Pho Dzung

I must sheepishly confess that I am new to pho and am still a little confused as to the correct pronunciation. Is it 'po' or 'fur'? Anyway, last night I was introduced to the world of pho and it didn't matter whether I could pronounce it or not, as my taste buds were doing the talking.

I consulted a Vietnamese friend who recommended a restaurant specialising in pho on Victoria Street, Richmond. I caught the train there, with the usual drunk racist idiots that you'd expect on a Saturday night (will spare you the details and reserve them for my other blog!) and walked 100 shops or so down Victoria Street to Pho Dzung.

We were greeted warmly and a table was promptly wiped clean of debris from the last hungry customers. I ordered a small pho with rare beef ($7) and my friend ordered a medium pho with sliced chicken($8). We also ordered some spring rolls with an unknown filling($8) as we didn't bother to ask what was inside. I mean really as long as it tastes good, do you really want to know? Particularly not when other dishes on the menu included tripe, cartilage and coagulated ox blood.

Before too long, the steaming bowls of pho arrived, along with the do-it-yourself style garnishes of lemon wedges, freshly chopped red chillies, Thai basil and bean shoots. Also the table was jam-packed with condiments including soy sauce and hoisin sauce. I added some lemon, bean shoots, basil and hoisin sauce. As I'm still a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy food, I left out the chilli.

The flavours of the pho were delicious. The beef was cooked all the way through but not tough, and the noodles were tasty with a good balance between broth and noodle. Also floating around the bowl were spring onions. It was a nice heart warming dish on a cold Winter's night and left me feeling very satisfied but not at all bloated.

All in all, this was a great experience. The only down points to eating at Pho Dzung were the usual lack of decor that you find in Asian restaurants on Victoria Street and the fact that I almost skidded over walking to the toilet in the back of the restaurant, as the floor was so greasy, presumably with other diners' spilt pho. (And unlike milk, this spilt pho, is something worth crying over...) But decor is not really a concern, as this isn't a restaurant to languish in for hours, it's a rough and ready 'do drop in' servicing Melbourne with some of the best pho out there, or so my Vietnamese friends tell me...

Pho Dzung

208 Victoria Street

Richmond VIC 3121

Ph. (03) 9427 0292