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

Soupynoodle shares a similar love for noodles and drawing as me. See work on flickr or photoblog.

1. Chu The - (03) 9687 8265 - 92 Hopkins St Footscray 3011
This is my current favourite spot. Very welcoming and kid friendly (they give the kids their own little bowls and cut up the noodles with scissors) . Very pho focused. (Nothing else, nothing vegetarian). Quality ingredients. Out the back you can see the cauldrons of pho being tended too.

2. Co Do - (03) 9421 2418 - 196 Victoria Street Richmond 3121
Friendly, welcoming. Great standard of Pho. Also Great Bun Mam, noodle soup with a base of preserved salted fish. Refuge from bustling Victoria Street.

3. Duan Com Viet Nam - 69 Alfrieda Street St Albans 3021
Fantastic Pho but the specialty is Bun Bo Hue (chili beef soup from central Vietnam). There is outdoor seating at the front of the restaurant, which is a great place to have a Vietnamese style coffee and take in the bustling strip shopping centre. Song Huong, the place next door is also very good.

4. Pho Hung Vuong - (03) 9689 6002 - 128 Hopkins Street Footscray 3011
Clean, shiny and new. Very busy, plenty of patrons. Excellent pho.

5. Pho Hung - (03) 9470 1588 - 447 High Street Preston 3072
The closest pho shop to my house. The standard is very consistent, and they do a stand out Bo Kho (a rich dark soup with stewed chunks of beef and carrot). Very tolerant of unruly children.

Our philosophy is simple, Made to love.

The familiarity of a pho shop brings me untold comfort. The way you can just reach out a hand, and a chopstick will be there. Reach out the other, and there’s some chilli. If you need to fix your hair you can count on a mirror wall close by.

This is not the case at Love Pho, and Esther and I found it a bit unnerving. For a start this place is new, under a year old, the deco is clean and thoughtful (if not a big green for my liking). Perhaps the most disturbing of all, the tea comes in a teapot rather than one of those thermos flasks.

My neurosis aside, you can tell that they love making pho at Love Pho. It was really, really great. It was warming and spicy, with perfectly thin slices of good quality beef. So, although my usual comforts were absent, I’m sure I’ll be back soon, for a bit more pho love.

They also have a website - www.lovepho.com.au

Love Pho - 181 Swan Street, Richmond - 03 9421 2200

I can’t imagine that John Brumby spends a lot of time at his electoral office in Glenroy. I mean, it’s obvious he’s not watching the standard of pho in his constituency. He has a little bit of work to do.

There is one little Vietnamese restaurant holding out a valiant battle though, but it’s seen better days. I was enticed into Huyen Linh, by the window sign that boasted Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Banh Cuon, Banh Xeo, Co Kang Muoi, Com Bo Luc Lac Va Cac and Mon Xao. Of these I only know what two are, but this is a good sign for me.

Inside there were a smattering of patrons at tables. One large party of nursing mothers (what a great place for a mothers group). The space was cavernous and a little run down. The waiter was friendly, but disappointed me with the news that Bun Bo Hue was off the menu. Apparently, Huyen Linh has had to adapt during it’s six years in the area. There is no market for a regional Vietnamese chilli beef soup in Glenroy. Dishes like these have been replaced with “Asian” standards like, Tom Yum and Gado Gado. I was shocked.

Pho was thankfully still on the menu, and I noticed that there were a few bowls being consumed around the room. It’s not a bad standard, although it was more salty than most, and most are already pretty salty.

Basically, I’d advise that if you’re in the neighbourhood, drop in and have a bowl of pho here. Maybe you should even write to the local member.

Huyen Linh - 12 Post Office Place, Glenroy - 03 9304 2585

My friend Morgan has revamped his website with a great set of drawings that he made on a recent trip to Sri Lanka and Thailand.

“I Love Phở is an exhibition combining the recipes and poems of six Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese artists. Opening on Friday 22 February, the exhibition explores the Vietnamese beef rice noodle soup dish, phở, an integral part of Vietnamese cultural heritage.”

Check back at the Melbourne Pho Map page soon.

Minioodle - This is the first in a series of experiments that I’m working on. It is a picture viewer for your mobile phone. You can download, Bluetooth to your mobile and enjoy the comforting warm sensation of noodleoodle pictures in you pocket. Why you would want to do that, I have no idea… But feel free to, then Bluetooth it to your friends. Download here, unzip and put the .swf on your phone. You need flashLite 2.0 installed.

Version 2.0 will be dynamically updated, so you can have the latest noodleoodle drawing with you all the time. I’m also working on a desktop version called Mediumoodle.

But, of course, I had a reason to be going there. Toby had prior information. A little restaurant on the block serves a large selection of Chinese food and some Vietnamese specialties. All of my favorites are here. Pho, Bun Bo Hue, and the stewed beef dish, Bo Kho.

I had “Cambodian noodle soup”. It was a hot fishy broth with pork slices and a prawn. I had it with thin egg noodles. It was pretty good, enjoyed it thoroughly, but it was missing the crunchy biscuity thingo that’s been on top when I’ve had it elsewhere. I love that crunchy thingo! Also in the past there’s been a quail egg. Next time I’m in Lalor, I’ll check out the Pho quality.

After soup we had a quick walk around the block. In the mall we came across a commotion. A crowd had gathered for a green grocer selling boxes of strawberries. Fifteen punnets a box, for $5. I found this incredibly cheap. We had to buy two.

Anyway, I’d recommend stopping off in Lalor. Next time your on your way to…..?

Vinh Long - (03) 9464 4582 - 21 May Road, Lalor, VIC