Hung Vuong

Hung Vuong, a is Vietnamese Pho restaurant in Footscray. A quick search on Google reveals that Hung Vuong literally means: "brave king". Its all good to have a fancy name, but does it really live up to the expectation? Is Hung Vuong really a "king" or just it is just a pretender to the crown?

I reckon it comes close to it. I am not an expert in Phos but i have tried a few Pho restaurant and they are some really bad ones.

Rice Vermicelli with Spring rolls aka bun cha ($9)

Silly me, coming to a Pho place to have bun cha. All in all the rice vermicelli with spring rolls is OK, did not blow my mind. But it is still worth a try, flavors are really strong, chopped mint, cucumber, flower shaped carrots, and cabbage are scattered above the "dry" vermicelli. Pour over the Vietnamese sweet sauce and mix it all up. You get a concoction of different fresh flavours. The thing that turned me off was the strong minty taste. It was a bit overwhelming too spicy and strong. Apart from that, it is a very fine dish.

Medium Pho with rare beef ($8.50)

The Pho is good, the stock is rich and flavourful, ( any hints of MSG is pretty minimal). The rice noodles are nice and bouncy. I will usually bury the mint and beansprout underneath the rice noodles, so that it cooks a bit. Add a dash of plum sauce and a squeeze a quarter of a lemon, chili and you set to go baby. The condiments only further enchanced the flavors of the stock, creating a unique blend of sweet, sour and spicy flavors. Add to that the tender- almost melt in your mouth beef slices, and you MAY never get a Pho this good. But Is this the KING of Pho?

Hung Vuong
128 Hopkins St,
Footscray 3011 VIC
Ph: (03) 9689 6002

Daily 9am -8:30pm
$6.50-$10

Score:3.25/5