a tale of foodie fate at yen for viet

Let me set the scene for you. It was a cold windy Wednesday evening and the Mr and I were quite keen for a Winter warmer. Having a bit of a pho obsession, as you may already know, I suggested we take the trip to Marrickville to try Yen for Viet.

We seem to arrive with another 50 people keen on warming up that night, could it have anything to do with a certain review the day before?

We line up expecting a wait and in front of us, couple after couple are leaving after being told that no booking means no table. We persist, optimistic, that perhaps we won't have to wait too long. It gets to our turn and the waitress is called to the kitchen before we can mutter the answer to her question "no, we don't have a booking", she tells us to wait just a moment and walks away.

In the meantime, a table for two is leaving and another waitress comes along and tells us to be seated. I refuse to decline and we take a seat. Dumb luck or foodie fate? I'll let you decide.

We peruse the menu and after a bit of the time, our order is taken. The waitress apologises for the delay and assures us that in a few weeks the waiting times won't be so long.

We start with some entrees, before our much needed pho.

Crispy squid stuffed with prawn, pork mince and black fungus

We both found the squid in this dish to be quite tough but the filling was delicious and so were those pickled vegetables to eat it with.

Crispy pancake stuffed with bean sprouts, mung beans & duck

I'm a little but fussy when it comes to fried food so I was a bit weary when this came out looking a little oily. The duck inside was cooked perfectly though and even though it was still quite heavy for my liking it's balanced out nicely when picked up with those fresh mint leaves and dunked in the sauce, a combination of chilli, lime, garlic & fish sauce.

Pho bo with wagyu beef

And at last I can tell you about the hero, the pho bo with wagyu beef. The soup is seasoned so perfectly and of course served to us with fresh basil, bean sprouts & chopped fresh chilli. I love the wagyu in this, the fat is marbled through the tender beef and adds a beautiful flavour to that broth without making it oily. The ingredients are noticeably fresher than any other pho I've tried.

This gorgeous Vietnamese restaurant is most definitely worth a try for that warm bowl of pho alone.

http://www.yenforviet.com.au/