Phuong, Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest

Phuong, Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest
Monday 9 January, 2006

Having visited Phuong several times in 2005, I was really excited about going back for the first time in 2006. Would it live up to expectations? Would it still be my favourite Vietnamese restaurant?

Sadly no. Having been to Trans recently I had somewhere good to compare it to. Where do I start? Service. Hopeless. We arrived and were left standing in the middle of the restaurant while about 5 staff tried to figure out which table we were to be seated at. Back and forth we went. Finally we were seated only to watch the next diners go through the same process, then the next. The service continued to unimpress. We tried to capture someone's attention to order drinks, then food, then the bill. As usual, Phuong was packed. Outside and inside.

Food. Nowhere near as good as previous visits. I'm currently obsessed with the soft shell crab and stuffed squid. If I go back in the near future I will definitely order these dishes. The dissapointment was the sizzling beef. Usually this is a highlight. Tonight it was overcooked and too chewy to eat.

We also tried some different dishes - prawns in a honey sauce - too few prawns and too many vegetables; and the stir fried chicken with chilli & ginger - OK, but nothing special.

My guests thought the food was really good, so maybe I'm getting too particular. My reasoning is that I have experienced Phuong when the service and food were 10 times better.

We all agreed that Trans was undoubtably the best Vietnamese restaurant.

Phuong - 87 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest - (02) 94392621