#22 Saigon Rose (86 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Craig

A newspaper article announces “laminate gone” and indeed Saigon Rose gives an upmarket impression. Tables are a dark wood, the back of the restaurant is carefully decorated with patterns of wine bottles and a large marble counter. Clean lines and strategically positioned lighting. Waiters take up their position and are ready to serve.

It’s all very clean, crisp and precise. But there’s a lack of atmosphere. One of the joys ChChCh has been the chaotic, no frills restaurants with their haphazard, bustling service. A few strains of contemporary music can be heard but no one in Saigon Rose seems very excited.

The specials board has rather floral descriptions. The soft shell crab is ‘flash fried’, the pork belly ‘comes on a bed’. The menu itself takes a minimalist approach, utilising white space and neatly categorising dishes, with a limited number in each category. I’m not sure what cuisine this is. Saigon implies Vietnamese but there is no pho and there are dishes on the menu with Cantonese sauce. I can only deduce it is Vietnamese/Chinese.

There are no numbers so we count down to 27 and come upon spinach soup with a choice of chicken or seafood. It comes out in a small Saigon Rose bowl (it’s all branded here) and seems to wobble. “Gelatinous”, I declare. But upon tasting it turns out to be better than expected. There are generous chunks of soft squid and scallops. It has a faintly grassy flavour but I find it’s gone before I know it.

The rice paper rolls are good, moist enough and slightly warmed. However the dipping sauce is rather bland.

From the specials we take the soft shell crab. It doesn’t have the crispness I would have liked and it lacking any distinctive seasoning. At entrée size, for $18, you only get two big pieces.

Intrigued by the banana chicken we order another entrée. Breaded, fried chicken is stuffed with melty banana and comes with a red dipping sauce. It looks great but on tasting I am again left wanting more seasoning. I don’t know if there is some aversion here to strong flavoured dishes in order to attract the Western audience.

Pick of the night is the sizzling duck with peking sauce from the house specialities section of the menu. It is a generous serve and the duck is tender, complemented by a sweet and spicy sauce that makes me want to keep eating.

While Saigon Rose is carefully manufactured and difficult to fault, its precision left me slightly cold.

Ratings

Rice paper rolls (pork and prawn) 7.6/10

#27 (spinach soup with seafood) 8/10

Daily special (soft shell crab) 7.2/10

Banana chicken 7.7/10
Sizzling duck 7.9/10

#21 Quan 88 (88 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Craig, Steph, Paddy

Quan 88 is another winner. Best of all it is easily distinguishable. An orange theme and 88 in the name. Funnily enough it is at number 88 Victoria St. Plus it would be a great place for a date if you want mood lighting or don’t want the person opposite to see you properly! As each one of us turns up to dinner the first comment is about the low lighting.

From the specials two things immediately scream at me: crispy duck spring rolls and coconut beef. I soon realise that they equate to the Vietnamese specialities in the menu. We have a weekly specials insert that accompanies the menu so choose one from here too.

I’m immediately a fan of the duck spring rolls. Crispy on the outside the filling is soft and bursting with a peppery flavour and a touch of mushroom.

The rice paper rolls are a bit stingy on the prawn and pork. The 'prawn' is disappointing shrimp. The shreds of pork are minute but tastes of Chinese BBQ and there is sufficient mint.

Steph comments the food is fresh and I point out the little blurb at the bottom of the menu that outlines their commitment to organic food and sustainable eating. I ponder whether organic carrot were on special this week as all the dishes we order contain carrots.

The papaya, prawn and dried beef salad is the most exotic thing we find on the weekly specials. It is crunchy and overall refreshing. I'm not sure where the papaya is so I assume it has been finely jullienned as the basis for the salad. The 'beef jerky' is also very fine and barely distinguishable. A spicy sweet chilli sauce and crushed peanuts finish it off.

Number 27 is steamed salmon with ginger, onion and soya sauce. The salmon is well overdone making it rather dry and the flavouring which sounded so promising is strangely tasteless. Still Asian flavourings always go well with salmon.

There is much praise for the pho, which comes with the usual trappings and is so flavourful is doesn’t require further condiments. It’s got a unique flavour that is on the sweet side.

The coconut beef is a perfect blend of flavours – creamy coconut milk, spice and a hint of lemongrass. The beef is tender and I want more. It scores the first 10 of the Challenge from one of the punters!

