Pho Pasteur, Bankstown

I'll be honest, I don't know much about Vietnamese food. I was just never exposed to it, and, knowing nothing about it, I was too nervous to spend money on something that I didn't know I'd like. I mean, what if I couldn't find anything to order and I was stuck at the table, staring at the menu until I was asked to leave?

Recently my friend Mary took me to a Vietnamese restaurant in Canley Heights for my first bowl of Pho, practically holding my hand as I observed the menu with caution, and from then I was in love (with Pho, not Mary, lol). 

Mary was leaving for the Phillipines, so we met up for Vietnamese again, this time in Bankstown. After a lot of internet research, the Pho Pasteur here (as opposed to Parramatta or Blacktown) won out.

Stepping into the restaurant, we were struck by how - well, crappy -  the interior was. There were tables full of dirty dishes, the floors were dirty, and the decor was incredibly drab. However, the table we found was clean, as were the utensils put out for our use, so we stuck to our guns and ordered.

Large Special Beef Pho - $11.00

Darling Sonia was brave enough to order the Special Beef Pho, which in addition to silky, slippery rice noodles and tender beef, also includes meatballs, tripe, and tendons. The broth was light yet meaty in flavour, and fragrant with spices. A mountain of bean sprouts and basil added to an already amazing dish.

Small Chicken Pho - $9.00

I ordered a small, because I was planning on trying some other dishes (of course!). The chicken was perfectly poached, and the broth had a lighter flavour than the beef version.

The accompanying sauces and foliage was a bit confusing, because it came before all of the dishes, and they were unceremoniously plonked on the table with no explaination.

Prawn and Pork Rice Paper Rolls (price unknown)

The rice paper rolls were lovely and fresh, with chilled, juicy prawns and succulent pieces of pork complimented by the uplifting mixture of vietnamese basil, mint and coriander and vermicelli noodles.

Grilled Pork Chop with Vermicelli - $10.00

Paul ordered the Grilled Pork Chop, being famished and coming straight from a football game. The pork was a bit tough and chewy, but that's the way he likes it - dead. It came with a refreshing cucumber salad, fried vermicelli noodles and a fried egg that was runny in the yolk and crispy 'round the edges.

Spring Roll with Vermicelli - $9.00

I was a bit puzzled by this dish; I thought that I'd be presented with spring rolls with vermicelli inside them, but they were just plain spring rolls - quite good by the way, wonderfully crispy - on a bed of the noodles. What the hell was I meant to do with those noodles? I asked one of the staff, but they just told me to eat it (plain vermicelli is definitely NOT my cup of tea).

Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice - $9.50

Mary predictably ordered the Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice, and she loved it. The skin shattered on impact, revealing juicy chicken, and the tomato rice was tender and full of flavour.

Pho Pasteur in Bankstown was a look-beyond-the-surface kind of restaurant  - if you can brave the ugly interior and make it to a table, the food, and the prices, make it worthwhile. Bon Voyage Mary!

Pho Pasteur

295 Chapel Rd
Bankstown, NSW
2200

Phone: (02) 9790 2900

Comments

[Gaby]

Most authentic Asian restaurants are very dodgy in their appearance, but great in flavour. I tried Vietnamese cuisine for the first time when I arrived to Australia and immediately fell in love with it. So light and tasty.

[briarrose]

I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to try out the food after that first impression. ;) Looks like it was totally worthwhile though. Beautiful pics.

[Dumpling Girl]

Spring rolls with vermicelli is one of my favourite dishes. However, you're meant to pour the accompanying sauce (leave some for the spring rolls though) into the noodles and mix it up with the vege and eat it like a noodle salad, and take bites of the spring roll whilst eating the noodles. Hope that helps if you eat it next time :)

[Nic@diningwithastud]

If it looks dodgy and still had a lot of people, you can guarantee its damn good! Im all for that if they can back it up with flavour :)

[Von]

Hahaha.....crappy interior :) So true!! But I guess the food makes up for it! ;) When I order vermicelli, I usually pour the sauce onto it and mix it through with the vegetables-plain vermicelli is not very nice...I can't believe the staff didn't explain! The Crispy skin chicken looks delicious!

[Dolly]

which one did you prefer?

for me, personally i prefer Pho Pasteur.. its so much cheaper and the waiters dont stare at you when you eat opposed to Pho AN :)

I love Prawn and Pork Rice Paper Rolls .. thats like 55% of my dinner in summer hahaa

[Jasmyne Tea]

Gaby: This was a whole new level of dodgy! The pho was worth it though :)

Briarrose: Thanks for reading!

Dumpling Girl: That really does help! Thanks, I'll give it a try next time.

Nic: I've noticed that! Thanks for reading :)

Von: I can't believe it either! Where they laughing at me behind my back? Lol.

Dolly: I've never been to Pho An, but there was a place in Canley Heights called Bau Truong that I definitely thought had a nicer interior, and the food was just as good.

[InTolerantChef]

The food certainly doesn't look dodgy at least!

[alanabread]

this is crazy, a friend and i were discussing vietnamese food the other night - i usually grab mine from cabramatta whereas he lives for the restaurants at canley heights. after reading this we now need to try bankstown to see how their delicious food compares; thank you for the pho inspiration! reading this has made me sooooo hungry.

[chopinandmysaucepan]

I can never go past Pho An whenever I am around Bankstown. The price is a little more expensive but the bowl of pho is huge and in my humble opinion, the best pho in Sydney :)