Review Co Thu Quan - Footscray

Food is average and the restaurant is quite small. We ordered a beef pho and duck pho, the taste is just ordinary nothing special, broth is not as good as other Vietnamese restaurant. Also the potion is small compare to other pho restaurants. Not so many people during lunch time. By the way the interior looks nice and service is good.

My go-to place for authentic, hard to find Vietnamese street food. Service is friendly and efficient. I have tried several dishes and my absolute favourite is the phá lấu noodles. In the right season I also recommend pennywort juice.

Unique north Vietnamese cuisine with dishes you don't normally find elsewhere

reasonably priced Vietnamese food. good portion. they have a good range of vietnamese street food and its kinda authentic. nice ambarella juices

Lots of viet variety! My fav dish which is also one of their signature dish - pic as attached! It’s our regular dinner place and there’s so much we have not tried!

Take away order. Was quick , little waiting about. The betel leafs were ok, not that many. The tapioca dumplings were a bit too thick. Fish sauce ok. Salad a bit limp.

Awesome Vietnamese restaurant. Huge selection on the menu of authentic dishes (not Aus fusion). The pricing is very reasonable for the quality of the dishes. I enjoyed a salad for lunch (tasty & fresh) so much I came back and had the Baramundi salad (pictured) for diner. Friendly staff, prompt and efficient serving tea as soon as you sit down. After ordering, my meal appeared in less than 5 minutes - Super Fast Service. Highly recommended.

Cô Thư Quán - Footscray VIC Canh Bun It’s a hot and humid day on the 28th of December. Most restaurants are closed for the xmas/NYE period, luckily for Mebournians we have Footscray and a host of traders who never seem to cease trading. Cô Thư Quán is one of those traders who dish up tradition central Vietnamese food with some fishy specialities. For this soup mission I opted for their speciality - The Canh Bun. This is a dish in which the chicken broth is mixed with crab paste to bring a very fishy flavour to your palette. It was different, but I definitely think for something with a huge host of ingredients there weren’t many flavours cutting through apart from the strong fish taste. The ingredients were delicious - a crab meatball that had a variety of subtle spices through it, some Vietnamese pork loaf and some very slippery thick rice noodles. The congealed porks blood was fairly stock standard, this soup probably could have done with one cube and not two. I like this restaurant because it’s authentic. They serve amazing cold vermicelli noodle dishes and a host of menu items you would not be able to find anywhere else. If you want Vietnamese food that is a bit beyond the usual pho then head along and you might find your new favourite dish. 🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢 Broth Flavour: 🍜🍜🍜.5/5 Soup ingredients: 🍜🍜🍜🍜 /5 Service: 🍜🍜🍜.5/5 Overall: 🍜🍜🍜.5/5 🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢 #melbournesoupfluencer

I went there on Monday. I were disappointed because of my desert. I had "che Thai", it was tasted different and less fruits, got less tea spoon durian paste on top, a lot of ice and coconut milk. ..

Flavoursome food, served in a relaxed atmosphere with friendly staff.

Felt like I stepped back in time, into the 30, 40s era, awesome setup, awesome feel, great & friendly staff!

Excellent food. Consistent quality. Great customer service. and who can say no to a beautiful lady boss :)

Rat ngon va cô chu Quan rat de thuong ..vui ve rat nhiet tinh voi khach ...that tuyet voi

Chưa dc ăn nhưng mình nghĩ chắc rất tuyệt

Cô chủ đanh đá. Các em chân rài xênh tươi

amazing place

My only favorite place to gossip!!!

Đồ ăn rat chuẩn phục vụ rất vui vẻ

Chúc chị buôn may bán đắt^^

Great traditional vietnamese dining experience, tasty food and great friendly service.

Mon nao cung rat yummy ;)

ngon quá c ơi

large menu, everything seems authentic. would definitely come back again, go to place in footscray now

Rating: 4.5<br/> Despite growing up with Vietnamese cuisine and a familiarity with several dishes, it turns out there’s actually a world of dishes outside of this bubble. Namely, dishes from Central Vietnam and through to the North, and I’ve discovered some of these dishes not during my travels in Vietnam but rather here in Footscray at Co Thu Quan. Rice paper roll salad, anyone? Yup, that’s actually a dish, and it’s delicious!

