Huong's

Huong's has been in West End for ages and serves my favourite Vietnamese food in Brisbane. I've probably eaten here more times than in any other Brisbane restaurant. It doesn't look much from the street, but once you walk up the narrow stairs to the first floor, you'll find some great Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese food.

The decor is tidy and is a step above many suburban Asian eateries. Service has improved over the years and is now friendly and usually quick. Huong's is popular with a younger crowd, and there's usually some decent music playing in the background.

Although their Vietnamese food is great, there is only a limited selection, because the menu also covers Thai and Chinese.

On this trip, we started off with two serves of the san choy bow ($5 per serve). I love this and order it almost every time. It usually comes out about 2 minutes after ordering. The san choy bow is tasty, with a great crunchiness from the lettuce leaf in which it is served. I could eat these all night.

We also had one of the rice noodle salads with fried tofu ($9.50) which is a fantastic salad. Other than the rice noodles, this salad is served with carrot, cucumber, mint, beansprouts and lettuce. Once you pour the dressing over the top, this is a clean, crunchy and tasty salad. In my book, it's the perfect Brisbane meal.

When it came to mains, I also had a rice noodle salad with pork balls ($9.50). All of the rice noodle salads are essentially the same, just with different toppings. Other than the tofu and pork balls, you can also order spring rolls, pork chop, lemon grass beef or sugarcane prawns with your salad. I would have to say that the pork balls weren't the greatest, and certainly not as tasty as the lemongrass beef which I usually order. Anyway the salad itself was terrific as usual.

Our other main course was the pad kapoa, or Thai stir fried tofu with green beans, bamboo shoots, fresh chilli and sweet basil ($14). This was tasty and fresh but had a real chilli kick.

If you are looking for other Vietnamese options, there is a good range of soups, a selection of make your own rice paper rolls (which are delicious) and a few chef's specialties. Almost all of the Vietnamese dishes are around the $10 mark or less, which makes them excellent value.

If Vietnamese isn't your favourite, then there are also Thai soups, curries, stir fries, noodles and salads. On previous visits I've found the Thai curries to be particularly good. And finally there are also Chinese dishes to round out a fairly wide-ranging menu.

Huong's is BYO and there are a number of bottle shops nearby. If you are looking for something that's non-alcoholic, try one of their iced teas, which are delicious.

For me, Huong's strength is its Vietnamese food, which has proved over the years to be clean, fresh and tasty. It's also exceptionally good value - you can have a Vietnamese entree and main course for less than $20. Huong's is definitely worth seeking out on your next visit to West End.

What does all this mean? Excellent, clean Vietnamese food at rock-bottom prices, with plenty of Thai and Chinese options.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Fairly traditional Asian surroundings
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Great

Huong's
83A Vulture Street
West End 4101
P - 07 3844 6701