Phi Yen Vietnamese Restaurant — Restaurant in Perth

I'll be honest, I've never been to Vietnam - but have eaten a lot of Vietnamese food in various parts of the world. That said, it has generally revolved around Banh Mi or noodles.

This restaurant truly enlightened me, to the point where I do not feel I need to visit the country as this place felt so authentic.

First off, owner and manager Yen was a fantastic host, and her team of Vietnamese staff were also amazing. The location is great - not in the thick of bustling Northbridge but only (in my case) a fifteen minute walk from the main strip, and worth every second. The place is visually stunning and very warming; definitely has a fine dining feel, but in a cozy, atmospheric sense - if you get my drift.

Anyway, to the food...

I'll keep it simple, and English (I did write down the names of dishes in their native language, but for ease of this site, I'll keep it simple).

A trio of incredible starters: mini pork spring rolls, nice and crunchy with a very flavourful filling; traditional rice paper rolls, with a filling of rice noodles, beansprouts, Vietnamese mint and HUGE tiger prawns; and a "house special" boneless chicken wing stuffed with minced pork.

All came with various dipping sauces, with my personal favourite being the lightly spiced Hoisin. And all three starters were amazing.

Had two mains: stir-fried (huge) king prawns with chilli and lemongrass; and an amazing fried whole (but deboned and filleted) coral trout - both came with the requisite Julienne-style vegetables, stunning yet subtle sauces, and my usual choice - a bowl of plain steamed rice (so as not to detract from the flavour of the dishes).

Both incredible.

And washed down with a crisp Saigon beer, which I had never had before.

Topped off with a traditional dessert of banana sago, accompanied by a glass of Riesling (or two...).

Phenomenal meal, phenomenal venue, phenomenal service.

Which is why I returned the following night for the sensational roast duck coconut curry (image attached).

Very much...

Food: normal presentation. Smaller portion (than the photos of menu), or too small. Photos of menu are looked old. Price on high side for such portion, but accountable with the environment and service. Surcharge 1.5% for all card payments (the owner would remind you). Duck wasn't available. Wide selections of starter, particularly rice paper rolls. Starter, Goi Cuon Tom (2H), $ 10.5/2 rolls: prefer 2A with chicken $10/2 rolls, which has the same ingredients except chicken (if same portion of prawn). The alignment of prawns wasn't very nice. The photo of the menu has 2 (4 half) prawns per roll, but only got 1.5 prawns in one roll exactly. Besides that, everything was ok. --- 7/10 Chef's Special, Cari Cuu. $29.8. It is like dry curry. Not much sauce. Not much flavor of coconut milk. Lamb meat was tender. Potato cubes were well-cooked. --- 7.5/10 Pork dish, Thit Heo Goi Bap Cai, $26.5: not a common dish in Vietnamese restaurants. Like Vietnamese Cantonese home cook's dish. Nice Plum sauce wasn't too overpowering. The texture and taste of the pork patties wrapped by savory cabbage was good. Larger portion would be better. --- 7.7/10 Steamed Rice, $3/person: served warm and soft enough in a cute thermo. Normal texture and portion.

Service: Good. Tap water was provided wheb seated. The female owner tends to serve the regular customers more. Food served fast. Starter first and finished, and then 2 mains served together with rice. Not waited long between courses. 7.5/10 Venue: beautiful decoration with plants 🪴 and asian elements (even the vanity of female toilet). Not packed. Relaxing vibe. Fee payable carpark in thefront or free street...

The rude and worst service and owner ever. When I ordered food and after picked up she called me and told me never order food from her restaurant again even she had some argument with someone who I asked them to come to pick up the food for me and I didn't involve in their argument. The business will be no long good in the future if the owner keeps her bad attitude and bad behaviour to the customer 👎👎👎. I didn't want to mention the person because that is my right and privacy to protect my personal life. You are doing business but you don't even have a little knowledge about the customers' privacy and rights. There are thousand of restaurants out there are better than your restaurants million times. I don't dare about coming back to your restaurant. If you don't want to serve the food then you should not sell the food to me and charge my money last night. And I couldn't even swallow these food last night and I put them in the bin straight away. Your owner called me and yelled at me on the phone. Do you think is that the right behaviour when you serve your customers? Do you think that the owner called me and yelled at me on the phone with the loud and rude voice is how the way you respect your customers? And I had no idea about what happened at your restaurant. She called me 3 times and when I picked up the phone she yelled at me and talked very rude to me. I never ever met someone treats to the customers rude like your owner even in...