The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
I really like myself some Vietnamese food, and Ba Mien came highly recommended by the online Vietnamese-Australian community for its selection of specialties from across the three geographical and culinary regions of Vietnam.
This banh cuon with fermented pork and beef ($17) was great. I don’t know if it’s me that’s changed since the first time I had banh cuon in Marrickville back in 2021, or the quality is actually better, but I really enjoyed it. The rice noodles were soft and silky, with good moistness and not a hint of the dryness that I experienced in past lives.
The banh cuon filling, though confined to only small pockets, was flavourful and umami. The spring roll was packed densely with meat and also very good, as was the nem nuong. Total recommendation on this one.
The banh xeo with pork, prawn, squid and scallop ($20) was a bit of a disappointment. It started off strong, freshly deep fried, warm and crispy, but as I ate towards the centre and delved through the greenery I became less sweet about it.
I think my biggest problem with the banh xeo was the unexpected protein. The four types of protein listed on the menu already provided more than enough taste and textural variety, and I did not need insect protein added to the mix as well. One of the reasons I like to eat at restaurants is that it means that I don’t have to wash and prepare my ingredients, but the normally unspoken hope in this is that even though I don’t have to, someone else will do it for me. I’m sad to say that my favourite banh xeo remains to be from banh xeo bar in Rosebery, which, given its vaguely fusion roots, I don’t know if that makes me a bad Asian.
Comments The banh cuon was really good, but I think the washing of the vegetables would go a long way. Quite affordable.
The weirdest moment of our meal at Gia Dinh was when some guy came in and started giving the kid working there the third degree about where the photos on the wall came from (his mother’s hometown), which part of Vietnam that was specifically (he didn’t know), whether the body of water depicted was a natural river or a viaduct (he didn’t know), whether he had ridden a motorbike in Vietnam (the kid was like ten, but he made sure to tell him that he hadn’t lived until he’s ridden a motorbike in Vietnam), and then later on asked another kid (I presume the first child’s brother) if he had ever ridden a motorcycle in Vietnam (obviously not). He sat down, opened his laptop for about three minutes, and then left when his takeaway order was ready.
We started our meal with the Bánh Phồng Thịt Nướng ($10), a small entree of mildly sweet BBQ pork, crushed peanuts and spring onion oil served on top of a sliver of rice noodle on a prawn cracker. There was a lot to like about this dish, with a great interplay of different textures (the crunchy peanut, the prawn cracker) and flavours. If I had one point of improvement to suggest it would be the temperature. I felt that this whole thing could’ve been a bit warmer, but especially the rice noodle which was cold.
The Bò Lúc Lắc Xà LáchXoong ($22), a shaking kind of beef cube allegedly in a pepper and butter glaze on a bed of watercress was next. While the beef was reasonably tender, I could not identify the watercress in this dish. My partner and I were both recognised within the state for our knowledge of agriculture as children, and this foundational knowledge, combined with our adept Googling skills through years of inpatient medical practice led us to believe that the greenery was indeed some kind of lettuce rather than watercress. Again I felt that the random mixture of warm and cold ingredients was harmful to the dish as a whole, though I understand that salads do exist.
Gia Dinh’s Bánh Xèo ($18) is perhaps what they’re best known for, but sadly did not quite live up to my expectations. While I thought the batter was extremely crispy and obviously freshly fried (we were their first customers of the day as they opened at 10AM), I found the filling to be a bit underwhelming. The prawns were on the smaller size and the pork was scarce, but I think the main thing was that it didn’t really have as much flavour on its own as I would’ve thought. The fish sauce was absolutely necessary for its enjoyment, and actually some of their chilli oil, which was a bit sweet and complex, went a long way as well. The online reviews denote Gia Dinh’s banh xeo as on the top tier of traditional reproductions, so it may honestly be my weak and uncivilised palate that cannot appreciate it, but at the end of the day I like what I like, and that’s what this blog is really all about.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I liked the entree, but didn’t love the promised Sydney’s best banh xeo. Perhaps it is my horrible westernised palate (I did enjoy Banh Xeo Bar, take that how you will) but ultimately I just write this blog to remind myself more than anything about what I like and what I don’t like. Onto the next Vietnamese restaurant in Marrickville.
I don’t generally have much occasion to visit Winston Hills, but having had Lee Chef’s (amazing) pho no less than six times in the four months that we were locked down it was time to try something new.
