Just as the World Trade Organisation is currently inviting Vietnam to become its 150th member, we decided to take our trade to Pho Dzung, a Vietnamese Noodle Soup restaurant.
Pho Dzung
208 Victoria St.
Richmond
Pho Dzung is an unabashed, utilitarian establishment. There are no printed menus; the meal options are posted on the wall in English, Vietnamese and Chinese (if you can zoom into the menu shot, it's worth it just for the cringe factor re some ingredients, such as beef 'pizzle'); the chairs and tables aren’t fancy; there’s a small TV in the corner; and the mirror-lined walls reflect back on each other, prompting conversations of viewing infinity... This is a place where you eat, then leave – that is, of course, if you can finish your serving. In a restaurant where small is large, regular is huge and large is insane, you definitely get value for money – especially when the prices are respectively $6, $7 and $8. Fortunately, the cheap prices don’t indicate any skimping on the quality of the food!
This week’s Vietnamese venturers were Marty, Naomi, Nick, Helen, Rami, Caroline, Abel and Sai. As the menu consisted of random beef and chicken parts with noodles and soup, the vegetarians decided to skip this week’s meat-a-thon.
Soups:
Chin: Beef Noodle Soup with Sliced Braised Beef
Gio: Beef Noodle Soup with Beef sausage with peppercorns
Dac Biet: Beef Noodle Soup with Special Beef Combination
Tai: Beef Noodle Soup with Sliced Rare Beef
Ta Bin Lu: Beef Noodle Soup with Chicken and Beef combination
Drinks:
Mit: Jackfruit Smoothie
Nuac Dua Tuoi: Coconut Juice
Soups:
The base for each noodle soup was the same – a clear broth with rice noodles. The meat options were “varied” with many diners taking the easy, Westerner-inoffensive braised beef option. The curious and adventurous took in variations on the theme: peppery beef sausage or beef and chicken combination. Another popular option was the rare beef: the meat is added rare and cooks in the soup, making it superbly tender. Only one diner (the Asian one!) was brave enough to go all out with tendon and congealed blood cubes (amongst other parts) added to his soup.
For the record, beef tendon tastes like the broth it has been steeping in, with a soft gelatinous texture. Blood cubes taste "irony". And if you're wondering what "beef pizzle" tastes like... er, try it and tell us. We didn't go THAT far.
The tables were spread with plates of bean sprouts, lemon pieces, chopped birds eye chilli, mint leaves, chilli paste, soy sauce and other additives so that the soups could be flavoured to personal tastes. Some careless diners forgot the first rule of handling raw chilli (don’t touch your face), and as such the burning chilli sensation was not limited to tongue and mouth, but also to nostril and eye… But despite the occasional chilli mishap (or should that be "pho pas"?) everyone had a good time and highly enjoyed their meals.
Overall:
One of the best indicators of eating at an “ethnic” restaurant is said to be whether the establishment is frequented by members of that ethnicity. Not only was Pho Dzung teeming with costumers, but the vast majority of them were of Vietnamese descent. With the quality, quantity and price of the meals, there is little doubt why. While we had some difficulty with coming up with the correct change (Pho Dzung doesn’t split bills), the great food and the speed of the service ensured we were in a particularly forgiving mood.
The main downside to this restaurant is the limited meal choice – but advertising itself specifically as a noodle soup restaurant, you quickly learn that Pho Dzung serves exactly what it promises. Pho Dzung is definitely the best value-for-money restaurant we have visited in our journey so far – number 13 was lucky for us! 
And with the spare change from our meal, we could afford to go out for gelati… The sign of a truly good meal.
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