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136 Hopkins St, Footscray
Ph +61 3 9689 8373.
Nestled in the heart of Footscray, the recently refurbished Hao Phong does a brisk trade.
For many Vietnamese, Sunday lunch means one thing: Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup).
To give you an idea of its popularity, there are at least 5 or 6 other restaurants within close proximity that just serve this one dish. If Yum-Cha (Dim-Sum) could be classed as an unofficial Chinese pastime, Pho would be the Vietnamese equivalent. Try a google search for ‘vietnamese pho’.
Although most of the customers we saw had ordered Pho, Hao Phong has quite an extensive menu if you feel like something else.
After seating ourselves at an empty table, the waiter gave us each a menu and poured us some complimentary tea.
I quickly scanned the menu, and chose Pho with Sliced Beef & Beef Balls - $7.00. Louis opted for the Singapore Fried Rice Noodles (Spicy) - $8.50. (Louis: My dish cost more and it sucks! See review below.)
Funky but family
I barely had time to take a couple of shots of the place before the waiter was back with our meals.
Pho with Sliced Beef & Beef Balls
Pho is a dish that comes with a myriad of accompanyments - lemon or lime, bean sprouts, sweet basil, sliced chilli, hoi-sin sauce. You add varying amounts of these to suit your taste. I added lots of everything.
The pho was quite tasty. I’d ordered it here once before, but I think this time was much nicer. Perhaps a new recipe? It had a nice balance of rice noodle vs meat vs soup, so you weren’t constantly eating just noodle, and weren’t left with just soup. Go easy on the amount of chilli you put in though, as chilli + soup = 10x chilli 
I also tried Louis’ Singapore Noodles, but it wasn’t very good. It had little to no flavour - especially after eating a bowl of Pho. I hate how people write ’spicy’ on things when they’re not. For the record, a pinch of tumeric is not spicy. One thing it was though, was very oily. Even if you don’t notice while eating it, you can’t miss the layer of oil left over after you finish. (That bought the food star rating down).
Singapore Fried Rice Noodles (Spicy)
I have grown rather fond of pho, and a trip to Footscray or Richmond would usually mean i’ll have a bowl of those delicious Vietnamese beef noodle soup for lunch or dinner. However, there are times when i think a bit of change is good, so i try to order something different from the menu.
This time, the change was not welcomed. I had ordered a plate of Singapore fried noodles, and what came out was one of the greasiest and tasteless plates of fried noodles i have ever had the bad luck to order. Without even bothering to describe the taste, i will just say that this eatery’s concept of spicy is to sprinkle some tumeric and stain the plate and noodles yellow. Spicy? I think not. Tasty? Sickening is more apt. There was so much oil at the bottom of the plate that i gave up halfway through.
The pho, however, was rather nice. I guess it just goes to show that some dishes are done better than others, and granted, the more popular dishes are usually done better. Ordering something obscure like Singapore Fried Noodles in a Viet place is just asking for trouble. (Ok, S’pore Fried Noodles really isn’t that obscure.) Still, it should be moderately edible and not feel like i’m ingesting a plate of grease.
There was nothing exceptional about the service or ambience, so i am just giving average ratings in these areas. We got served. There was nothing disgusting or overly noisy about the place, and the pho is good value for money. This is one of the better pho places but stay away from their fried noodles!
