Thurs-Sat  11:30am-10:30pm

Gumshara

Shop 209, Lower Ground Level, Harbour Plaza, 25-29 Dixon St (Chinatown), Haymarket NSW

Tel: 0410 253 180

Opening Hours:  Mon  CLOSED

                        Tues-Sun  10am-10pm

Victoria Noodle Restaurant

Shop A8, Lower level of Victoria Plaza, 369 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9410 1822

Opening Hours:  7 days…11am-10pm

wowcow

Shop 2, 304-308 Victoria St, Darlinghurst NSW

Tel: (02) 9326 0400

Opening Hours:  Mon-Thurs  11:30am-11pm

                        Fri  11:30am-12 midnight

                        Sat  11am-12 midnight

                        Sun  11am-11pm

happy eating!

Pho Toan Thang, 11 Oct 2009

It was a warm day and both Monsieur Poisson and I had a craving for pho. Unfortunately for us, we have yet to discover where to find authentic-tasting pho in our area, so we trek to Flemington where it seems almost every place bar the supermarket and bakery near the train station sells pho.

Naturally, Monsieur Poisson and I end up at our tried and familiar Pho Toan Thang. There is a queue of people stretching out the doorway (which clears by the time I take the above photo) but the wait is not long for us two who don’t mind sharing the long communal table in the middle.

Monsieur Poisson orders an iced coffee which is made with condensed milk. It is cooling and sweet with an intense coffee flavour hit. I stick with the more soothing flavours of the pot of tea provided at the table.

Monsieur Poisson orders his favourite ‘Combination Pho’ (pho dac biet) which has flat rice noodles, cooked beef slices, tripe and beef balls in a beef soup. It is herby and rich in flavour, although not as rich as some other places as I hear our shared table diners proclaim. I, for some reason, am feeling rather greedy and suggest that we order deep-fried spring rolls (cha gio) to share as well as a ‘Combination pork with tomato rice’ (com tam suon bi cha).

The spring rolls are crispy and well-drained but are not accompanied by as many lettuce leaves as usual to wrap up the crunchy rolls with their mung bean vermicelli and pork mince filling. I repeatedly dip (It’s okay to double-dip when only in the company of your partner, no?) into the accompanying fish sauce that has been spiked with rounds of small red chillies – the perfect dressing to cut through fat and oppressive hot weather.

By the time I’ve finished a couple of the spring rolls is when I realise that, yes, I have in fact been rather greedy with ordering as the ‘Combination pork with tomato rice’ is piled rather high on a round plate. But we are happy because the pork chop is thick and juicy; the steamed egg-loaf studded with pork, wood ear fungus and mung bean vermicelli is firm and yellow (at some places it can be grey and crumbly); and the rice is tomato-ey without being soggy. However my favourite part of this dish has to be the finely shredded pork rind with its powdery flavourings and springy texture.

It is no surprise that we cannot finish our dishes but the staff happily provide takeaway containers for us to bundle up our leftover rice and pork to take home. Service is swift, the food uplifting and, most importantly, we have satisfied our need for a pho fix.

Pho Toan Thang

Shop 9, 90-95 The Crescent, Flemington NSW

Tel: (02) 9764 3687

Opening Hours:  7 days  9am-8pm

happy eating!