The Beef Pho (Large – $15.50) was looking weak both visually and on paper, but turned out surprisingly good. Featuring only beef brisket, rare beef, and beef balls, My Hao’s only beef pho offering leaves out the tendon and tripe that round out a full featured Phở Đặc Biệt. The soup is clear and sweeter than I’m generally what I’m used to, and the “rare beef” is actually cooked almost all the way through by the time the bowl reaches the table. Despite theses subjective and objective shortcomings, I enjoyed this bowl a surprising amount. I think the strength of this bowl of pho really comes down to My Hao’s great use of brisket, which is fatty and moist, but doesn’t go a nanometre past the sweet spot into being too fatty. Not all bowls of pho need to be homogenous, and all things considered the only thing I would change about this pho would be to be a bit more generous with the basil.
This was not the best Pork Roll ($6.50) I’ve ever reviewed on this blog, but it probably looks the best. I can’t believe it’s taken me over 300 reviews (these get queued for ages and the posting order gets switched up, so while this meal was eaten in October 2021 the review could be posted any time into the future – or past? spooky) to realise that people would probably prefer to see a nicely cut cross-section of a sandwich than my haphazard interpretation of such made with my teeth and mouth. I recently found an anaesthetic colleague’s croissant-based Instagram, and the beauty of cut croissants and the lack of wedge-shaped teeth marks in her photos struck me. My Hao expertly served this less-than-expert banh mi cut into halves and on a plate, but I don’t really know how I can emulate this in my usual practice, unless I carry a knife with me at all times. It turns out that’s exactly what she does. I can’t wait to explain this to the cops.
Back to the actual pork roll, I felt that it lost points for being too salty and too sweet and too wet. The bread also happened to be a bit too crusty and a bit too hard, and the restaurant being a full featured restaurant rather than a bakery I wonder if their baguettes are made on site or elsewhere. I was shocked and offended when the only other diners in the restaurant ordered banh mis without pate, but looking at the amount of pate I got in mine I’m not sure it would’ve made much of a difference.
UPDATE WINTER 2025
About three years after my visit to My Hao I had the opportunity to order lunch from them as part of what would be my last meal in this particular part of Western Sydney for some time. I had the bánh xèo (pork – $18)which was quite tasty, very clean, with an absolute lack of insects unlike one of the more recent bánh xèos I remember having at a different restaurant (now closed).
Unfortunately travel was not kind to this particular crispy pancake, rendering it relatively soggy, however the fact that the whole thing was soaked in oil which soaked through the bottom of the box and into the box underneath it gave me adequate evidence to suggest that it was once quite crispy. The fillings were generous and the flavour was good. I had overall no significant complaints, and I am sure that it would have been a delicious meal had I had it at the restaurant. During this meal I also had some pork spring rolls which were equally delicious and remained crispy throughout that trip. I have no photographic evidence of this.
COMMENTS I think that if I’m after the kind of pho that I know I like whilst living in the Parramatta area, Lee Chef still has my patronage I think that if I want to subject myself to some sweeter pho that is outside of my comfort zone I’d continue to explore the rest of Sydney rather than come back to My Hao. I don’t hate them. It just is what it is.
My Hao 1E Caroline Chisholm Dr, Winston Hills NSW 2153 (02) 9688 7631
We’ve been on a bit of a Vietnamese food journey recently, and when Kinhboy popped up on my radar last week with good preliminary reviews online we knew we had to try. Unfortunately they did not quite live up to their hype.
The banh xeo tacos with crackling pork belly (2 for $16) were pretty unextraordinary. While the filling of crackling pork, vietnamese slaw and sauce was tasty, juicy and fresh, the “banh xeo” exterior shell was a letdown. Taking our experience at Banh Xeo Bar as a baseline we would characterise this banh xeo taco shell as too hard (but not crispy) and a bit stale tasting.
Short Rib Pho
Kinhboy’s beef short rib pho ($18) was actually very good. The meat was very juicy and tender, cut into bit sized pieces and rearranged on the bone. The broth was rich and tasty. My one complaint would be that this dish was served with the bean sprouts within the soup, meaning that we did not have the opportunity to add our own at our own pace. This meant that they got quite soft and cooked by the end of our meal, while we like them a bit more crunchy and less cooked.
