Someone recommended Pho Lam for their bun bo hue – a spicy noodle soup with beef, pork, pork trotters and blood jelly – but on the day we’re swayed by two signature dishes immortalised on menu cards in their window, endorsed by the Fairfield City Council. The first is a Seafood Combination Laksa ($13), which is rich, creamy and nicely spicy, filled with shredded chicken, prawns, calamari and broccoli. What we like even better however is the Bánh Canh Cua Chao Tôm ($12), a crab soup that hides wonderfully fat, chewy tapioca noodles. The noodles give the broth a syrupy thickness, while your palate is kept interested with floating pieces of sugarcane prawn and fried bread stick, a scattering of fresh herbs and crisp, fried shallots. You can dress either soup with bean sprouts, lime, or aromatic chrysanthemum greens (tan ô) for added bitterness, provided on a separate plate. Prices this keen of course come with modest furnishings, but you will ...read more