I actually give this place 4.5 but for some reason it isn’t an option. <br/><br/>Fantastic. The food here is excellent. Quite a few different options from the standards you find on Barkly street. We had the hog plum salad with beef jerky and and some dried pork and butter (cant remember the exact name but they were delicious) rice paper rolls and a frosty 333 to start with. There was a mix up with our order and they forgot us for quite a while but when I spoke to the wait staff (apologies if I was grumpy but I was starving) they assured us our food would be quick and it was. The chicken with sticky rice and the pork with rice sheets (again, I forget the exact names) were amazing and they gave us a 10% discount because of the mix up with our order which many places wouldn’t do. I highly recommend this restaurant and we’ll definitely be back!

Would give this place 6/5 ! We had bot chien, banh trang tron (rice paper salad), bun cha (grilled pork vermicelli) and bo la lot. Everything tasted amazing !!!!!! Very authentic and we really enjoy dining here.

We came here on a public holiday and it was quite busy but we were able to get a table quite fast. Compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in Footscray who have many Southern dishes on their menu, this place specialises in Northern dishes. We ordered the mixed roll combo, banh uot thit nuong and com thit nuong ga op la. They were all delicious at a good price point and we loved the sweet nuoc mam~!

This is my regular Vietnamese restaurant. It never fails to satisfy me. My favourite dishes are the hanoi meats and rice paper salad. They have added new meals and drinks to the menu and I love the coconut ice coffee! Yum!

Vietnamese street good as well as some comfort Viet food are served here. I enjoyed Vietnamese pancakes. Honestly I would recommend to try any items on the menu as they are just simply delicious.

The taste is so surprised to me that I write my first review in the process of eating. it not only deserve $14, it should be $24！In this set,each side dish is fantastic. crab,prawn,egg,fresh side dish and port belly which is very similar to Chinese style with sweet flavor. And prawn spring rolls also are good. I recommend stongly this no.40 set!!!

Very nice duck rice paper rolls and delicious Thai milk tea. The ladies said the cuisine was a mixture of North and South Viet, good combo. Will be returning with peeps

I’d say 90% of the Vietnamese restaurants in Melbourne are in a style from the South.<br/>Northern Vietnamese restaurants are hard to come by, and I was so happy to have come to Co Thu Quan (even from the other side of the city).<br/>The menu items are refreshingly different – fresh salads, pungent soups and something I couldn’t pass up – Bun Cha Hanoi.<br/><br/>• Rice Paper Salad – Thin, translucent rice paper has a light chewy texture and is seasoned. It goes really well with the shredded beef jerky and dried squid, and the Vietnamese mint gives the dish a real herby lift. So many elements to this salad, but there’s a good balance – give it a go.<br/><br/>• Bun Cha Hanoi – I really got the smoky charcoal grill flavour from the pork patties and pork neck. The dipping sauce could have been a little lighter but it’s still quite tasty. Very refreshing with the salad and mint altogether.<br/><br/>• Bun Mam - So much going on with this bowl of soup noodles – chunky prawn, thick fish cake, roast pork and loads of chives. The broth is made with fermented anchovy so it is pungent but delicious. Think of how blue cheese or truffles are pungent, but they are delicious. It’s another dimension of flavour.<br/><br/>Service and table arrangement are exactly how I expected of a no-fuss local Vietnamese eatery. <br/><br/>Staff were friendly and even though it was quite busy, I still managed to find a window-side table for 2.<br/> Also as expected, prices were very reasonable. <br/>Maybe sometime in the future they will offer Northern style fried spring rolls – wrapped in vermicelli or rice paper, just like in Hanoi.

A different type of Vietnamese dining experience. Food is mainly northern Vietnamese. The using the hand experience is amazing with their dishes. Fresh herbs, sauce and protein whether it's pork chicken or fish.<br/>A must try for everyone

Had lunch here for the public holiday and ordered the grilled pork and rice, it was dry and almost flavourless..wasn’t cooked with passion, the desserts and drinks were okay

We were in the Footscray area and wanted to try a new vietnamese place other than our regular places we always visit so we ended up here as we saw that this place sold not so typical vietnamese food. First impression of the place was nice and neat. Not all staff spoke English well but they understood and still nicely catered our needs. We ordered a bunch of unusual Vietnamese food and they all tasted okay bit not wow. The one that’s quite interesting was the spicy rice paper salad as it’s literally crushed rice paper. We also ordered the Hue style claypot rice as the waiter said it’s popular and turned out to be quite ordinary. The rice wasn’t really cooked in the claypot, they just put it into the claypot. The spicy beef noodle soup was also not quite spicy (I had to ask for cut chillies to add some more heat) and the broth was a bit bland. The vietnamese coffee was very strong to my liking but the avocado+durian smoothy was quite nice. The portion size was great and the pricing was quite affordable. All in all, it was an okay experience. Good choice if you want to experience some other vietnamese dishes than just a bowl of pho.

