Feeling an unusual urge for pho after work it was off to Victoria Street to a place that I'd heard of but never tried. With the name Pho Chu The it should come as no surprise that here it's all about the pho. The main board offers a dozen or more varieties and the only regular non-pho food is rice paper or spring rolls. If you want something else then you are probably best pho'king off elsewhere.
Unlike most Vietnamese restaurants in this strip the name isn't pasted in big letters on the front window, I actually walked past twice before double checking the number. Inside though is much better than the usual, quite tastefully done in a minimalist sort of way. At just after 5 on a weekday only a few tables were occupied, but I can imagine it gets very busy at peak times.
Depending on your level of adventurousness you can go for a fairly simple pho through to one with all the trimmings. First choice was a basic beef and tendon pho. First two things to strike me were the huge bowl and wonderful smell. Closer inspection revealed thin strips of medium rare beef swimming in a steaming hot rich beef soup. Bean sprouts and mint are served on the side so you can add as much or as little as you want. It's the same with the chilli but watch out, not knowing how hot though were I was a little enthusiastic and still have the scorch marks on my tongue several days later.
The second and more adventurous choice was the 'special' chicken. This includes lots of the tasty bits that scare many white folks for some reason. I can confirm though that it is offally good. Tender just cooked chicken with scattered bits of kidney, heart and liver, I didn't think it had the same smell as the beef pho but tasted equally as good.
Discussions with a colleague of Vietnamese extraction also revealed that while he hadn't been here he understood that their meals were msg free, and that from the photos the meat appeared to be hand cut with the broth nicely light and clear.
Overall
I'm not a regular consumer of pho, preferring the stronger flavours of a rich, hot, creamy laksa for my Asian soup kick. However, despite not having a huge number of experiences to compare it to I thought the pho here was pretty good, well flavoured and filling. I don't think it's converted me away from a good laksa, but it's sure better than a bad one.
Verdict
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 7
Service - 7
Price - 8
Address
264 Victoria Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9427 7749
Unlike most Vietnamese restaurants in this strip the name isn't pasted in big letters on the front window, I actually walked past twice before double checking the number. Inside though is much better than the usual, quite tastefully done in a minimalist sort of way. At just after 5 on a weekday only a few tables were occupied, but I can imagine it gets very busy at peak times.
Depending on your level of adventurousness you can go for a fairly simple pho through to one with all the trimmings. First choice was a basic beef and tendon pho. First two things to strike me were the huge bowl and wonderful smell. Closer inspection revealed thin strips of medium rare beef swimming in a steaming hot rich beef soup. Bean sprouts and mint are served on the side so you can add as much or as little as you want. It's the same with the chilli but watch out, not knowing how hot though were I was a little enthusiastic and still have the scorch marks on my tongue several days later.
The second and more adventurous choice was the 'special' chicken. This includes lots of the tasty bits that scare many white folks for some reason. I can confirm though that it is offally good. Tender just cooked chicken with scattered bits of kidney, heart and liver, I didn't think it had the same smell as the beef pho but tasted equally as good.
Discussions with a colleague of Vietnamese extraction also revealed that while he hadn't been here he understood that their meals were msg free, and that from the photos the meat appeared to be hand cut with the broth nicely light and clear.
Overall
I'm not a regular consumer of pho, preferring the stronger flavours of a rich, hot, creamy laksa for my Asian soup kick. However, despite not having a huge number of experiences to compare it to I thought the pho here was pretty good, well flavoured and filling. I don't think it's converted me away from a good laksa, but it's sure better than a bad one.
Verdict
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 7
Service - 7
Price - 8
Address
264 Victoria Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9427 7749
The real PHO CHU THE is back!! They are two doors down! 270 victoria street.
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