Restaurant review – Can Tho
1/38 Weedon Close Belconnen up from Rubees aka Goodberries.
The other night I was feeling peckish and on a whim visited this newly opened restaurant in Belconnen.
The decor is modern with brown and black surfaces, large contemporary Vietnamese decorations on the walls, rectangular patches of red fabric intermittently breaking up empty wall space.
I think Can Tho occupies the former Indian restaurant location, if so, its been completely renovated. To good effect. There is a lot of space and you can see and hear the kitchen and your food being prepared from your seat. The kitchen looked brand new and very clean.
There were already 10 or 15 patrons tucking in when I arrived, I waited at the front counter for a few moments and was then seated and given a menu. There only appeared to be one waiter working that night, but she was very good.
The menu is nicely laid out. Naturally Vietnamese is to the fore, with separate listings for Chinese and Malay cuisine. The takeaway menu does not make these distinctions though, and also offers smaller sizes of pho.
I ordered a serve of fresh spring rolls and pork chop pho with egg noodle.
Service was quick and efficient. I had only just got my copy of ‘the Female Eunuch’ out when the spring rolls arrived. Moments later the pho arrived.
The spring rolls were very nice and although obviously made in advance, had the right mouth crunch feel. The dipping sauce was a commercial satay sauce with a drop of hot chili sauce in it. It had not been stirred through. They were of a good size and at three for 6 dollars, reasonable value.
The pho was very nice. It arrived with a separate plate of bean sprouts, a Vietnamese green I couldn’t identify, some chopped red chillies and a wedge of lemon.
The pork chop had been cooked well and chopped cleverly before the chef slid it into the liquid. It easily broke apart with careful chopstick manipulation. The pho broth was chicken and tasted very good. Flecks of fried onion were floating on the surface. The noodles were nice also. The lettuce was fresh and crispy. At $10.50 it was reasonable value. As mentioned earlier, the takeaway menu lists half size pho at around 6 dollars.
Apart from condiment jars which weren’t clearly marked (the soy sauce, vinegar and chilli sauce all look the same in unmarked bottles) I have no complaints.
The menu is standard with no avant garde chef adventures. The food is reasonably priced, the service efficient and the surroundings pleasant without being garish or dull. This would be a good place to bring a group of 10 to 15 people.
I have already planned a return visit.
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