TL;DR: Without any question, this would be one of the signature places for a bite in Brisbane - particularly to an outsider wanting to know the best eats for value. It is immensely popular and has been for an age and a half. The food is fantastic, healthy, tasty, and portions that will fill anyone up—all of that delivered with diligent and welcoming service.
Anyone vaguely familiar with this area of town, and particularly aficionados of Vietnamese cuisine will not need any introduction to this place. In taking a few steps back and trying to look at it as an outsider, this is the sort of place I talk about a lot. Either out in the Styx, or getting out that way, hiding away for the keenest of food travellers to find. Little about the aesthetics will win awards for holiday snaps, yet it is that tiny spot the ardent traveller will urge you to make an effort to hunt down. A better way to put it is that you eat like the locals, not like the tourists - and isn't the former always better? It is not a rare sight to see a small line of people waiting for a table, and the hype is real.
A couple of days after Father's Day, my parents were coming up to town. That was ideal timing for me, as my present for my dad, this year was me shouting lunch out. In particular, there had been mention of hankering for Vietnamese since it is not so common - as far as I know - on the Gold Coast. A single "eureka" moment brought this beloved classic to the forefront of my mind. With that, the iron was hot, and the time was now.
How in the name of everything sentient had I not come here before now, that is something I do not know. Market Square has been a frequent stop-off of mine and bypassed here more times than I can count. Just as much, I look up if there are any new or overlooked places for me - this usually tops the list ... I have no excuse. Well, I believe in righting wrongs, and I can finally cross that off the list.
It is every bit as good as its reputation has built it up to be. Though that is with slight contention, all to do with the layout. As previously said, the aesthetics are not exactly the most inviting. At the same time, touching up the place might well make it lose its character; it could do with some sprucing up. There are two distinct areas of the eatery, helping mitigate the traffic flow in peak times. Inside is the primary location, with several small tables paired with metal chairs. Many adorned with the condiments, and chopsticks at the go. The outside seating has a more basic table, and chairs set, still with the adornment of sauces et al.
If I am honest as I can be, this can work positively into a place's favour. That is usually through the food being tasty, but also good value, and service that is quick and prompt. Everything is almost on the verge of no-frills, though maybe not the service - they still make you feel welcome. It is table service, which I will always prefer when given the option. Payment is at the counter, which happens after you finished your meal.
In the meantime, the staff are hard-working and meticulous. At no point were the workers stopping, always looking for any task to do. Between the ordering process and getting the food, it is reasonably efficient. Not everything comes around at the same time, but it is still delivered diligently. There is a reasonable ensemble of waitstaff, which contributes to a fair amount of teamwork. Throughout it all, they were diligent and at the utmost level of polite.
One thing is for sure with their menu, and that is it being focused and streamlined. While it is not exclusively "pho" per se, it is still the star of the show. Most of the other options on the menu are noodle soups as well, with a handful of rice dishes being the main deviation. Not too many starters are on the menu either, mainly variants of the spring roll. Where this place and many other South-East Asian eateries can properly showcase their identity is in the drinks menu - an extensive drinks menu, that has countless characteristic options. It can be the best part of the whole restaurant in several ways. You could get one of the usual sodas from the fridge, but with the other options - why would you want to? These options include bubble teas, coffee, various fruit-based beverages, and some choices which double as desserts.
It was all because my mom saw on the wall that they were a specialty, which was their vegetarian spring rolls. When these arrived, alongside the spring rolls was dipping sauce and half a head of lettuce. The idea was to wrap a lettuce leaf around the spring roll, then dip it in the sauce - not for me. Pretty much what you can say for spring rolls applied here. At least they were piping hot out of the fryer.
For getting something to drink, I went with the Vietnamese coffee - opting for it to be black and hot. There is something unique about how Vietnamese coffee; it becomes more apparent once you strip away the condensed milk. Not often have I detected the French influences in Vietnamese cuisine, but coffee is one where that becomes apparent. The flavour base was slightly sweet, coupled with a texture that is smoother than espresso. This approach took influences from the French press, which is an overlooked method of making coffee. That is perfect for when you want a more extended stay, but find that the plunger or filter produces too high a quantity. It was at the right temperature, and this was enough to ensure the meal was off to a great start.
There was a bit of swapping going around the table. From memory, my mom got a chicken noodle soup that also had prawns in it. I can't seem to locate it on the attached menu, nevertheless from the taste I had it was good. When we are talking Vietnamese, flavours are not as intense as many of its neighbours. If you give it time, there is flavour - mostly from the meats simmering in the broth. The meats are appropriately tender, plus only one word can exist to describe the amount of noodles in each bowl - generous.
As for my dad, his order was "com tam dac biet" - a pork chop, shredded rind, egg, and steamed rice. I can put my finger on how the chefs cooked the meat to an extent, but not precisely describe how. The pork was still tender, able to be pulled apart with mere chopsticks and a fork, while still having a little bit of char on the outside.
Those are out of the way; it comes around to my order. For me, it was time to go big or go home, in more ways than one. I went right for the "pho ta bin lu" or the combination noodle soup. Alongside the familiar broth and rice noodles was an array of meats, which would be a butcher's delight. Within the soup, there was cuts of rare beef, beef brisket, fatty brisket, tendon, tripe, sausage, pieces of chicken, liver, giblet, congealed pig blood, and beef balls. Asking for the tripe to be excluded, that was my order.
This sucker I ordered large, and nobody was joshing when they said the servings were generous. I watch a fair few of those food challenge videos and reckon I have seen challenges where the portions were smaller than what is in store here. What makes the deal just too sweet is the price tag - essentially everything here is under $20, which you can't argue with that. Everyone leaves satisfied at the end of the day.
Again, the broth's flavour was from all the different cuts of meat. Considering that the more industrial cuts of meat tend not to be so flavourful, hence it more subtle than expected. Most of the cuts themselves were tender, some merely being texture - as an example, the blood tasted of nothing. A few grungy bits found themselves floating in the broth, easy enough to fish out and put to the side. Like with bones in curries and whatnot, these merely give more flavour to the meal, and the slow cooking process melts the flesh off them. Once again, we come to the plentiful amount of noodles. They must have taken up about half of the bowl, and got cooked to al dente. The noodles in the pho soup were rice noodles - they are the Goldilocks level of thickness, albeit on the thin side. They went down a proper treat, readily absorbing the soup which allowed the noodles to slide down with ease.
It is customary when ordering pho that they give you a small plate of seasonings to flavour it to your liking. From memory, the selection includes chilli (which is way hotter than most peppers, my mom went too ardent when throwing them into her soup), basil leaves, and beansprouts - others I can't quite recall. None of them for me, since the broth was already tasty enough as it was.
Putting forth a confession, I am not that experienced with pho as a whole, so I am not able to punt how it stands with the rest of them. Though I have become more seasoned with Vietnamese over the years and will say that it is apparent why this place is so popular - and is still standing. Its main draw is the generous portion sizes, which gets coupled with good value for money. It is also the vibe which is just as relaxed as the speed is quick. There is a timeless feel to this place, where it had figured out what truly worked so long ago and has felt the need not to reinvent any wheels. The chances are in its favour that I will revisit. Pho Hien Vuong Pasteur is a fallback place, less of "sure, why not" and more of a "heck yeah"!
Final rating: 4.5. There is nothing more to say about here that has not already gotten mentioned.
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