*900th review*
if it has not been made clear over the years here, what i like to do when it gets to a -00 review, i try to make it matter. make it special in some ways, but always follow a bit of a theme. i try to make the most of them, and especially go for a different cuisine each time. this sort of organically happened from the start, but here we are now. as a result, i saw that this was upcoming and added up the reviews i had on the back-burner and it all aligned. going over possibilities, i nominated to my dining buddy/house mate the idea for vietnamese - this might have needed a bit of convincing, but it eventuated.
while there was a nearby place i had considered even before mentioned "vietnamese", for somewhere really good in that regard he said that inala was the best bet. so going on, it was searching for what had the best score and what was popular over there - and let's just say having an average score over 4.0 was enough sway for me. and that's how the two of us ended up out here.
one thing that has become so apparent, is that sometimes the best sorts of places - and usually really authentic to boot - can be found in areas where the aesthetics are definitely not a strong point. as such is the case with tan thanh in inala. in brevity, it is out the back end of a shopping arcade. only from looking at the signs, and looking inside, are you able to distinguish that this is your desired place. not that far away from it, in fact just at the other side of the hall, is one bustling market place that is also worth checking out. even with all the old places getting touched up here and there, this seems untouched by time like it would have been 10 to 20 years ago - some places are just timeless.
going here, don't expect the following two things to be too much: neither the interior decor nor the service. with the look of the place, it is pretty plain though they do do a good job of keeping it look clean. its biggest claim is how big it is, this would cover two large rooms easily. tables are already stocked with cutlery, chopsticks, condiments and serviettes. the service, though not rude or anything as such, is pretty minimal - they take your order in an efficient manner and then the food arrives pretty quickly. it has that going for it. if you want water, that is up to you to get. after the meal, just go up to the counter and pay. this is pretty bare basic overall, but when the food is as good, as authentic, and as lauded as this, worse service or grungier looks would still be negated in seeing it as an experience.
with the menu, one of its best aspects is that a meal still costs a fairly low price, and you still have a decent portion on your plate. even living not that far from sunnybank's market square, i still don't think anything from there is quite as a-steal as here. the range of options is impressive, if not too overwhelming with choice. if it needs to be said again, this is vietnamese. however, it is slightly different to many of the more inner-city outlets - for example, no bahn mis (though multiple places close by could possibly fill that void).
some kind of noodle soup makes up most of the menu. of course that includes the classical pho, plus there are various other options in that field. in addition to soups, lots of rice vermicelli is available in addition to roll-your-own rice paper rolls and several rice dishes. getting to the beverages, that is a whole other page alone. the options have all the usual suspects, teas, fruit smoothies (including their characteristic choices), coffees and all that. choice is definitely not limited when it comes to the drinks either.
the usual case, the range of dishes is hard to choose from and often i like to get something different if it is possible. i was tossing up with pho, but felt that i could get that almost anywhere and wanted something a bit different. what i settled on was a vermicelli noodle dish, one with grilled pork and sugarcane prawns. this came with a medley of crisp vegetables. on the side was a vinegar dressing, and pouring it over and mixing it around (rookie tip, mix before eat) to make one tasty meal. it makes a fairly complex if pretty lightly flavoured taste that has several distinct ingredients in it - think cloves, think cinnamon, think a bit of garlic. these work together quite well. on top of that, the crisp vegetables add some texture to the meal, while the noodles were well cooked, and the pork was delicious and grilled perfectly. there were a few prawns in the mix
my dining buddy had a chicken curry. yep, that is vietnamese style. i got a small taste of this one and was suitably impressed. it had a thick curry sauce which itself was not spicy per se but had a lot of spice flavour in it, plus the chicken mixed through was tender. these curries are definitely a lot simpler than some other counterparts in composition and the recipe. it resembles a bit of a soup in general, but this one was closer to a stir fry. this is one that looked really good, and had a number of fresh salad vegetables accompanying it.
when it comes to a vietnamese place, i am simple man in some ways. i see that the specialty iced coffee is available, i order it. that was the case right here. this was even stronger than i am normally accustomed to, and i have found some places which have coffee that could keep a uni student awake until dawn. in addition to that, it was practically ice cold, and they had filled it to the brim mixing it with condensed milk making it sweet, but more so strong and always quite creamy. this time around, there was no show in seeing the coffee drip - it got served immediately like a bubble tea.
after all of this, from a try of tan thanh and to experience what is lauded as possibly brisbane's best vietnamese or perhaps the best bowl of pho this is what my consensus is. favourites or what the best is will always be subjective, though what i will say is this. it had a number of great strengths. first and foremost was the portion sizes, which are generous and filling. these are helped by the food being simply good, and a range that should encourage multiple returns to local residents. there was nothing really wrong with it per se to my perspective, and i can easily see why it would be touted as one of the best places in town for vietnamese. it might not be that high up for me, but it sets a pretty good precedent. much like many of its brethren, it probably stands in its original state making it a testament to just how good it is.