We enjoy Quan 88 so much we hang around for some dessert. Both the cream caramel and fried ice cream (like a donut covered ball of ice cream) are sastisfying.

Ratings

Rice paper rolls (pork and prawn) 6.5/10

Beef pho 7.8/10

#27 (salmon with soy and ginger) 7.1/10

Weekly special (papaya, prawn and dried beef salad) 7.5/10

Duck spring rolls 8.6/10

Coconut beef 9/10

#20 Minh Minh (94 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Craig, Penny

I have fond memories of large group banquets upstairs at Minh Minh after a day at the MCG with plate after plate of delicious dishes coming out. It’s certainly a popular restaurant with Westerners and as I looked around on the night we go (coincidentally Mother’s Day) there is nigh an Asian face in sight.

After experiencing so many delightful, little, authentic Vietnamese eatiers, I am now a little skeptical coming into Minh Minh. Serving Vietnamese, Thai and Lao are they spreading themselves a bit thin?

To attract the Westerners some effort has been put into the décor. The black tables contrast with the oranges walls. Traditional musical instruments and colourful material squares are arranged on the wall. There is no plasma for distractions. Tea is charged at $1.00 per head, which seems a tad fascist after the cornucopia of free tea we have been experiencing. As is the sign about dinner sitting times on busy nights and recommendations to order the banquet. However, the service is spot on the night we go.

We choose a mixed selection of spring rolls but neither taste nor look can tell them apart. Whatever the mush inside it, they are quite tasty. The rice paper rolls have a generous filling of prawns and pork with a good sauce.

Number 27 is egg noodle soup with wontons. A wheel of bbq pork with chopped spring onions and fried onion adorns the top, hiding a mass of thin egg noodles. The broth has sweetness to it which I find quite intoxicating. Even sweeter are the pork wontons themselves.

A handwritten scribble announces today’s specials and we take a plunge on the third one. Stewed rat beef? We can’t decipher it. When the waiter confirms our order, it still sounds like rat beef. More likely ‘red’ beef, though. It comes out in a rich mahogany soup with tender slices of beef and chunks of carrot on top of another lot of thin egg noodles.

It makes me think of rendang. Penny comments that it tastes like “Indian with thai…Indian-Thai”. Craig just says it’s “gorgeous”. The kitchen must have been excited about us ordering the dish as an Asian lady comes out offering us “beautiful” bread to soak up the sauce. It’s got a good kick to it and a unique flavour that makes it the hit of the night.

I remember having enjoyed Minh Minh’s duck last time I was there and noticing another specials board we go for the Mongolian duck. It comes out on a sizzling plate with lean piece of duck slightly charred. I’m not entirely sure Mongolian sauce and duck are the ideal combination and the flavours are pretty standard.

I can see why Minh Minh is popular as the dishes are overall tasty. Best of all Minh Minh serves up another culinary treat in the rat(red) beef thanks to the ChChCh formula.


Ratings
Rice paper rolls (pork and prawn) 6.8/10
Spring rolls 7.2/10
#27 (Egg noodle soup with wontons) 7.5/10
Today's special (stewed red beef) 8.7/10
Special (mongolian duck) 7/10

#19 Vinh-Ky (114 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Craig

This restaurant has a black and white theme and after a few moments of absorbing the surrounds I discern it to be one of the more upmarket eateries on the strip. Steph sighs in exasperation at yet another encyclopaedic menu. There are banquets offered but we create our own in yet another excessive sampling of dishes.

There’s a few odd service elements. The waitress memorises our order and impressively doesn’t miss a thing. When I ask for spoons for the pho, we only receive two, leaving Steph to eat with the ceramic spoon in the main bowl. Having left the lid of the teapot upturned as the universal symbol for more tea, the waitress simply turns it back over without refilling. At a random point during the meal, the waitress brings out steamed rice and dishes it into bowls for us (without waiting for consent) only to bring out the fried rice we actually ordered two minutes later.

The table next to us has a dish come out wrapped in foil ...flaming. The waiter lifts each side up with tongs fanning the purple and orange flames. Not sure what it was but I wish we’d ordered it for the theatrical value.

There are no pork and prawn rice paper rolls so we opt for the straight prawn which come with a dark and very soya sauce-flavoured peanut sauce. The spring rolls look fresh and crispy but have an oddly sweet filling of mashed corn (or pumpkin, as Steph suggests).

