There weren't many places open to eat on a Monday night at 915pm. Most of the ANU area had shut down already and Red Chilli Sichuan wasn't taking anyone new. Across the road from it, in a prime corner of Northbourne Avenue was a new(ish) Viet place that I had heard mixed things about. Bistro Nguyen's probably brings a little hesitancy to the avid eater on paper (especially one with some familiarity with Vietnamese food) considering the prime location, the restaurant name, and the decor attempting to fuse old school Vietnamese charm in a more modern setting. The only modern Viet places I've tried are The Slanted Door (which is exceptional) and Red Lantern (which is good). There's also a chef's hat called Dandelion that I've always been interested in but never made it to. But with limited options, a few other people eating inside and the cold weather setting in, it seemed reasonable to try and see what Bistro had to offer.
The first thing that hit me walking in the door is the strong aroma of pho broth with tones of Thai basil filling the air. It was unexpected, stronger than those encountered in dedicated pho places along Victoria Street, and intoxicatingly welcoming and homely. The staff are Vietnamese too which adds some authenticity.
The menu has fun caricatures (as does a wall in the restaurant) and has all dishes with the Vietnamese name listed first. I wonder if it's to help some of the staff know what customers are ordering, but maybe there is a hidden faction of Vietnamese speakers in Canberra that I haven't come across. On a cold night the order of the day was warming comfort foods.
- Nem nuong (grilled pork mince skewers, vermicelli, salad, fresh herbs, rice paper & nuoc mam cham) $14.5 - there's essentially ingredients set out of 4 rolls - 4 rice papers pre-wet onto a platter, 4 skewers, 4 rice noodle squares etc. The meat is very good minced texture, well grilled with great aroma and taste. The nuoc mam isn't too strong and has a little hint of chilli. I think it would be better to get additional rice paper to make 6-8 smaller rolls with the same ingredients, because it gets a little messy eating fat rolls as the rice paper breaks with the moisture;
- Pho thit bo Nhat (wagyu beef sirloin 5+, brisket, tendon, beef meatballs) $16.9 - I usually get pho tai nam as my standard but the wagyu sirloin allured me. The broth has a mild medicinal edge and subtle spices but is actually satisfying and fantastic (and that's something coming from me who usually definitively prefers spiced over medicinal). The wagyu has mixed bits of raw/rare/cooked (which I like) and has good tenderness, brisket isn't overly fatty, meatballs add texture, and the tendon and tripe isn't for everybody but gives another layer (although I expect many people wouldn't be used to eating that);
- Che ba mau (red beans, jelly, mung beans, coconut syrup & crushed ice) $7.5 - they call it rainbow dessert, everywhere else calls it 3 colour drink. It's a little expensive for the bowl size (usually served in a large tall glass) but the jellies and coconut milk mix well and the ice is reasonably well blended. (To the inexperienced, shaved ice is the best for this as it dissolves upon mixing, rather than you eating large chunks of crunchy ice).
Overall I was much more impressed than expected. The menu has the classics which I certainly will come back to try - goi, bun bo hue, bun nem nuong (although I will ask them here to add bun thit nuong and banh xeo). The sharing plates do seem a little pricey ($28.5 for canh chua seems a little excessive) and the generic sauce options where you pick your own protein has never sat well with me. Additionally banh mi for $8.50 makes my face twitch but this is Canberra (and I have paid £5 for a catfish version to Banhmi11 at Broadway Market). But who knows - they could well be good. And while my Luke Nguyen, Andrea Nguyen and Charles Phan cookbooks gather dust on my shelves, I'd be happy for these Bistro guys to cook for me.
10-2015
I returned another evening for the pho again. This time was a little more disappointing - whereas the flavours and broth still satisfied, unfortunately the meat had dropped in quality. The wagyu slices were much thinner and overall less than previously meaning they were more heavily cooked and less tender.
I also tried the green papaya salad with prawns which had a nicely balanced nuoc mam dressing, and the bun bo hue which was also quite good but could have used more depth of flavour and chilli.