My Friend Jim Pavlidis did a great illustration for a John Lethlean’s recent article No place for friend or pho in last Saturdays A2 section of The Age. The Age Online didn’t publish the illustration (which is not unusual), so I thought I would, (with Jim’s permission).
It could be said that Sixth Street forms a coarse border between San Francisco’s glitzy downtown and its gritty South of Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods. Via an interactive, streetscape interface, “A Walk Down Sixth Street” uses audio, video, VR panoramas and more to tell the stories of the real people who live, work and thrive on Sixth Street.
Top 5s are pointless. I mean, as soon as they’re done, they’re redundant. My recent top 5 has been shattered by a recent visit to Footscray.
Pho Tam is a fish bowl of a place, on a corner across from the Little Saigon Market. It has chairs and tables out on Ryan Street, which are filled with blokes drinking icy drinks, smoking and talking seriously.
E and I had a feast. We started with a few prawn spring rolls ($7.00), and followed it up with Hủ tiếu Gả Dòn (described on menu as; Crispy chicken on side plate, with celery, chive and shrimp cake, $7.50). It was big bowl of fragrant chicken broth with lots of greens and thin rice noodles. On the side was a plate of fried chicken melting from the bone. Delicious.
We finished with a three colour drink. E hadn’t had one of these before and was thrilled by the overly sweet syrup and sugary beans. I could have had another and spent the rest of the afternoon with the blokes out the front, but E wanted to go to the park. Fair enough.
Pho Tam - 03 9687 2680 - 9 Leeds Street Footscray
I suppose this is the direction noodle shops are going. Probably a business venture, planned and preconceived. It has the sense of a chain, an air of Starbucks. I’m sure it has a head office somewhere. The interior is designed. Signage is slick, and contemporary looking. Green everywhere. Menus in English. Service is rapid.
It’s busy at lunch. Suits and security passes. There is a large selection of foods for hungry office workers, but at the heart of the menu is noodle soup, and it’s good to see Pho is at the top of the list.
Hue Spicy noodle Soup was my choice today. At $9.20 it’s more expensive than I’m used to paying, but arrived in about three minutes, no shit! It was very hot, with a dangerous layer of chilli oil glistening on the top. It’s hard to disappoint me when I eat this kind of food, and this was no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Vietnamese Grill Bar - 305 Swanston Street, Melbourne - (03) 9004 3066