Pho is served without its usual accompaniments but even myself, a lover of condiments, acknowledges it doesn’t need anything added.

Number 27 is from the entree section and is grilled beef with lemongrass and comes on a bed of thin rice noodles. It doesn’t look like something that would feature in a Donna Hay cookbook but has a wonderful chargrilled flavour.

The scallops which we chose from the specials (opting for XO sauce) look magnificent. Still in their shells they are lightly cooked with an oily and spicy dressing. For a moment we wonder where the sixth one is and discover it under a forest of coriander.

Finally another special (restrained of us considering initially Steph wanted to order the whole specials menu) – seafood hotpot. The seafood is squid, fish cake and some prawns topped up with tofu, carrots and sweet corn. I find the texture somewhat off-putting. It is stewed in a viscous, bland sauce. The squid is rubbery, the tofu is saturated and the whole thing is slimy.

We are stuffed but satisfied with the overall quality of the evening's meal.


Ratings
Prawn rice paper rolls 7.7/10
Beef pho 7.5/10
Vegetable spring rolls 6.2/10
#27 (grilled beef with lemongrass) 7.3/10
Daily special (fresh scallops with XO sauce) 8/10
Daily special (seafood hotpot) 6.5/10

#18 Thy Thy House (118 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Emma, Bo, Bobbie, Jimmy, Lodgey, Richie-Rich, Jamie

Who am I and why am I at dinner with these people? And why is Chuck Bass here? It is Anzac Day and my friends from Queensland are down. We have been to the footy and consumed the requisite amount of beer. Nevertheless Chopstick Chowdown Challenge must go on. We gather at the Aviary and collect a group of rag-tag individuals with beer-soaked palated to sample the food at Thy Thy House.

Thy Thy House looks a little classy for the likes of us on this particular evening with its rendered feature wall and mood lighting. Our group of 9 is bustled up the stairs. There are also tablecloths which is a novelty. There is no tea provided though this could be on account of us already being laden with alcohol.

There is a fair amount of chaos with the ordering and eating this week. Random dishes start flying out in all directions.

There are some crispy wonton, spring rolls and rice paper rolls – nothing particularly memorable about those.

Bo declares herself as the ultimate litmus-test of pho as she has never eaten beef before. She gives the broth the thumbs-up but declares the beef as leathery. Although I point out that she has nothing to compare it, the beef is thicker than we are used to in pho.

On the other side of me Steph keeps telling me how much she loves Mongolian beef and this one is a winner. Across the table Lodgey is talking about his job as a swimwear designer. I'm confused.

The small piece of crispy duck I manage to salvage from the eating hoards is delicious – battered and fried but tender with a light sauce. It is also Bo’s first ever taste of duck and she seems very pleased with it.

Those that try it are divided about number 27, which is a tomato rice with beef. A pile of slightly red-coloured rice with wedges of raw tomato and chunks of flavoured beef. Bo continues on her red meat eating rampage and pulls a face at the “leathery” beef. I challenge this, “you don’t even know what it is supposed to taste like!” For me the whole thing tastes randomly like Mexican. Perhaps the wine is getting to my taste buds…

Unfortunately Thy Thy House may end up being an anomaly in this little experiment but here the ratings anyway…for what they are worth…

Ratings
Rice paper rolls 7.1/10
Spring rolls 6/10
Pho 6.8/10
Mongolian beef 6.9/10
#27 (tomato rice and beef) 6.4/10
Special (crispy duck) 7.3/10

#17 Thanh Ha 2 (120 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Emma, Imogene, Paddy, Penny, Andrew

Chopstick Chowdown Challenge was back with a ravenous vengeance this week after a leave of absence. Thanh Ha 2 was the location and one of the best overall tasting experiences on the route thus far. The menu is like an encyclopedia complete with pretty pictures. We make quick work of it though, following the ChChCh formula, along with some of our favourites – duck and squid.

The service, on the other hand, is ineffectual. We’ve become accustomed to the quick 'in-out' approach of these eateries, where waiters are anticipating your order as soon as you open the menu, dishes are whipped out at lightning speed and waitstaff are attentive. Being busy isn’t an excuse as many of the restaurants seem to become more efficient the busier it gets.

