The Live Feed: Pho Sam, Epping

The Live Feed is All Chenga's Friends' regular restaurant and food review column. Warning - the following post will contain graphic food pornography.

During my lunch hour the other day, my parents were kind enough to join me at the Vietnamese joint near work, Pho Sam. It is consistently packed with punters happily tucking into cheap and cheery Vietnamese favourites. The atmosphere is laid back and slightly kitsch - we're talking tea from a thermos, self serve cutlery and food porn on the walls.

The parents had not been to Pho Sam before, so I ordered a selection of the 'regulars' for the purposes of:
- general flavour assessment

- judgement of MSG content and

- establishing the cooking skill of the chef

Fried Pork Chop with Rice Noodle Soup - $7.80 (lunch special)

The gargantuan pork chop was impeccably fried - crisp on the exterior, yet still moist inside. The pork was strongly flavoured with lemongrass - fragrant and more-ish. The parents were impressed by both the size and flavour this one. The nuoc cham dipping sauce was only utilized on a few mouthfuls - the pork chop was completely delicious on its own. However, the accompanying rice noodle soup was unremarkable and slightly MSG-y.

Crispy Skin Chicken with Red Rice - $8.50

I'd eat this chicken over KFC any day! The thigh meat was juicy and flavoursome and the skin is, as the name suggests, crispy. I'd say that the nuoc cham is crucial in this dish - the sweet and sourness really balances with the savoury flavour of the chicken. The red rice (which is coloured with tomato paste) is studded with bits of egg and quite addictive (more MSG perhaps?). The fresh veges lessen the guilt of eating deep fried chicken, as well as providing a refreshing crunch.

Nasi Goreng - $11.00

The fried rice was a colourful jumble of fried egg, shards of crisp cucumber and spring onion. Bits of lap cheong, deep fried onions and strips of fish cake added wonderful flavours. The rice itself had good wok hei (flavour of the wok) and was flavoured with what the parents and I though was shrimp paste and some type of sambal.

All in all, a reliable, tasty cheap eat with great flavours and huge serves - the perfect working week lunch option!


Pho Sam Noodle House
14 Oxford Street
Epping
9869 0499


Now my dear reader... what is your favourite work lunch spot?