Quietly tucked away from the Main Street, this place is a hidden gem! Service was great, there are many items on the menu that are not commonly seen in other Vietnamese restaurants, loved the Bang Trang Bo, noodles ordered were tasty also. Definitely will be back to try more

Had a lovely lunch today, friendly service and delicious authentic Hanoi food. This is a sister store of the Richmond one with the same name. They have only reopened for the past 3-4months, great location with plenty of parking around the area. Three dishes were plenty for 2 of us. Will definitely be back regularly.

I came here for lunch and it was quite busy. Friendly staffs. I did order “bun cha” and “banh da cua”. Bun cha was good as usual. But “banh da cua” was not impressed me at all. However, it’s still a good choice for Vietnamese foods.

Cô Thư Quán has reopened in Footscray with a menu that greatly expands upon the delicious but rather limited street food offering of the original.

Busy little Vietnamese joint in Footscray, this place had a number of dishes that we weren’t very familiar with which was great..<br/>Definitely worth the visit, their rice paper rolls were tasty, and the rice dishes were pretty good too..<br/>We didn’t order their vermicelli dish which seemed to be popular but we will definitely come back again to give it a go..

Was alright. Great aesthetically, but food falls short of yum. It'll impress a noob foodie that has no hate in their heart. Caution Connoiseur Viet foodies.<br/><br/>

Lovely fresh food in a bustling restaurant. The Bo La Lot beef was particularly good. The Hoi An chicken was tasty but could have done with a bit more chicken-to-rice ratio. It makes a delicious light meal before heading out in Footscray :)

Delicious, affordable and authentic! Loved the bun cha hanoi and canh bun, just as we remember it from our travel to Hanoi. My Vietnamese friend was ecstatic to find bun dau mam tom, which isn't offered at every Vietnamese restaurant. Only let down was the banh xeo crepe batter which came out a tad doughy and dense.

They finally relocated!! This restaurant was one my favourite places to visit when shopping at little Saigon, which is now unfortunately burnt down. I’m so happy when I found out that they were reopening in Footscray (in another area).<br/><br/>Ordered:<br/>Water spinach crab noodles $12: a well renowned traditional Vietnamese dish that is sold around Footscray in other restaurant. This place unfortunately did not live up to my expectations with their somewhat lacklustre broth with no soul and stingy proportions, this is the first and last time I’ll be having this dish. <br/><br/>Rice paper salad $8: This one saved the whole dining experience for me although it took more then 20 mins to get it delivered to my table. It reminded me of the days in Vietnam where the vendors would make a fresh rice paper salad for you on the side of the street for less than $1. The use of dry and wet beef jerky created nice texture and flavour. An array of Asian herbs, vegetables and fruits were used to brighten up the dish as well as the dressing was all very flavourful. <br/><br/>Service: it was average I don’t really know they delivered the exact same salad dish to a person who arrived after me. But since it was very crowded, they could’ve gotten confused.

*Update - I visited here again, this time bringing a good friend of mine. I am ashamed and embarrassed that I chose this restaurant.<br/>It took us over 40 minutes for our food to arrive and it just got worse from there.Bun Xiao $17 filled with about 90% beans sprouts, two(?) small prawns and no other flavour. Rip off!Bun Cha Ha Noi - fatty cold meat and bland tasting soup.<br/>Claypot - not fresh at all...<br/><br/>I have revoked my five stars.<br/>Hello Footscray! Decided to visit this new store (or maybe location?) after seeing the grand opening sign.<br/><br/>The interior is new and clean - hipsterish cafe / restaurant. It was reasonably full with only a few empty tables, many Vietnamese people and families (hint hint). They also serve alcohol so a good addition to the few Vietnamese restaurants in Footscray that do this.<br/>The aromas I will describe as being very Asian - we could smell the fried shrimp paste, fish sauce and even durian when we were there.<br/>Atmosphere 4.5/5.<br/>Service was prompt, polite, reasonably quick and genuine, unlike some other Vietnamese restaurants.<br/>Service 4/5.<br/>Move over pages and pages of options that you find in other vietnamese restaurants. This menu is small, concise and even has pictures. If i remember correctly it even has some dishes by region!<br/>The food we had was great. I've been searching everywhere for a good Bun Cha Ha Noi and I think i have found my go to. We also had the coconut icecream and sticky rice, apart from the sticky rice being slightly dry it was Delicious.<br/>Food 4.5/5.<br/>Value - now I can't fault this place here. The food quality is superb and the cost in line with other Vietnamese restaurants, and food is also cheaper alcohol providing alternatives on Hopkins.<br/>Bun Cha Ha Noi x 2, 1 extra serve of Bun and a shared dessert (enough for 2) $32.<br/>Value 5/5.<br/>As said above I think I may have found my go to Vietnamese restaurant... well I will need to go a few more times and try some dishes but if last night was to go by I won't be disappointed.

