On a windy Wednesday in April we (that is teenage daughter and I) boarded the train to Perth for a Girls shopping day. Something about cloudy skies , a little drizzle plus light rain makes me want soup. As we approached Perth we left the rain behind us but I had already set my mind to where we were going to meet my sister for lunch. I had been searching on the Urbanspoon App on my I pad , it is a little marvel if you ask me. I had found a Vietnamese place in a food hall in the centre of Perth's CBD. Bonus was I had never even seen this food hall and was hoping no one else new about it too. School holidays and the food halls turn feral. the bun fight for tables and the queues for food make it a very unpleasant experience and one I try to avoid at all costs.
We found the Enex100 building quite easily and I must say it is full of all the glamour shops .Top notch clothes etc.. I will say we weren't sure as we headed up the escalator that we were going in the right direction for the food hall. Sure enough it was where the food hall was . It was just after 11 am and we found Phi Yen in the very far back right corner as you exit the elevator and escalator.
All three of us decided we didn't want the lunch special of two dishes plus rice or noodles from the buffet selection even though all the dishes looked fresh and inviting. Miss 15yo and I had decided it was a Pho Ga soup day. My sister wanted spicy seafood noodle soup. We had seen a number of people waiting for their orders and our buzzer went off after only a 10 minute wait probably less even . I wasn't paying attention because we were devouring a vegetable packed fried spring roll while we waited.
The huge white bowls of steamy chicken soup propelled us back to Hanoi where we had first tasted this delightful concoction and my daughter had become addicted to it having at every meal opportunity including breakfast. It had all the elements of flavour along with ample chicken breast meat and my favourite part the bean sprouts . I really struggled to finish the large serving. Cost us about $12 and sure beats red rooster or burgers any day. My sisters seafood soup had loads of seafood and was spicy as promised. The extra little condiments( like lemon wedge, chilli fresh and in sauces, fish sauce) you associate with Vietnamese cuisine can be found on the counter and you can add them to your tastes. Be warned the fresh green chillies were HOT!
As we sat there eating our meal the food hall started to fill very rapidly with the business people coming to get their lunches. The lunch special is served in a three sectional white dish and looks large too. I may just have to head back there for another visit as we were so impressed by our lunch.
