Phuong
87 Willoughby Rd
Crows Nest, Sydney
It’s very clear from our recent eating habits that Vietnamese food has played a larger than usual role. It’s become something of a go-to these days and with this in mind we headed out to Phuong in Crows Nest to sample their wares. They have a diverse menu and we decided, as we’ve done a bit recently, to have a meal entirely of starters.
Quail on a menu is a rarity these days. This dish was crispy quail marinated in Grandma’s special spices. There were two lovely quail halves with beautifully crispy skin and a tangy salt mix in a bowl at the side for dipping. Quail can be a bit fiddly for some but it really is worth the effort here. This was a great start.
Next was the stuffed crab shell. We weren’t really sure what to expect from this one. It was described as crab shell stuffed with crab, pork mince and Chinese mushrooms and served with a home made bean sauce. The crab shell made the presentation lovely but once served we removed the filling to dip and eat it. It was a tasty mix and the sauce went well with it all.
Vietnamese stuffed chicken wings are a favourite of ours. It’s always interesting to sample the versions on offer at different places. They all have their own take on this dish. This was one wing, but it was massive. The bone had been removed and it was stuffed with pork mince and water chestnut and served with sweet chilli sauce. This was a great version of the dish. The skin was beautifully crisp and the filling was very tasty.
Mlady really wanted us to order the fresh vegetarian Summer rolls. She loves throwing the odd vegetarian dih into the mix at meal times. These rice paper rolls were filled with carrots, cabbage, bean curd, bean sprouts and mint and were served with their home made bean sauce. These really were fresh and tasty. We also had drinks too of course. Sir tried the 333 Vietnamese beer which he enjoyed and Mlady went with a red.
While satay chicken skewers are on many Asian menu’s these really were a bit different. The meat was cooked differently, and we’re not sure how, and the spices and flavours were not the same. They were really good though and a dish well worth having.
Even though we only had starters, they were really tasty. We also didn’t even have all the starters on offer. The menu here is quite long and we’re keen to get in tom some of the mains as they sounded just as good.
Phong has tasty Vietnamese food as well as quite a few interesting variations on just the traditional options. Good food and good prices make this a place worth visiting.