Hello Mister Vietnamese Street Food

Overview

In a light and airy spot across the road from the Spark building, casual new Vietnamese eatery Hello Mister has opened. Hello Mister has only been operating for a couple of weeks but when we went last Friday lunchtime, the line was out the door. Despite waiting in line for what seemed like forever (hunger will do that), the food came out reasonably quickly and all at the same time which was great.

What I liked was the fact that you can get small and large versions of everything on the menu which, for someone as greedy and indecisive as myself, who is always inclined to get more than one thing on the menu, was perfect. There are a few staples and you choose your favourite protein to go with them.

Unfortunately, and I'm not sure if it's because Hello Mister is still relatively new, my dishes just didn't really hit the spot. The Crispy Chicken Baby Mi was a steal at $4 but lacked oomph. The bread roll felt slightly stale and although the pickled carrot had good bite, it left the bread a little soggy in patches. The pâté and mayo were both tasty, but maybe more of both and a bit more seasoning would inject more life into the Baby Mi. The Beef Mama Phở ($7) broth was tasty and warming on a cold day; it appeared that most of the lunchtime customers already had that figured. The thin slices of rare beef were tasty, however the fatty, tasteless meatballs that came with it were not. Moving on to the Lemongrass Chicken Uncle Bún ($12.50 for a large), a fresh and super healthy option, that needed a whack of hot sauce but was packed with crunchy veges.

In terms of drinks, I tried the white Vietnamese iced coffee and lychee smoothie shake which were both $4 for a small. I'd get the iced coffee again; it wasn't too sweet and delivered a hit of caffeine - ticked all the boxes for a lunchtime pick-me-up and will be perfect in the warmer months. The lychee shake was very sweet (as is the nature of lychees) - it had a strange but unoffensive texture. Will definitely be back for a fresh watermelon juice come summertime.