Cheap Eats 2016: Vietnamese

SOM TUM

Mercury Plaza, 23-31 Mercury Lane, K’Rd Precinct
It’s the dishes stuffed with fresh, seasonal veges and a decent kick of fresh chilli that set this food-court favourite apart. Overlook Mercury Plaza’s sometimes sticky floor and gentle decay in favour of Som Tum’s Thai Issan and Vietnamese flavours, which rise above what we’ve come to expect from the ubiquitous mix-and-match menu offering a choice of rice and noodles with “chicken, beef or pork”.
Issan and Vietnamese 

VIET KITCHEN

342 Dominion Rd, Balmoral
Opened in early 2016, this family-run restaurant has a refreshingly short menu of traditional Vietnamese dishes. There’s home-style pho and banh mi but the hero is the bun bo Hue — a sour, sweet, salty and spicy beef noodle soup. Hot Vietnamese filter coffee with condensed milk is available, too, as well as whole rosebud petal tea.
Vietnamese, licensed, new listing