IT will be a long time before anything comes close to my experience at iPho Vietnamese Cuisine.
When diners at a nearby table lifted the lid from their braised lychee pork ribs, the most incredible aroma filled the room and my friend and I knew we were in for something special.
The modern yet unpretentious decor, friendly staff and inventive, exciting menu makes family-owned and run iPho Vietnamese Cuisine a necessity for anyone looking to spoil their tastebuds.
Our entrees set the bar high: sugarcane prawn skewers gleamed with a mouth-watering chargrilled flavour and bowls of steamed rice cakes delighted with mildly spiced shrimp, shallots and sharp fish sauce.
The rare beef pho arrived with seemingly endless ribbons of rice noodles and strips of soft beef.
We scooped bean sprouts and tore fresh herbs into our soup bowls, ladling the steaming broth on top.
But the star was the sizzling honey black pepper beef.
Our mouths warm from pepper, the dark sticky sauce was a perfect balance of sweet and salty – and it took all my willpower not to lick the hotplate clean.
Lemongrass chicken done two ways followed.
The first was stir-fried with fresh vegetables with the sharp, clean flavours of coconut and lemongrass.
We then happily found room for lean chicken on the bone, traditionally cooked in a clay pot for a slightly crisped skin and succulently fragrant flesh.
After an indulgent dessert and sweet Vietnamese iced coffee, we spent the drive home enthusiastically singing the restaurant’s praises and planning to book again soon.
I’ve already prepared a shortlist of what to order.
At a Glance
iPHO Vietnamese
TEL: 9335 8520
ADDRESS: Shop 1, 25 Collie Street, Fremantle
OPEN: Open Tuesday to Thursday 11.30am-9.30pm, Friday to Sunday 11.30am-10pm.