Co Do - Melbourne

Finding Vietnamese Goodness on Foot
Sometimes we just luck out.  We trammed our way over to Richmond, a suburb NE of Melbourne a few clicks, known for being the cross hairs of the Viet community.  We employed an old-fashioned analog technique called "footing it" which is simple and effective - walk down the main drag and peek in restaurant windows until you find a full one (in this case, full of Vietnamese.)  This is how we found ourselves in Co Do and Dodo in front of a plate of Cơm tấm, otherwise known as "broken rice."

Apparently, rice can be broken when harvested and/or transported.  The bits and shards are separated from the whole grains and are cheaper, qualifying this as a classic peasant meal, I presume.  The Co Do version came with a pork chop, oozing fried egg, steamed egg and various sliced veggies.  It was delicious, I was glad we share our meals.  I was less lucky with my order of bánh xèo, a savory deep fried pancake made from rice flour and stuffed with shrimp and bean sprouts.  It was ridiculously large, have you noticed that you cannot even see the plate?  I was introduced to this dish in a eastern suburb of Paris and I remember that version being much more delicious.  Nevertheless, I managed to polish it off.

Stuffing in mint leaves was the trick, they imparted a nice zing to the pancake.  I'm glad I was shown how to do this by a Viet friend.  Otherwise, I think I may have tried to pour the sauce on the leave basket and eat it like a salad.  Dummy in the house!!!

196 Victoria St
Richmond
Melbourne Australia

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