Always enjoy a good day to try new pho.
Mum's Table (fairly) recently opened up within a 100m walk from my place so I figured I had to give it a crack.
I simply ordered the beef brisket pho.. Nothing more, nothing less.
The pho here is $14... I at first thought 'pho heads would whinge about this' but I stepped back and remembered I was sitting in the heart of Surry Hills. It is fair to say that any dish under $15 in this area is a fair deal. I also got excited in thinking perhaps this particular pho might turn out to be, simply, a deluxe addition to this growingly competitive world of pho.
It arrived very quickly to which I was most delighted. First box ticked.
There was sriracha ready to go on the table. Second box ticked. My waitress quickly discovered I had no cutlery and made sure of getting onto it pronto.
The soup spoon wasn't the deepest of sorts, but certainly was adequate for regular slurpers such as myself.
Now for the dish itself.
The beef brisket cooked before my eyes which is exactly what we love to see. 3rd box ticked.
Now coming back to the $14 price tag. Absolutely and 100% made up for by the sheer volume of beef in my bowl. It was a cow party and all the calfs on farmer Bob's paddock were invited. Apologies to any vegetarians reading this but we pho-goers love a proper serving of meat. Now although the strips of beef were occasionally too large for a single bite, they were soft and tender enough to pull apart into perfect sizes smaller bites.
The noodles were on par, and, just like and HIV test... No news is good news!
Now for the broth, and for this occasion I wish I knew more about making pho. I truly don't know what or why, but this broth just wasn't quite a 10/10. I would guess that it kinda tastes less authentic... And my absolute best guess would be that other places boil beef bones for longer and Mum's Table may use beef stock from the supermarket. Either way it was certainly still slurpable and I finished all my broth to the last drop.
As for the side garnishes.. There were definitely enough sprouts but nowhere near enough fresh chopped chilies or fresh Thai basil. True Pho heads would have certainly had something to say about this.
In all, the dish is big and easily worth $14. And although it has 2 minor bits of room for improvement, I will without a doubt be slurping here on the reg. read more