Khoi Eatery Marrickville — Restaurant in Sydney

May not be entirely "fair" review becoz I came here for my 2nd lunch (the portion of 1st place I went to only offered "snack size") ... that means I'm not that hungry thus could be overly critical. The Pho is good, everything I would expected from a reasonably good pho. There's only one recommendation I could think of ... may be ... to use Lime instead of Lemon could push this Pho further - from good to great. A pity that the Vietnamese Coffee I ordered never came. But it doesn't matters becoz I came for the Pho, coffee is just icing the cake. As a coffee lover I always have it BLACK, no sugar no cream. & it would have been a refreshing change from coffee made by expresso machine. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be back to try out other dishes on their menu. Update : Jan 12 2024. As promised, 2 months later, I drove 24 km round trip to try them again with an empty stomach this time. I've ordered a "large" combination pho for $21 this time. Portion wise it is not much larger (the bowl does a bit larger ... as shown as photo). After I've finished it, I even called for the menu again to see if I could find some snack to fill me up (may be a rice roll etc). Too bad nothing catch my eyes. They offer ice coffee but as a coffee lover ... I really a hot black coffee kinda guy. Just curious if they don't have hot coffee ... does it means their ice coffee came from a bottle? They offer lime instead lemon for the pho this time, which is great. The broth is as good as last time. Everything fine & what I would expected ... except the tendon. It's tasteless, rubbery & chewy. This is a bit disappointing. If they cook the tendon low & slow in the broth for enough time ... it would absorb all those favors & melt in your mouth. & I would give up all the beef & brisket etc for 100% tendon in my pho ... that's how good it could be. Another suggestion would be noise absorbing material in the sitting area therefore I won't have to wear ear-plugs the whole time. In conclusion, their PHO is good, but not worth to drive 24 km round trip for. Next time, I would stay with simply raw beef pho (regular size), or try their chicken tomato rice (another curious part ... why they don't offer beef tomato rice as well ?) Back there again Jan 18 2024. I've the regular Pho as my 2nd lunch again. It is good as always. To be fair to all parties concerned, the "large Pho" I had last time is a bit bigger than the regular (as shown as photo comparison). So the conclusion is ... their portion not big enough for me as my 1st lunch. Back there again Jan 22 2024. Had Pho & Crispy Chicken Tomato Rice. The Pho is always good. Crispy Chicken is good too despite whether it is "crispy" ... would be debatable. Most certainly the Rice is just a bit darker (as shown as photo) than normal Rice, nothing smell like, taste like nor looks like "Tomato Rice". In the last 2 visits, I was here during lunch peak ... big mistake ... too noisy ... have to wear ear plugs the entire time. Hopefully I could be there earlier or later than lunch...

Please ensure that the components listed on the menu for each dish match what is actually served.

For example, the king prawn rice paper roll we ordered did not contain fresh mint or cucumber, as stated on the menu, and it did not come with the side of peanut sauce. Instead, the roll only contained vermicelli noodles, lettuce, and prawns. Similarly, the crispy salt and pepper tofu with vermicelli was missing the pickled daikon, fresh mint, peanuts, water chestnuts, and dried bean curd that were listed on the menu.

When we requested the missing components, the server informed us that peanuts were no longer used due to allergy concerns, which is understandable. However, the server also tried to convince us that we had ordered a different dish. When we pointed out the discrepancy, she eventually brought a plate with a few wilted mint leaves and questionable-looking daikon, which we were hesitant to eat.

This experience was very disappointing, both in terms of food quality...

I'm quite sad to leave this review.

When I sat down and ordered, the restaurant wasn't that busy with only two tables occupied. I ordered and the waitress checked it out and took the menu back.

But the food I ordered didn't come out until all the tables in the restaurant were full, and people who came after were receiving the food. But I waited as I was excited thinking Vietnamese food and really hungry.

After half an hour, the waitress who 'took my order' came up and asked again about the food to order. I said I've already ordered and been waiting for 30 minutes, but she just 'repeated' me asking what food I wanted to order without saying sorry.

I had no choice but to leave the place without hearing a little word "sorry".

After all, the only thing I tasted at this restaurant is a cup of tea.

Thank you for ruining my mood.

If I had heard just apology, I would have waited a little longer and eaten the food I was looking forward to, and you wouldn't have lost...