LOCATIONOn Victoria Street between Lennox Street and Church Street.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIALook up the definition of “cheap and cheerful” and it’s likely you’ll find a photo of Co Do – one of a slew of Vietnamese restaurants on Victoria Street and certainly one of the better ones. The typical cafeteria setting is enlivened by an orange ceiling, dark pink walls and coloured wicker shades which make it a cheery haven when it’s dark and cold outside. Each Formica table is adorned with a range of condiments to augment your meal including hoi sin and soy sauce and three types of chilli as well as, shortly after you are seated, a steaming thermos of tea. The menu will see you spoiled for choice with nearly 200 dishes to choose from. Specialties include the traditional Vietnamese
pho (rice noodle soup) and Hue-style chilli beef soup, both of which are excellent value as well as being tasty, but if you're not in a soup-y mood there is no shortage of alternatives.
Start with delicious steamed mini pancakes with minced prawn and green bean paste, pork and prawn cakes in banana leaf or simple spring rolls served with mounds of iceberg lettuce and Vietnamese mint. Adventurous types might opt for the
bun bo hue with sliced beef, pork and blood, otherwise there is a huge range of steam boats, fried rice, egg noodle, combination, vegetable and fried dishes including beef with chilli and lemongrass, scallops with ginger and shallots, and sizzling duck stuffed with prawns. Service is prompt and friendly. Alcohol is BYO only, but there is a bottle shop conveniently placed a few doors down.
Angela Costanzo