Ancom — Restaurant in Mount Lawley

I want to share my experience tonight at Ancom as a regular customer to provide guidelines for first-time folks Entrée – They have rice flour cakes ( banh beo chen) and mini pancakes (banh khot) which seem to be dominant items for the entrée section as I kept seeing these dishes coming out multiple times in the restaurant every time we dine in ( was told by staffs that these are the best sellers and this is the only Vietnamese restaurant doing these dishes) Main Noodle soup: this place follows the northern Ha-Noi style with a light and refreshing soup taste which is unique compared to the dense flavor pho soup of the south in many other restaurants. Personally, I would recommend the free-range chicken pho as the first priority, as the meat is leaner, chewier and firmer , other restaurants usually use chicken breast which is a negative point for me. Fish noodle soup is a great choice for people prefer a spicy soup stir-fried dishes: shaking beef , thai-basil duck, chili lemongrass chicken , tamarind prawns are the must-pick for sharing meals

Special food: Crab hotpot , today I tried their seasonal dish for this cold winter, the soup has a light sweet taste supported by the crab meat with so many toppings around that me and my friend couldn’t finish the combo for 2. A cheaper and better alternative for the craving for hotpot Pros: Many authentic Vietnamese dishes Options for vegetarians and spicy preferences , nuts and gluten allergy Friendly and attentive staffs and owners Cons: Hard to find parking lots for restaurants on this road This restaurant is usually fully booked on Friday, Saturday and Sunday , I always have to make a reservation to ensure we have a table at the weekend. During the busy time, If I order more dishes, it may have to wait until all existing orders from other tables are completed as they explained that additional orders will not be prioritized to avoid other tables wait longer on their meals. I was notified from FOH staffs that to prevent this inconvenience, I should order everything in the first time if possible but if not they will try their best to do it as quick as possible. A good piece of information to be aware of. Overall, I like Ancom as an authentic Vietnamese restaurant , will keep coming back whenever I want to enjoy...

We tried this nicely decked out and slightly upmarket northern Vietnamese restaurant a few times at the official opening after enjoying its sister southern style restaurant next door at Bandem. As a brand new restaurant that's just opened, there's a few teething issues. However, staff are friendly and looking for ways to improve and were open to feedback on dishes.

The dishes were a bit of hit and miss with most dishes being excellent but some not quite there for my taste. The better dishes included very authentic Vietnamese dishes such as Banh Khot Prawn and Pork which were small mini pancakes with great textures between the crispy flavoured pancake and the light and delicious filling; the Banh Xeo crispy bright yellow turmeric pancake with filling, side herbs and dipping sauce again with great textures and flavour that you could eat off the plate or pack into the leaves like a lettuce cup and dip into the sauce; Com Ga Hoi An set meal dish with a sweet and sour pickled refreshing chicken salad served with a chicken stock flavoured chicken rice and dipping sauce; northern style Pho with its more clear and lighter soup than the more common southern style, but still a good stock with very good slices of beef; and a Bun Cha Hanoi, a dish of really tender pork in a taste-bud hitting for a stock served with rice noodles, herbs and lettuce.

Other dishes included the Tom Hot Vit Muoi which is like a version of the Cantonese salted egg yolk coated prawns that was ok but lacked the full salted egg yolk flavour and crispness of the Cantonese version; Cua Lot Rang Moi that was also average which didn't have the crisp flavour in the battered soft shell crab that you would normally expect; and the Mien Xao Bo that was a relatively bland dish with dry and what I would say overcooked beef. Staff did acknowledge comments and said they would feed back to the chefs.

Overall, the more authentic Vietnamese dishes here were very enjoyable for us. Given the overall meals, atmosphere and service, I'm impressed enough to go back...

I visited this restaurant on October 30, 2024, after a friend's recommendation, but it turned out to be a disappointing experience.

We arrived around 6:30 PM without a reservation and were informed by the staff that the wait time would be 50 minutes, which we were okay with. However, when we returned at around 7:20 PM, there was still no table available. The staff explained that the owner had invited friends, resulting in our reserved table being taken. This was quite surprising and frustrating. They then suggested we go to Bandem next door and order from there.

We placed our order at Bandem around 7:40 PM for two entrees—banh beo chen and banh khot—and two mains—bun cha ha noi and bun dau mam tom. By around 8:20 PM, we were informed that the banh beo chen was sold out and asked to choose something else. We opted to cancel that dish but requested they follow up on the rest of our order.

After another 5-10 minutes, we finally received the bun cha ha noi. Once we finished that, we inquired about the remaining dishes, only to be told that it was too busy to provide an update. At this point, we had been waiting for more than 1 hour, so we decided to cancel the rest of our order. The staff assured us they would cancel it without charge, but after such a long wait, that felt more like a joke than a relief.

Food Rating: 4/5 – The bun cha ha noi was flavorful, with tender meat and a perfectly seasoned broth, but the portion was a bit small for $25 AUD.

Service Rating: 1/5 – The long wait times and lack of communication from the staff were disappointing.

Overall...