Pho Flinders, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

With rumbling tummies, Big Fil and I shuffled from place to place inside the Emporium trying to find a place that was befitting for our lunch.  Sadly, the Vietnamese place inside the Emporium was packed out and none of the other places were taking our collective fancy.

Venturing out into the sunlight, we joined the fast-moving queue at Pho Flinders on Elizabeth Street (the original PF is on Flinders Street).  The PF on Elizabeth Street has taken over the now defunct Cajun Kitchen.  I had tried some of the rice paper rolls there when PF first opened up a few months ago.  I liked it and made a mental note to come back.

The set-up is squishier than its predecessor – tiny tables are a bit sticky and are lined up in a sort of higgledy piggledy fashion.  You’re mindful of your neighbours elbows and backsides in your face as they get in and out of their tables.

Big Fil ordered the stuffed crab claws as an entrée.

He also got the medium sized beef pho with guts tripe. 

I got the small beef pho.  First thought was that small was actually quite big.  Lots of noodles, which was a good thing but sadly they were a bit mushy from being overcooked.  Quite a reasonable amount of sliced beef.  There was a lot of noodles and I couldn’t finish it off.

Verdict – we liked it.

Overall

Our order took a while to come out – to the point that I think other diners who arrived after us got their meals first.  The place is a cheap eats type of place – great value if size is important to you.  The service is friendly but a tad frantic as the staff rushed to and from the front to the kitchen to get and place orders.  They could definitely do with another person on the floor during peak times.

The pho is okay for the CDB standard (I’d rate it as ‘good enough’ if you’re need a pho fix in the city).  In the future, I’m going to stick with the rice paper rolls instead.