Crispy Chicken Supreme ($21), Jasmine Rice ($4)
I had very high expectations for the Crispy Chicken Supreme ($21), cooked in the French style in nuoc cham buerre blanc. Unfortunately my expectations were not met. The chicken itself was dry, and the skin hard but not crispy – a significant downgrade from the chicken I recently had at Khoi’s in Surry Hills. The sauce, while tangy and creamy, didn’t really go well with the chicken. Even when dipped the chicken had difficulty holding onto the sauce, and my partner felt like the flavours did not match well ( I don’t feel as strongly about this.) While the Jasmine Rice ($4) was a good suggestion from our waitress (like at Banh Xeo Bar, all of Kinhboy’s waitresses were White while all the Asians were kept in the kitchen) to soak up the sauce, it ultimately just didn’t cross the line into P+ territory for us.
Cherry Bomb
My partner wanted me to leave some good vibes about this Cherry Bomb ($18) cocktail.
VERDICT
While the beef short rib pho was a hit, our other two dishes were a disappointment – sad because I really wanted to like it. Despite a pretty average time at Kinhboy we did dine at sister restaurant Tokki a couple of days later – keep your eyes and noses peeled for that review soon.
Banh Xeo Bar in Rosebery is a mixed-race family affair. Helmed by Benjamin Sinfield and Tanio Ho, the restaurant serves up Vietnamese inspired dishes with a dash of Western flare. This sense of co-operation is also seen in the staffing at the restaurant – with front of house being run by Caucasians and the kitchen run by Asians.
We were initially skeptical about this hip looking bar with a clientele of mostly Eastern Suburbs types (although we ourselves are technically Eastern Suburb locals at this point) and $15 banh mis, but quickly settled in to an authentic and tasty meal.
The Vietnamese iced coffee ($5.50) was really good! It was not too sweet.
Crispy pork trotter in salt and vinegar butter ($12.50)
We started with the crispy pork trotter in salt and vinegar butter ($12.50). This dish consisted of two deep fried pork trotters in a butter sauce with a slice of lemon. The pork was very deep friend and crispy, and the internal fats were nice and rendered. The meat itself was very oily, and I thought that the lemon was absolutely necessary to cut through the fat a bit. The butter was a bit of a superfluous addon to such an already heavy and oily dish. Overall a recommendation.
Banh Xeo with roast berkshire pork ($26.50)
Our first main was the Banh Xeo with roast berkshire pork ($26.50). This was the first time I’ve ever had Banh Xeo, and I didn’t quite know what to expect. The egg pancake was fried to a very good warm and cripsy level. The filling inside, with pork and bean sprouts, had varying textures that amused the tongue, with a good umami flavour. The banh xeo was served with lettuce wraps and BXB’s marinated carrots and pickles, which when eaten together were able to provide multiple levels and types of crunch, crispiness, umami, and cut through the fat. This was an absolutely delicious dish.
The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue – beef flank, beef tongue, and pig head nugget noodle soup
The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue – beef flank, beef tongue, and pig head nugget noodle soup ($22.50) was a delight. We optioned it with 2 additional eggplant croquetas (on the plate in the photo), to be described separately.. I really like all the different types of meat in this soup – and also that despite being in the Eastern suburbs they didn’t shy away from serving things like beef tongue and pig head. I loved the varied textures of the meat, and also the high meat and vegetable content of the soup – there was never really a boring spoonful. A special mention goes out to the pig head nuggets, which were just delicious parcels of meatiness and fatiness that added a whole different dimension to the beef tongue and flank. The soup itself unfortunately doesn’t make it into my top soups, as my personal feeling was that it had too strong a soy flavour for my liking, but I recognise that this probably just a personal preference – I enjoyed the The Combination Special Bun Bo Hue more with the supplied lemon squeezed in. The lemongrass and chilli condiment, allegedly made by Ho’s mum, was good however didn’t find much use in this dish.
The eggplant croquetas (2 for $5) were enjoyed by my partner but not me. They were very smooth inside, and the form is made purely by the fried exterior, which I guess is a technical achievement. I think I’m a little bit allergic to eggplant.
Overall I can really recommend Banh Xeo Bar in Rosbery. It manages to straddle the line between authentic Asian cuisine and the rice paper rolls and banh mi that are more easily palatable to the South East Sydney populace. There really is something for everyone, to post gym yoga mums to two hardened deep-Asian diners.
