Phat Pho

Overview

It's a juicy and joyous combination of noodles, protein, veggies, herbs and broth, and it's about to take over Brisbane. No, we don't mean ramen. Prepare your tastebuds for another great kind of Asian-style soup: pho.

At Phat Pho on Commercial Road in Newstead, that's exactly what's on offer, as the name makes clear. Nestled into a 1920s-era shop, the new Vietnamese street food eatery doesn't just lean on one type of cuisine, though. Noodle salads, lettuce wraps, rice paper rolls, bao, banh mi thit and dinner-time dishes of pork belly and lemongrass chilli chicken are also on the menu, as is ca phe sua da — aka traditional Vietnamese iced coffee.

Of course, the phrase "when at Phat Pho" comes to mind, meaning that if you're going to drop by, you really should try their specialty. If tucking into a bowl of bubbling liquid simmered for four-and-a-half hours, littered with pho rice noodles, topped with basil, sprouts, onion, shallots and lime, available in chicken or beef, and cooked according to owner Hong Nguyen's secret recipe doesn't get you in the slurping mood, then nothing will.

Image: Bruce Truong.