Got takeaway from this place after seeing exotic street food on the menu. We ordered rice paper salad and banh bot loc. Banh bot loc was delish, rice paper salad is better in vietnam of course.. but still not bad. A very vietnamese feel inside with workers from Hanoi. Offers viet food that most other vietnamese restaurants don't have on the menu.

Such an authentic Vietnamese street food. From variety of lights meal , snack menu and drinks also perfect! Seems like memories coming back from hometown.

very good and authentic Vietnamese street food... surprising interesting menu.. everything was perfect. absolute enjoymeny. must try dont miss out!

A local favourite. Food is delicious, and drinks are so good too! My fav is canh bun, pha lau and bun mam. Drinks would be tamarind peanut juice or trai goc pressed juice!

(English Reviews Below)<br/><br/>在Saigon Market里面一间很有越南街边小店的感觉，没有越南招牌菜pho，但这里大多数食物我都没有在墨尔本其他地方吃过。Canh Bun有点像桂林米粉的感觉，拌匀之后喝口汤，虾膏、蟹膏、番茄、鸡肉的味道一层一层，toppings也很棒，如果家楼下有的卖这种米粉，我不介意每天早餐来一碗！Com Am Phu是白饭上撒了些好像是虾膏炒肉末，配上小螃蟹、五花肉之类的小菜，我感觉很好吃，味道比较重，吃不惯的人可能会觉得味道像鸡屎。Banh Trang类用的都是较薄较硬的米纸，嚼起来有点费劲，如果想要试试的话，这一类的点一份就够了。<br/><br/>Very street style little restaurant hidden at Saigon Market. I’ve never tried most of the dishes at any other places in Melbourne. Canh Bun was my favourite, the broth has a clear, sharp and sophisticated taste, yummy toppings, great for slurping. Com Am Phu was a bowl of white rice came with 4 side dishes, I enjoyed it although someone may find it kind of ‘stinky’ (I think stinky smell is the essence of shrimp paste). The Banh Trang-s are quite interesting but no easy to chew, make sure you just order one dish from that category unless you want to build some face muscle.

There was no time for a photo as this food looked like it was going to be the most delish thing I've eaten in a long time. I ordered the Hue specialty, (the photo is in many of the other reviews and shows a tray with 6 little dishes on it). It was simply amazing. The pickle was perfect to balance the oiliness of the fried baby crabs and braised pork and shirmp. The omelette was great pairing and the rice and fish sauce balanced perfectly. Tastes authentically Vietnamese.

A great find at a frequently visited grocery shop in Little Saigon Supermarket just off Nicholson street in Footscray. Having arrived at 10.15am we were lucky to get a park just off one of the side roads located within 2min walk of the market. There's other available parking close by too provided you're OK for the walk, 5min in any direction.<br/><br/>A quiet little spot with most locals and elderly Vietnamese coming and going which was a great sign when it comes to dining in local restaurants. We can't really tell you what we had as we can't really remember all of their names however did take some happy snaps.<br/><br/>We came here with another couple who had recommended this place and between the 4 of us we had 5 dishes all between $5.0- $15.0 each, we had drinks such as the Vietnamese Iced Coffee, Pandan Drink and a custard apple type drink for we think $3.0 each. The meal and drinks tasted true and felt like we were eating in the streets of Saigon as we had been over a year and a half ago. The food was very tasty and provided quite an experience which we look forward to having again soon. Total of the bill between. 4 of us was $65.4 which was a steal we think.<br/><br/>Decor is laid out quite simply with wooden seats and tables with dimly lit lighting and traditional decorations to suit. Serviced by two young ladies who have service and hospitality down pat which made for the experience to be even better.<br/><br/>It was well placed within the market and fit right into the Little Saigon vibe. As the food is quite central style Vietnamese, the meals you usually don't see in other Vietamese restaurants are served here and bring street food to the mainstream. Suggest if your going to try something and you're not quite sure, give the mixed dishes meal (no idea what it's called) which is $10.0 a go and has an assortment of small dishes combined with rice I.e. small swimmer crabs deep fried in chilli and prawn paste but be warned, if you've got a plain pallette and aren't accustomed to flavour hits and different textures you will probably not enjoy it as much as we did. Hopefully you do though as it definitely worth a squeeze. Till next time, this is Our Foodie Find!