As Paddy says there appears to be a “tea allowance” which we used up within 5 minutes of arrival. It takes four requests to finally get another pot of tea which turns out to be as simple as the waiter picking it up off the counter where they are all ready to go.

The wine list is also a lie. After attempting to order two different types of white by the glass, we are informed they only have the house wine.

When the spring rolls come out we notice the lack of bowls and chopsticks as Penny ponders using her tea cup as a bowl. We finish the rice paper rolls by the time we get any napkins. Just as puzzling is the Masterfood squeeze bottle of tomato sauce that is put on the table. I was convinced it was a Chinese BBQ sauce in a ketchup container, but no it is in fact tomato sauce.

However I am on good terms with the food from first bite. The vegetable spring rolls are delicious with finely shredded filling and a peppery flavour. The rice paper rolls are the best we’ve had, juicy and all the ingredients coming together, warm and perfectly shredded with enough mint and a tasty peanut sauce.

From the specials on the back wall we get the Vietnamese pancake. Crunchy bean shoots, shredded carrot and other vegetable are combined with prawns and pork, enveloped in a crispy savoury pancake. On the scale of small to large, this is massive. Accompanying lettuce, vietnamese basil and mint means you can wrap it up like a spring roll with some sweet chilli dipping sauce. An excellent example of this traditional dish.

Duck with plum sauce gets extra points for presentation but is rather fatty. The squid with tamarind sauce from the house specials tastes odd. I would say more like a fish cake than squid.

Last but not least is our proxy number 27. Since number 27 was the rice paper rolls we are already obliged to get, we order number 13 – mung bean pies. Having no idea what these would look or taste like, I don't expect them to look like fried muffins and taste like samosa filling. But there you have it. With a dollop of chilli sauce these are addictive!

It's clear we all agree on the quailty of the food. Consistently high ratings on all the standards is a testament to the taste.

Ratings

Rice paper rolls 8.1/10

Vegetarian spring rolls 7.9/10

Beef pho 7.6/10

#13 Mung bean pie 8.7/10

Daily special (vietnamese pancake) 8.6/10

Duck and plum sauce 6.3/10

Squid and tamarind 5.8/10

Detour #2: Trang Restaurant (59 Hardgrave Road, Brisbane)

Attendees: Beata, Bobbie, Bo, Candice


A combination of work and pleasure brings me up to the sunshine state. A visit to a Vietnamese restaurant in Brisvegas provides an opportunity to give the ChChCh formula another whirl outside Victoria St. Bobbie and I impulsively take on the challenge single-handedly. Bo and Bobbie swear by Thy Thy from their Melbourne visits and it's time to see how Brisbane's Trang shapes up.

On a warm autumnal afternoon we have drank ourselves sober with a carton of cider and are hoping some Vietnamese food and a couple of bottles of red will serve as a pick-me-up.

It's lucky a reservation has been made as all the outdoor tables are full and people are spilling out onto the footpath. I am desperately thirsty and wanting to wash the taste of cider out of my mouth but in our tucked away corner table it seems to take forever to get the waiter's attention.

Bobbie and I embark on the challenge with rice paper rolls. These are of the average variety, relatively tasty but nothing to change states for.

Next up are the mussels with chilli from Trang's specials. They seem to be fresh and have the taste of the sea. The sauce is more on the sweet-chilli side with bits of red capsicum. These are taken care of quite quickly.

For number 27 we have counted down the Chinese section of the menu and ended up with braised duck with mushrooms. The duck is quite fatty but the abundance of vegetables is notable. There are 3 types of mushroom (button, shitake and chinese) and as Bobbie says these are "juicy and delicious".

It seems that all the food has come out and is practically finished. A bottle of wine has been consumed but where is our pho? I fin

ally manage to get the waiter's attention and it seems it has been forgotten. Chopstick Chowdown Challenge will not be complete without pho! It comes out a few minutes later and is very enjoyable.

During the re-ordering of pho, spring rolls have come out and despite full bellies it is our duty to taste-test them. The main descriptor that comes to mind is 'stringy'. When asked to do the ratings, Candice comments "they're not very tasty, I give them an 8." Maybe Queenslanders are more liberal with their ratings!


Ratings
Beef pho 8.3/10
Rice paper rolls 7/10
#27 (braised duck with mushrooms) 8/10
Special (mussels with chilli) 8.3/10
Vegetarian spring rolls 6.8/10