Miss Mai, James Place

Last week I blogged about wanting to return to new Vietnamese eatery Miss Mai to sample their duck (!!!!) banh mi.

Today I fulfilled that promise. And because I'm a fat bastard I also ordered chicken pho.

The duck banh mi was everything I hoped it would be. A generous portion of warm, fatty, juicy duck stuffed inside a crisp, chewy roll with crunchy carrots, cucumber and handfuls of fresh coriander. The too-brown photo below really doesn't do this excellent roll justice.



At $7.50 this duck banh mi is on the more expensive side but absolutely worth every cent. And I really REALLY like that the meat filling at Miss Mai's is warm - it transforms what I'd usually consider a fresh, crunchy summery roll into something warm, comforting and perfect for winter eating.

Because I felt a cold coming on (but mostly because (as above) I'm fat, hungry bastard) I ALSO decided to order the chicken pho. Logically, if chicken soup cures a cold then a spicy, herby chicken pho should kick the shit out it!



I reckon the chicken pho is actually better than the beef pho. The broth was hot and sweet again but seemed cleaner and clearer; the chicken was tender, juicy and ever-so-slightly fatty in a good way; there was more generosity with the rice noodles (my one bugbear from last time); and once again the herbs were fresh, beansprouts crunchy and chillies spicy. I felt greatly restored after eating my chicken pho - it really moved all the gunk out of my sinuses.

I had selfishly hoped that Miss Mai's would remain one of those hidden gems in the Adelaide CBD - but no such luck. Adelaideans seem to have already cottoned on to the fact Miss Mai is serving up some seriously good Vietnamese food.

Miss Mai, James Place

Miss Mai is fairly new hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese eatery in James Place. I've walked past it a couple times previously but thought today's bone-chillingly cold weather necessitated a seriously warming lunch - beef pho fits the bill perfectly.



I'm no pho expert but it seems customary to serve pho with a big plate of fresh herbs - Miss Mai serves her's with chopped chilli; crunchy bean sprouts; coriander; heady, aniseed-y Vietnamese basil; and a wedge of lemon. I would have liked to see a sprig mint as well but given that the mint bush is my back yard has crapped itself at the moment I can only presume that mint isn't in season at the moment and will hopefully make an appearance on Miss Mai's side of herbs once it is.



The pho broth wasn't clearest I've had but it was choc full of flavour - steaming hot and sweeter than I'm used to (which is no bad thing), salty, peppery and with a slight hint of star anise. A perfect warmer for a wold Autumn day.

In my opinion this pho was a bit light on with the rice noodle but this was more than amply made up for by the plentiful and tender beef.



At $8 for a small bowl (which is more than sufficient) I'd return to Miss Mai's for the pho - but I'll definitely be going for the DUCK banh mi! Who'd have thought that such a wonder would exist?

Zen Kitchen, Renaissance Arcade

I am a sucker for pho. In fact, I’m a sucker for Vietnamese food, full stop. I love the stuff. Zen Kitchen in the Renaissance Arcade has recently become the home of my lunchtime Vietnamese fix.

Research the origins of pho, I learned that the broth is usually made with charred onions and probably has French origins. The French dish put-au-feu also use charred onions in its broth. Feu is French for fire and is possibly epistemological origin of pho.

To start I ordered spring rolls. Part chicken, part Vietnamese pate, these spring rolls were hot and crispy.

I usually favour the rice dishes over the pho, but because I have a cold (and the best cure for a cold is chicken noodle soup) I went for chicken pho. A generous serve of pho emerged quickly from the kitchen, accompanied by a big plate of bean sprouts, basil and lime. The broth was savoury and the herbal flavours of star anise, cloves and ginger came through strongly (and probably did wonders for my cold). The chicken was slightly fatty, but juicy and tender. I like to dip my chicken in a little soy and hot sauce. Delicious.

Zen Kitchen is great place for lunchtime pho. I can also recommend to banh mi and the mayonnaise chicken.

Apologies for the lack of photos with this entry. I got so excited about filling my belly with Vietnamese food that I forgot to take any. I’ll take some next time. Promise.