I was extremely excited prior to coming here, having been to the later sister restaurant in Richmond. I thought to myself, surely the original would be better. Well I was wrong. We visited Co Thu Quan for dinner on a week night, we found the restaurant tucked inside Little Saigon Market. The centre itself was closed so it's a bit eery to walk pass the hallways trying to find the place. The service was abrupt, the place was dirty with exposed rubbish bins placed next to the tables and the menu has a lot less options. Overall taste is pretty similar but if you want the real deal (inside a cleaner restaurant with ambience) then head to Richmond!

Went here back in February for lunch, as my mum wanted to try out the Vietnamese street food dishes that can't be found on the menu of many Vietnamese restaurants. <br/><br/>We tried the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm (Fermented Shrimp Paste with Vermicelli Noodles), Bánh Tráng Trọn (Vietnamese Rice Paper Salad), Bánh Tráng Cuộn (Vietnamese Rice Paper Salad Rolls), Sâm Dứa Sữa (Pandan Condensed Milk Drink) and Sữa Chua Mít (Vietnamese Yoghurt with Jackfruit Dessert). <br/><br/>All the food was cheap and under $10. The pork patty in the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm was moist and delicious. The Sữa Chua Mít was unique and very refreshing. The rice paper salad and rolls were okay but not as good as my mum's version and in Vietnam. If you want a cheap Vietnamese lunch or quick snack, I recommend you come here and try out a variety of dishes.

This is what Footscray is about. Authentic Vietnamese that isn't just pho.<br/><br/>The menu features a strong assortment of noodles, soups, bites, salad dishes, and desserts from all regions in Vietnam. All items were cheap as chips too, only $5 for a side dish and $10 for mains.<br/><br/>There's really too much to talk about, but for example, one dish (for $10) was the rice 'platter' which had fried crabs, pickled chillies, pork bell, fried shrimp, egg omlette, dipping sauce, along with a sweet and savoury shrimp garnish. It was a really great mix and each side on this platter offered a great assortment of textures and flavours. The homemade fish balls were full of flavour, and the regional Mekong soup was a great mix of umami, saltiness, sweet, sour, and spiciness.<br/><br/>A delight for the senses at very good value. Sure there are niggles (overcooked liver in a soup, ambiance so-so in the shopping centre, etc.) but really nothing huge for the price. Keeping these restaurants alive is so important, especially with the dime-a-dollar gentrified brunch spots and burger joints that keep popping up around Footscray. Get out of your comfort zone and give this place a try.

Ridiculously cheap and authentic Vietnamese street food served in the middle of a Footscray market. The food is definitely not for the unadventurous. Semi dried and fried crabs, prawns and pickled baby eggplant, offal in coconut broth, crab soup and sticky rice with lap cheong and pork. <br/><br/>Despite its authenticity, Co Thu Quan is a bit hit and miss. The offal soup was definitely not pleasant - the bits of liver (?) were overcooked and grainy and the coconut broth was pink and sweet. It was all a bit too weird for me. The rice dish with various sides (including mini crabs, dried prawns, pickled veg and pork belly) was by far my favourite. If you can stomach eating whole mini crabs with shell and all, it's amazing!

Vietnamese food not just only Phó... This restaurant have served a popular dish of each city in Vietnam. The menu was clearly explained and photoed. If you looking for a traditional Vietnam street food, i would suggest you to check it out!!

