Huong’s Restaurant (83A Vulture St, West End, QLD)

Posted by Eddy on Aug 9, 2009 in Restaurants, Cafés and Places to eat | 0 comments

It was one of those weekends where we didn’t have much to do. By Sunday, we decided to spoil ourselves and have an early but hearty winter dinner. My partner is very partial to Vietnamese, so we went to Huong’s Restaurant at West End.

We had been to Huong’s for a handful of times in the past. Like many Asian restaurants that were actually run by Asian people, Huong’s was dodgy as – from the narrow flight of stairs to go up to the restaurant that resembled a seedy entrance to a brothel (not that I have ever been to one) to the tacky and plastic decor, the physical state of the restaurant simply didn’t do justice to the food.

We had every intention to have a light meal. After all, that was half of the reason for us wanting Vietnamese. So we ordered some spring rolls, that dish with savoury pork mince wrapped in fresh lettuce (there is a proper name for this dish but I could never remember it), and a combination steam boat.

The spring rolls were deep fried with a large tiger prawn in the middle. They were scrumptious and very filling. The spring rolls came with this sweet vinegarette sauce, which made what was a heavy dish a tad bit lighter. Then came the savoury pork. Let the truth be known – I don’t like pork. I very seldom touch pork but this dish is probably one of very few dishes I would put up with the pork in it. The fresh crispy lettuce again made a reasonably rich dish taste light and lean, albeit it was a bit awkward to gnaw on the delicious parcel without bits of pork mince rolling off your hands.

To be honest, I was full by the time we finished with the spring rolls and pork mince, so I was a bit overwhelmed when the combination steam boat came out – stove and all. It took a little while for the soup base to boil, which bought our stomachs some reprieve but by the time the lid was lifted, there was no turning back. Being a combination steam boat, there were all sorts of meat in the sweet tasting broth – beef, chicken, seafood, squid, scallops,prawns, and lots of vegetables. Every bit of morsel was delicious – and light. Thankfully, we didn’t order any rice, so we pretty much fished out all the bits of meat and vegies and stuffed ourselves silly. It was like heroin. Despite me feeling absolutely full, I couldn’t stop myself from eating. And when the food was gone, I started drinking the broth that was, by now, bursting with flavour (because of the meat and vegies being cooked in it).

Huong’s reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode where Bruce Willis was in a Chinese restaurant, literally eating himself to death. In the end, he got a fortune cookie, which said, “You are dead”. Which was how I felt when we walked out of the restaurant. Even better, the whole gastronomical experience only cost us about $70. Given the price and quality of food we got, I now know what Bruce Willis’ character must have felt.