PERTH | If you’ve experience Ho Chi Minh City’s (“HCMC”) street food scene, and have a hankering for it in Perth, Hem Street Food is the place for you. Owner “Danny” Nguyen Thanh Thien Dang, who moved from HCMC to Perth 14 years ago, has followed up his phở shop, Sup So Good, with a venue inspired by his hometown. From the menu options, which include dishes not often seen in Perth, to the way the space spills out onto Lion Walk laneway with little chairs and tables, Hem Street Food does a great job at brining a slice of HCMC to Northbridge.
By day, it’s a tight menu of six different bánh mì, bánh đúc, and xôi mặn. Bánh mì feature ingredients like house-made pâté, mackerel fish cakes, and roast pork. The truyền thống (“traditional”) pork bánh is a must try. It features a wonderful house-made green sauce made from sticky rice, egg, and oil.
I also highly recommend the xôi mặn. It’s a deep-lipped basket of stick rice topped with pâté, egg, pork sausage, pork floss and mixed pickles.
At night, additional seating opens up inside, and Danny switches up the menu. A favourite is the rice paper salad, bánh tráng trộn. It features shredded rice paper mixed with green mango, topped with dried chicken floss, and a zesty sauce. There’s also things like deep-fried garlic butter squid beaks with corn, served with plain bánh mì to mop up the sauce; and ánh đa nướng. The latter sees charcoal grilled rice paper wrapper topped with pork floss, dried shrimp, fresh herbs, and egg, served with tamarind dipping sauce.
Desserts at night include chè flan, featuring Vietnamese coffee, coconut jelly, chestnuts, and pearls; and a layered pudding of taro, jelly, coconut pearls, and sago. To drink, it’s things like hot, iced, and salted egg Vietnamese coffee, milk tea, pandan lattes, and freshly squeezed juices.
Hem Street Food
1/70 Aberdeen Street
Northbridge
Western Australia 6003
Australia
Telephone: 0451 846 869
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Tue – Sun: 9:30am to 2:00pm, 5:00pm to 9:30pm