Had the Nothern style noodle soup with side dishes.... everything was amazing. Something that you couldn't find in normal vietnamese restaurants. I believe this was what vietnamese actually eat everyday apart from rolls and pho as most of the diners here are vietnamese. The service was very quick and friendly and very very affordable will definitely go back and eat there reguarly. 👍👍👍

Wow. A small group of us literally ate through the whole menu (except the noodle soups which had sold out) and not one dish was disappointing. The taste of all the dishes was very 'authentic' Vietnamese street food. Probably the best Viet I've had in Melbourne. Great job guys!

The best thing about Co Thu Quan was the true taste and style of Vietnamese street food; however, everything is super small.<br/>Excellent staff as well<br/>

If you like pho and rice paper rolls then you’re spoilt for choice in Footscray. But visit Cô Thư Quán  in Little Saigon market and you will experience the kind of Vietnamese food that I suspect you won’t find anywhere else in Melbourne. Cô Thư Quán is tucked away in a quiet nook inside crazy shouty Little Saigon market. There are only a handful of tables but guests turn over quickly as the restaurant is all about cheap and tasty street food.

Excellent Vietnamese street food, friendly owner and staff. Highly recommded for anyone who wants to try authentic Viet food

Authentic. Has authentic vietnamese street food. Feels like you're in Vietnam.

OVERBYTE. LOVELY FOOD & GREAT JUICES<br/>The authentic & fresh Vietnamese cuisine is a credit to the owners & staff. The thoughtful layout of the cafe lends itself to enjoying the Ambarella juice, papaya salad & sticky rice. The enthusiastic Manager was engaging & helpful in describing what was on offer. Would highly recommend it!

Price for quantity was good. The beef stew had great flavor. We finished up all the remaining stew by ordering an extra bread roll. The meat contained mixed intestines, so a caution to those who don’t usually eat it as it is an acquired taste. Bún đậu mắm tôm, was popular among the diners. It was served cold, with some warmth from the fried terrine. My husband and I thought it was a great combination. The shrimp paste was the dominant smell and flavor of the dish. If you like sweet things and coffee, you must try the Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk – always delicious.

Great drinks range.. unique. I love the 5 kinds of roasted beans drink ♡

Very unimpressed. Food was not good nor cheap at all, the most important part of a "Bun dau mam tom" is the sauce and they undoubtedly fail to make it good. The other parts, noodles, tofus and pork are served in miniature size, which was surprising for a small restaurant, located in the noisy Footscray Saigon Market. <br/><br/> Banh Trang Tron was tiny and I hate it because they are not filling.<br/> My glass of Nuoc Sau was 80% full of ice.<br/><br/> Customer service is OK however the place is too tiny, you either feel uncomfortable talking to your friends because you know the waitresses are listening or they talk so loud you feel uneasy with your company.<br/><br/> Although this restaurant has a lot of potential, it is a failure.

Super Delicious Food, Great Experience. Went to Little Saigon for the first time today, on the other side of the market away from the hustles and bustles sits a very cute and dainty restaurant, the decor inside feels very cosy. The menu items are nothing like the ones I've seen in other Vietnamese restaurant. We ordered a few items that were recommended to us, and we enjoyed all of them, especially the Rice paper salad and Rice cake sandwich with fried pork patty. Great great experience, will definitely return just to eat there again.

A cute spot. A cute little cafe inside Little Saigon. Seating is pretty rudimentary but the food is served fast, it's cheap and it's quite tasty. I think the rice paper rolls are their go to dish as I saw a lot of locals coming in and buying takeaway.

Pearl in the midst of the swirl of Little Saigon Market. The banh trang tron was the most amazing bowl of food. A treat for all the senses. Beautiful space in the chaos of Little Saigon.

...Cô Thư Quán, nestled in a quieter corner of Little Saigon market on a bustling Saturday.  Cô Thư Quán is a small eatery which introduces diners to Vietnamese street food with a menu offering a range of dishes, the likes of which we have never encountered elsewhere in Melbourne.  Perch on a bamboo stool, flick through the menu which is thoughtfully complete with photos and just try to limit your ordering! Everything looks fresh, tasty and intriguing. We start with two Vietnamese iced coffees- note to self-...

Revisit verdict? Still delicious and amazing value. The stew was a bit too watery for our tastes, but it was lovely to try out some new dishes, though the Bánh Tráng Cuôn remains our favourite dish from this cute little eatery.

This is a photoview post (contains mostly photos only). Would we go back? Definitely! Everything we had was delicious. Can't wait to try all of the other dishes on the menu. Plus the Bap Xao corn dish is a great inspiration for a easy and yummy side dish!

