Pho Phung Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Sydney

Phở Phung has been around for a while now. It is not as old as others, but definitely up there. It has been around longer than Pho Saigon, Phở XOXO, and Phở Ann.

Located on St John, the main street of Cabramatta, underneath the Mekong building, the restaurant is brightly lit and clean. The seating space is comfortable. Phở Phung offers other dishes besides Phở. They offer five variations of beef Phở. Unfortunately, they only offer one size, no large or small. I opted for the combination to keep it consistent.

For $19, you get the usual suspects: rare beef, brisket, beef balls, tripe, and tendon. Let’s do the Kevin’s spoon test for broth clarity. Very nice and clear, on par with Pho Lam broth. Unfortunately, I did not start the spoon test when dining at Pho Lam. I will revisit Phở Lam again.

The service is hassle-free, quick, and attentive. There is enough protein, and the quality of the protein is good, but for a heavy meat eater, it could fall a bit short.

The garnish offered is decent. The basil could be better, but it is not a deal breaker. The chilli is freshly sliced. The lemon was cut in an odd way, very hard to squeeze the juice out.

What I like:

■ spacious and comfy seating ■ clear and fresh broth ■ very fast service

What I did not like:

■ only offered in one size ■ lemon cut very funny, can’t get juice out ■ protein serving slightly small...

If you're in the mood for pho, you might want to check out a quieter spot just around the corner from the well-known Pho Tau Bay. In my opinion, this restaurant serves a better bowl of pho than many others in the area. I ordered the pho dac biet special, which came loaded with the usual tripe, beef balls, rare beef, and brisket. The bowl was generously sized, perfectly proportionate to all the ingredients.

The broth wasn’t as piping hot as I’d like, I personally prefer it steaming. However, the brisket was delightfully tender and had less fat than what I've encountered at other places. The tripe was decent but didn’t stand out, while the beef balls were a tasty highlight.

One disappointing aspect was the noodles; they were a bit dry and lacked that silky texture that makes pho perfect. The herbs could have been fresher as well, though the self-serve satay on the table added a nice spicy kick.

Overall, the restaurant is quite clean and offers competitive pricing. I’d definitely say this place is a better choice than many other pho spots...

I am not going to lie; this place didn't seem that promising judging from its exterior. However, the pho they serve is very tasty. In fact, I'm a Los Angeles native and I think their broth is a lot better than the top pho restaurants in LAC. I came in with my parents during our first vacation in five years and first trip to Australia. My mom got their Special Rice Dish. They forgot to give her a knife; she ate it with her fangs but thought that delicious. Plus, the portions are huge for Oceania!

They do use the wider noodles rather than thin ones I've had before; I also ate this style before a couple times. I think that it helps soak up the soup better.

We probably won't be in Australia again (or at least not for many years), so at least we enjoyed our time here...