Tag: crispy skin chicken

Categories
Vietnamese

Pho PhD – Marrickville NSW Restaurant Review

Beloved Marrickville Vietnamese restaurant Pho PhD didn’t blow my mind, and that’s OK.

The Pho Beef Special ($19) was absolutely reasonable, but not the best I’ve ever had. The serving size was actually quite large, even for the regular serving, but I didn’t feel as wowed as I have been at some restaurants by the complexity of their beef balls. I am spoiled by 2 Foodies, which to date is still my favourite pho, even though I understand it’s not the most traditional rendition out there. Now there’s a place I would award a PhD to in terms of original research and a genuine contribution to mankind’s understanding of the world around us.

This Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice ($18.50) was pretty good, no complaints from me. It has an adequately crispy skin with a moist interior, I don’t necessarily think that Sydney has an absolute crispy skin chicken king.

This Lemongrass Pork Chop ($8) was the best thing I had of the night, very well priced, and well flavoured. You save a considerable amount of money if you just order the pork chop without the rice, and we already had plenty of rice from the crispy skin chicken and tomato rice dish to go around. Yum.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Pho PhD is a very busy eatery, seemingly popular with the inner-West late 20s crowd, as we happened to run into (and successfully avoid eye contac with0 someone we went to high school with. Their food was not mind blowing, but of a reasonable staple quality. Personally given the wide range of Vietnamese restaurants in Marrickville that I’ve yet to try, I think I will eat around before I think about going back.

Pho PhD Vietnamese Restaurant
260 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
(02) 9090 2869

Categories
Vietnamese

Nem Kitchen – Waterloo NSW Restaurant Review

Nem Kitchen, Vietnamese restaurant in Waterloo, wasn’t where I was initially planning to have lunch on Boxing Day 2020 but I’m glad it’s where I went.

Bún Bò Huế

I tried to order a Phở Đặc Biệt but didn’t realise until right now, whilst writing this review, that I was given Bún Bò Huế (Hot and Spicy Beef Noodle Soup – $17.80) instead. I had just thought, at the time, that I was given a really special and delicious bowl of pho. The broth had a really deep herbal flavour with lots of chilli flavour inside. I was going to remark that it was strange that chilli was mixed into the soup prior to it being served but I now know that that’s really kind of a stupid thought given that it wasn’t actually a bowl of pho that I ate. I’m not Vietnamese, so I don’t know these things. The Bún Bò Huế had a combination of rare sliced beef, beef brisket, beef balls, and pork loaf. The rare sliced beef was rolled up into balls and submerged into the soup, ensuring that at the very least the insides of the balls did not become overcooked throughout the meal. I found the beef brisket quite unpleasant – very fatty and chewy with a strong beef fat taste, and I would definitely recommend asking to not have this. The beef balls were quite standard, and the pork loaf the same kind of stuff you get in banh mi. The noodles of the Bún Bò Huế were a thick round vermicelli, which also surprised me at the time but obviously makes sense now knowing that it wasn’t actually pho that I was eating.

An middle-aged white man walked past me whilst I was eating and asked what I was having. He ordered one of the same, even though I told him to avoid the brisket. His loss.

Hanoi Crab and Pork Spring Roll

The crab and pork spring rolls (Nem Cua Bể – $12.80) were very good. The pastry was multilayered and crispy, and the filling of crab meat, pork mince, mushroom and wood ear fungus was very tasty. The dipping sauce was a good addition, although I must admit I did not finish (or expect) the side salad. I can recommend this one too.

I took a serving of  Crispy Chicken & Salad with Tomato Rice (Cơm Đỏ Gà Giòn – $17.80) home. I was more keen to just get crispy chicken, but could not see it on the menu. Little did I know that they do probably offer the chicken by itself, as it’s on their online delivery menus. By the time I arrived home (a 15 minute drive) the chicken was already non-crispy. A bit disappointing.

The Pork Chops & Fried Egg with Tomato Rice ($16.80) was mildly better than the crispy chicken and rice but not by much. My partner said it was only OK.

VERDICT
I’d really recommend the Hot and Spicy Beef Noodle Soup and the crab and pork spring rolls. I think some of the other sides sound potentially delicious too. Worth a visit, but think twice about take-away.

4.

Nem Kitchen
20A Danks St, Waterloo NSW 2017
(02) 9698 6392

Categories
Asian Fusion Vietnamese

Kinhboy – Redfern NSW Restaurant Review

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.

3.5/5 racially segregated staff pools

Kinhboy
Shop E/66 Regent St, Redfern NSW 2016
(02) 8399 0535

Categories
Vietnamese

Khoi’s Vietnamese Cuisine – Surry Hills NSW Restaurant Review

Not to be confused with the much more disappointing Khoi Eatery in Marrickville, Khoi’s in Surry Hills is a completely different, much better, family-run Vietnamese restaurant.

My partner is a big fan of corn. I have never known her to see corn on the menu and not want it. While I would have preferred some of Khoi’s visually appealing chicken wings, compromises sometimes need to be made. Nevertheless, the crispy buttered sweet corn, marinated with chipotle mayo ($10) was a hit. We liked how not all surfaces of all kernals were battered. We liked the buttery richness of the dish to start, however soon found that the portion was perhaps a bit big for the two of us to share – it was really more suited to four people. After a while corn just gets a bit lukewarm and boring. I wasn’t able to identify any chipotle or spicy flavour to this dish, but despite this it was quite good. I would NOT recommend this for a couple (unless your partner is a corn fanatic) however can recommend this for larger groups.

Crispy spring rolls of pork, black mushrooms, and glass noodles ($10)

The Crispy spring rolls of pork, black mushrooms, and glass noodles ($10) were quite good. They had a complex flavour and texture that is rare in the spring roll world.

Khoi’s beef noodle soup, combination of rare Black Angus beef, brisket, beef balls & thin slice of ox tail ($18)

Khoi’s beef noodle soup, combination of rare Black Angus beef, brisket, beef balls & thin slice of ox tail ($18) was really good. The slices of rare Angus beef were tender. The brisket and beef balls were also good, however I have to give a point to Khoi in Marrickville for their beef balls over those at Khoi’s in Surry Hills – the one at this restaurant did not particularly stand out. We couldn’t identify any ox tail in our pho, however this was not really a bad thing as I often find ox tail too fatty and oily, like I did when we had ramen at Spanish Sakaba.

Super crispy skin Bannockburn Chicken cooked in Khoi’s master stock, ginger, shallot

The skin of the Super crispy skin Bannockburn Chicken cooked in Khoi’s master stock, ginger, shallot ($20) was, true to its name, super crispy. What this dish’s long name failed to mention, however, was that the meat inside was also very tender and juicy. The flavour was tasty but not too tasty, and I really enjoyed every last morsel of this chicken. My partner commented that it was not cooked as well as the Korean chicken from Soul Dining (also in Surry Hills), but I think she is wrong. I think they are both very good, and can recommend this dish.

Sauces

Overall I really enjoyed my meal at Khoi’s in Surry Hills. There are plenty of other dishes on the menu I’d like to try, so I would both recommend eating here and plan for a second trip.

5/5 bok boks who are allowed to roam during the day but locked up at night “for their own protection”.

Khôi’s Vietnamese Cuisine
583 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 8054 6306