After placing our orders, the food came out in almost too quick succession, starting with a glutinous rice ball filled with a bean paste and pork (I think) served with a dipping "sauce" of sesame seeds. I didn't take note of the name in Vietnamese, but whatever language you would like to call this, they should all mean delicious. Because that was exactly what it was. The flavour and texture was familiar yet different with the sesame seeds being a masterstroke of the entire eating experience. So those welcoming words were not just a PR soundbite; with that first mouthful we knew we were in for a special treat.

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015 Co Thu Quan is in Saigon Market in Footscray. After walking past it several times we decided to try it. We saw how clean it was and cheap it was. About nine bloggers including Eat and be merry and cahsing a plate really enjoyed the foods. The serving sizes were just reasonable and everything was $10 and under. I was decently full after my meal and kumquat drink. They are cash only and you order and pay at the cashier and then they will bring out your food within record pace. The kitchen is open so you can see what they are doing and whether it is clean. The kitchen is clean. The meats and seafood are sourced from the Footscray market so you know it is fresh I had the kumquat drink ($4). It was refreshing for a nice warm day. But it was a little bit salty from the sour plum part. The sweetness came from the kumquat. Next up were the rice paper rolls ($6 for three prawn ones). These were dry and stuck together from having being made in the early hours of the morning and then being stuck on shelf at room temperature. Be careful vegetarians and pescatarians there is a small bit of pork in there. But the nuoc nam was charming. Last up was the sticky rice with chinese sausage and bbq pork ($5). This easily fed me and I was full from this after all. But it was very salty from the sausages and pork floss and I can still taste the salt. It's a lovely place for the meat eaters and I encourage Ming from Sweet and Sour Fork to visit soon as she loves her meats. I don't think that this is too much out of her way. It is about a ten minute train ride to Footscray from the city and a two minute walk from the station. 15/20- cheap eat with no frills service. But no vegetarian food though.

Cô Thư Quán offers up some authentic Vietnamese street food that will surprise and delight. The menu features an array of unfamiliar Vietnamese delights which can range from "exciting" to "acquired taste". There are also some of the usual suspects on the menu for the non-adventurous. And a pretty neat drinks list too with lots of different things to try. Perfect for the adventurous foodie.

I have to say that this was one of the most unusual ‘brunches’ we’ve had in a long while and we loved every dish we’d encountered.

These snacks were very different from what I’ve eaten at other Vietnamese joints. They creep on you with steady moreishness.

One of the things about Vietnamese cafes in Melbourne is that, generally, there's not that much variation in the basic menu. Co Thu Quan though offers some more unusual variations of Vietnamese street food, in sizes and at prices that encourage exploration of the menu, and in an atmosphere that's about as authentic South-East Asian that you're likely to find in Melbourne. I always love the smells and bustle of the Little Saigon market. I think it's much more interesting than it's nearby big sister and it's where I always seem to end up when visiting Footscray. It always feels incredibly vibrant, the smell of the herbs permeates the air and it's narrow walkways makes it feel much more intimate. Sitting in the cafes is probably my favourite place in Melbourne to people watch too - arguably only a window seat at Hell's Kitchen in Centre Place can compare (see Kit Kat's review back in May 2010). If you want to get the best out of Co Thu Quan it's important to be a bit adventurous. At first blush my favourite out of everything we tried may not sound to everyone's taste, a coconut beef offal stew served with mini baguette on the side (Pha Lau). Absolutely delicious though, with bits of lung and tripe and other unidentified cuts sitting in a gently flavoured broth perfect for dunking the bread in. Flavours are mild and with almost no smell, it's one of the best things I've tried all year. That is not to say that the rest of the menu lets the team down. If you are looking for something more familiar there are a couple of rice paper roll options, with the Bo Bia including Chinese sausage and basil. Or there are the spring roll like Bahn Trang Cuon, mini rice paper wrappers filled with fried shallots, beef jerky, sour mango and dried shrimp, topped with a streak of mayonnaise. The skin is thinner and a bit crisper than your typical Chinese restaurant style version, the filling a bit herbier and stronger flavoured. Another interesting dish which used the rice paper wrappers wa

...a sample of Bắp Xào, a simple yet delicious dish of sauteed juicy sweet corn with dried shrimp, spring onions, capped off with a squirt of sriracha. I’m quite addicted to this dish and have even enjoyed its pungent shrimpiness for breakfast!