Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Pho Sam Noodle House, Epping


Since our last visit to PHD Vietnamese Restaurant, Cheesecake Boy has gone a bit pho tai crazy, but the issue is that Marrickville is a bit of a trek for us, especially when we're both exhausted from a long day at work.  This is how we ended up at Pho Sam in Epping.  Now, Pho Sam is not purely Vietnamese and they do have the Westernised Chinese dishes available too.  However, we had a Vietnamese feed in mind that day.

The entrance

We order the usual coconut juice, but this one is lacking in sugary goodness, so I let Cheesecake Boy finish this one off.

Young coconut juice, $3.60

The sprouts and herbs were served with the usual hoisin and chilli sauce.  Cheesecake Boy was a bit let down by the lack of herbs on the plate, but he's not deterred as he really wanted that pho.  He drew a smiley face for this blog with the sauce, due to his lack of blog contribution as of late.

Cheesecake Boy's smiley contribution

The pho came and I tried some before the soup was flooded with hoisin sauce and some after.  I am a purist usually with pho, may be on occasion I will add white pepper, but this time  the hoisin sauce actually gave this broth some needed depth.  This wasn't really bad, but by no means was this a great pho.  It doesn't have the lovely balance in the stock as the one at PHD Vietnamese Restaurant, but it did take Cheesecake Boy's cravings away.

Raw beef noodle soup, $9

This is the second time that I have ever ordered crispy skin chicken with tomato rice.  I just very rarely order this dish, as I have never taken a liking to tomato rice. I really do not know why I decided to order this dish, as I instantly regret ordering this as soon as waiter walks away.  

May be it was fate, but as the dish came to the table I was alarmed by the huge amount of rice on the plate, but after first bite  I really enjoyed the tomato rice, much to my surprise.   The tomato rice was subtle and not overpowering of tomato sauce.  The chicken was succulent, but more importantly it crispy.  I may just order more crispy skin chicken with tomato rice dishes in the future now.  I'm usually a pork chop and rice girl :)

Crispy skin chicken with tomato rice, $9.50

We got our Vietnamese spring rolls, and they were nice.  The standard fare of pork, carrot and vermicelli.  Nice and crispy, you can't complain.

Vietnamese style spring rolls, $6.80

If your looking for a quick and cheap big feed, then Pho Sam Noodle House is a popular choice in Epping.  With the Westernised Chinese rice meal deals on offer, for between $10-$12 you  can get a serving that's enough for dinner and lunch the next day.


Happy eating, Dumpling Girl.


Pho Sam Noodle House
14 Oxford Street
Epping  NSW  2121
Ph: (02) 9869 0799

Pho Sam Noodle House on Urbanspoon

9 comments:

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

That is a lot of tomato rice. Epping is lacking good food these days, but I do quite like Kenny's on Oxford Street; their ersatz nasi goreng is yum.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Joey, I agree with you about the food scene in Epping, so we hardly go. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely give that a go next time instead.

Helen (Grab Your Fork) said...

Oh crispy skin chicken is always one of my faves in Vietnamese restaurants. And lol at Cheesecake Boy's artwork!

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Helen, yes there's something about crispy skin chicken. Cheesecake Boy says you're welcome to make an offer, lol.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

hehe Mr NQN is like cheesecake boy-obsessed with pho and ramen! :P And I agree, the coconut water needs to have a bit of sweetness to it.

Cooking Gallery said...

I miss Vietnamese food...! Especially Pho, those pictures make me totally drool...;)!

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Lorraine, you got to love them for those obsessions, especially when they put up with ours :)

Hello Cooking Gallery, I actually have a craving right now, so I know what you mean, lol.

susan said...

I always get the pork chop too, but I think next time I am going to try crispy chicken!

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Susan, I think I may have converted to crispy chicken for now :)