Sunday, September 26, 2010

Hung Vuong Saigon

"When I have kids," mused my sister, absentmindedly smoothing her vintage skirt, "I will make them Japanese rice balls every day for their school lunch."  It took everything I could muster not to throw the can of baked beans I was peeling open at her.  Like most parents, before they were born, I had grand visions of what my children would eat.  Things started off well, but as time went on, the grand vision seemed little more than a mirage.

Despite the fact that she had been weaned on dal and hummus, at about age 3, my eldest daughter decided she hated noodles, dumplings, curry, and just about anything that wasn't old-school Aussie fare.  We persisted, and many congealed bowls of lentils later, she came around with a taste of Grandpa's special noodles (aka Chinese spaghetti bolognese).  Now she adores many multicultural dishes, with dumplings at the pinnacle of her own personal food pyramid.  When she and I go out together, we normally head somewhere that specialises in her favourite, but this day I was hankering over an old love of mine: pho bo tai.


Hung Vuong was the first restaurant I ever went to in Footscray, and I still absolutely love it.  Evidently so does everyone else - it's not uncommon to actually have to leave as there is no room to sit at all, and that is on a weekday.


It specialises in pho, Vietnamese noodle soup that is built with fresh rice noodles and either a special beef or chicken stock.  This is topped with the meat of your choice, either just sliced or accompanied by various types of offal.  Also on offer is the classic pork chop on broken rice or various warm rice vermicelli salads.


The pho bo tai or sliced beef pho here is unreal.  Slippery rice noodles of varying widths in a clear beef broth, topped with wafer-thin raw meat that cooks almost instantly in the hot stock.  The stock is so fresh, clean, and flavoursome.  It comes with a plate of bean sprouts, Thai basil, lemon, and chilli.  I pile mine with bean sprouts and a little basil, but this is one of the one things I never add chilli to - the broth is such a sweet and lilting melody, that it is a pity to drown it out with chilli.


I'm not exaggerating when I say I find eating really great pho a meditative experience.  Bent over your bowl, the noise of the busy restaurant subsides.  The steam bathes your face as you watch the meat undergo transubstantiation from red to brown.  The depth of flavour in the broth makes you want to close your eyes and just do nothing but savour every mouthful.  You are both lost in and living in the moment.


From the sublime to the... kid-friendly.  These prawn spring rolls were pretty good, but points off for no mints, stingy lettuce, and very sweet dipping sauce.  My daughter did used to eat pho - Hung Vuong even have a glass full of kiddie forks, teaspoons, and little craft scissors near the register, that you can request and use to chop up noodles and beef for your child.  (Incidentally, I think that explains who in god's name orders the large size pho - families with kids!)  Anyway, I ordered these as I thought they would be a substitute for dumplings.


However, after one curious taste of a piece of beef then a slurp or two of the soup, I found myself stuck with a plate of spring rolls while my daughter polished off my bowl of pho.  Success!  Thanks, Hung Vuong and your sublime soup.  The vision of culinarily globetrotting tots is perhaps not a pipe dream, after all.

Hung Vuong Saigon on Urbanspoon

Hung Vuong Saigon
128 Hopkins St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9689 6002
Hours: 7 days, 9am - 8.30pm

16 comments:

  1. It'd been ages since Bennie and I went out for breakfast, so this morning it was time. When I asked him "Vic Market bratwurst or Gravy Train toast and coffee", he said: "What about pho?" So off we went! Our regular is Hien Vuong, just up the road towards Droop St from Hung Vuong, which I agree is very good. Trouble is, as you say, it can be crowded even in non-peak hours, and sometimes the service can get a little chaotic.

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  2. Pho is an all-time fave! But once, a waiter, bringing my bowl of rare beef noodles, said what I thought was "rabbit noodles". I think I was speechless til I figured it out!

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  3. Another one for the list to try out for the Melb Pho Hunters! :p

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  4. The ultimate in comfort food. My mouth is watering reading about the pho. Definitely one of my favourite places in Footscray. Hopefully you get to try their bun bo hue sometime soon.

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  5. I've had plenty of pho in my time but none has matched up to the consistently satisfying broth of Hung Vuong. I was worried when it moved to newer and brighter premises, but even though the number of customers has increased, the quality has not decreased in any noticeable way. I hope you also had the pickled onion with your pho. There used to be a container at every table, but these days you either have to ask or look out for a sparee at another unoccupied table ... or simply ask a fellow punter if you could have some of theirs.

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  6. Hi all, thank you! Temasek, thanks for the tip about the pickled onions - I know just the container you mean. I always thought they were just raw onion - will have to try it out next time I am there.

    Kenny, I know that place as Hien Vuong Pasteur, as opposed to Hien Vuong in Leeds St. Billy of Half-Eaten rated HV Pasteur recently so I must check it out soon.

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  7. Good to hear that Hung Vuong is open again, after recent renovations!

    I can't believe you don't add chilli! While I frown upon the addition of hoi sin or chilli sauce to the broth (they're strictly for dipping, in my book) I find a couple of slices of fresh chilli make the broth come alive. Especially if you're ordering pho which has the rare beef involved, because the broth should still be hot enough to have the chilli infuse through it.

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  8. I add the chilli to the broth but don't eat it. The soup itself is so flavoursome, that I can never bring myself to add anything except the chilli and a squeeze of lemon near the end. I put the tangy chilli sauce in the little dish the fresh chilli comes in and use it for meat dipping.

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  9. When I was a kid (and keep in mind I'm Asian) I'd order nothing but pasta. And now I guzzle stomachs, gizzards and livers galore. So there's hope yet, don't you worry!

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  11. Billy and Kenny, that is a great tip about just putting the chilli in the broth but not eating it. Will definitely do that next time.

    Iron Chef Shellie - yes!! I used to have a favourite place in Richmond that once we ate there 2 days back-to-back. I think they thought we were total freaks.

    Vee - my sister's best friend growing up was Asian and she would only ever want to go out for pasta with my sister, while my sister wanted Chinese or Vietnamese. The grass is always greener!

    Nejla - it must have just been an off day. Happens to the best of us! I must try the pho ga one day - can you believe I have never had it?!

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  12. Hey, Lauren, tell us how you go with that.

    For many years, I thought my pho ritual was "not the done thing". But in the past few months I've seen some Viet folk do just the same.

    Compared to the stuff I was brought up on - deep in the South Island in the '60s - I'm here to testify the grass REALLY IS greener. These days.

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  13. Hung Vuong Saigon was my first taste of Footscray food, after spending a month too frightened to taste anything! Now Im pretty sure i'd kill someone without my weekly pho fix ;) I just had my wisdom teeth out and was saved by having takeaway soup from there every day last week!

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  14. Hey Lauren, thanks for stopping by noodlies! Loooove Footscray, I get to melb a bit for work.. any recommendations would be great!

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