Vivid Star has recently opened on the site of the old Quan Hue. It's a bold move, being between people's favourite Sapa Hills and reliable stalwart Huy Huy. I refuse to segue with something lazy like (cue serious movie voiceover voice) "but is its star indeed vivid among the galaxy that is Hopkins St?" Oh - guess I just did.
Their menus are gorgeous - lovingly put together with careful formatting. Don't bother bringing the paper with you - I was happy to browse the voluminous pages and ponder what my next meal or ten would be! It spans everything from Vietnamese classics such as hu tieu mi and pho soups to Chinese-style stirfries and steamed whole fish.
Loving this - an equation to deliciousness! Vivid Star is a Vietnamese Chinese restaurant. For a long time I eschewed the Chinese side of the menu of these places, assuming that it was an afterthought tacked on merely to appease Westerners. I was totally wrong. There is a large Chinese community in Vietnam who have called it home for in some cases hundreds of years. Many fled following the end of the Vietnam War, becoming "boat people" and eventually settling in Footscray and elsewhere around Australia. They have retained their Chinese identity and Cantonese language, and their cuisine although Chinese at its origin bears the hallmarks of their life in Vietnam.
Pork spring rolls, $6
Simon and Courtney on the FFB Facebook page had given Vivid Star the thumbs up with Courtney making the bold claim of best pork spring rolls she had ever had. They were good - fat and golden cigarillos with quite a plain minced pork filling. Wrapped in lettuce with a swizzle in the spicy nuoc mam cham - yum! I do like more lettuce and mints though!
Tom yum soup, $5
My mother was on the hot & sour soup trail but had to settle for tom yum soup. I know it's not very Vietnamese but it was delicious, a perfect combination of sweet, sour, fishy and spicy, with fat and juicy tofu, a freshly cooked prawn, tomato and pineapple.
Salt and pepper quail, two for $12
Oh, so crispy, yummy, rich and juicy quail. You squeeze the lemon into the salt and pepper mix to make a delicious dipping sauce. I think my favourite part of salt and pepper dishes, though, is actually the lightly wokked sprinkle of chilli, garlic and spring onion that goes on top. Halfway through I found my daughter eating the wing tips, bones and all, like chips. Talk about calcium!
Ga xao xa ot - Chicken with lemongrass and chilli, $12
This was excellent with juicy chicken chunks and crisp vegies. There's such variation in "chilli and lemongrass" dishes, I find, and in some you can taste neither chilli nor lemongrass. Not so Vivid Star's version. The lemongrass was clean and fresh, not at all gritty and there was just enough chilli to keep it interesting.
Com chien Duong chau bo luc lac $13.50
Bo luc lac or "shaking" beef is so called for the way you shake the wok when you cook the small cubes of beef. It's a genuine Vietnamese dish, traditionally made for celebrations due to the high price of beef, but also a great option for people unfamiliar with Vietnamese food. It is most traditionally served with red tomato rice but I was intrigued by the Yang Chow fried rice on the menu. This turned out to be Cantonese-style fried rice made with a little BBQ pork - simple but very good. The beef was great, garlicky and tender.
Hu tieu kho Nam Vang, $9
In traditional Anglo-Australian cuisine, soups tend to be merely a prelude to the main meal. It is definitely not so in Vietnamese cuisine where there is a whole repertoire of soups, all made unique by special stocks, noodles and toppings. This is hu tieu kho Nam Vang or Cambodian-style noodle soup. This dish has a really interesting history which Viet World Kitchen has explored in typically excellent fashion, but basically it is a Southern Vietnamese take on Cambodian noodles (Nam Vang is Vietnamese for Phnom Penh) which are in turn, a local version of Chinese noodles.
This soup was great, mild broth concealing square-cut, translucent rice noodles. The bowl was dressed with plenty of herbs and I was somewhat shocked to find what I thought was parsley! It worked surprisingly well, though, and I later realised it was Chinese celery (celery and flat-leaf parsley are closely related - look at the shape of the leaves). While it had fantastic minced pork and freshly fried shallot, its other toppings let it down a bit - precooked prawn and bland pork neck. I think Vivid Star's forte is its drier dishes - if you feel like soup (other than pho), try Phu Vinh or Dong Ba (review coming soon).
Vivid Star have a really interesting offer - you can bring your own fish, crab or lobster and they will cook it for you and charge you a set fee i.e. just the cost of labour and ingredients. Pretty cool I reckon. Vivid Star can hold its own among the mega-menu set on Hopkins St. Next time you are headed for Sapa Hills, give them a shot instead. Three stars!
Vivid Star
110 Hopkins St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9689 1888
Hours: 9.30am - 10.00pm, 7 days
Wheelchair Accessibility
Entry: Small step to enter.
Layout: Could accommodate if not busy.
View Footscrayfoodblog reviews in a larger map
Entry: Small step to enter.
Layout: Could accommodate if not busy.
View Footscrayfoodblog reviews in a larger map
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