Highett isn’t the first place you’d think of Vietnamese food and here sits a hidden gem. Ngon Vietnamese translates to Yum Vietnamese and you’ve gotta be amazing to name your restaurant that. The staff were super friendly and we came in at lunch time which we found out that not a lot of people come in for lunch, but for dinner. So luckily for us we had the whole venue to ourselves *wink wink*.
Inside there were beautiful murals that depict Vietnam and what you would definitely see on the streets of Vietnam.
To get our lunch started I got the iced lychee and of course Mr D got the Vietnamese Ice coffee (ca phe sua da). The iced lychee was super refreshing and you can definitely taste the lychee (YAY from me!) and the ca phe sua da definitely hit the spot for Mr D.
Iced Lychee & Ca Phe Sua Da
Since moving out of home I’m always craving Banh Xeo so you can imagine my excitement when I saw Banh Xeo on the menu. It’s a Vietnamese pancake that is packed with pork belly, prawns and bean shoots! Holy Smokes! The banh xeo itself was super duper crunchy and the filling was so damn good. The pork belly was seasoned so well that you didn’t even need the dipping sauce. Definitely one of the best banh xeo’s I’ve had.
Banh Xeo – $16
Vietnamese sizzling crepes with tiger prawns, pork, bean shoots, spring onions served with nuoc cham dipping sauce
Generally, places that serve good pho only serve pho so I was a bit skeptical when I saw a billion things on the menu and pho was one of them. We got the beef pho and holy moly that broth was TOTES AMAZEBALLS! It was light, fragrant and you can tell that it was simmered for 12 hours and with love. I can honestly say that this is up there with one of the best pho I’ve had (and that says a lot seeing as my mumsy bear knows how to make pho!).
Beef Pho – $16
Beef in twelve hour broth
Bo luc lac is shaking beef and this one of the dishes mumsy bear would make for me when I was growing up. For this dish to be awesome, you need good quality beef AND awesome seasoning. Ngon Vietnamese does both! They use eye fillet and that seasoning, DAYUUUUM SON! Another dish we would recommend.
Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac) – $28
Wok tossed eye fillet in black pepper sauce
Mr D needed some rice in his life and we got the roasted pork and Chinese broccoli fried rice. Now, this isn’t your regular fried rice. This was charred, this was flavoursome and this uses delicious roasted pork. We couldn’t get enough of this dish.
Roasted Pork & Chinese Broccoli Fried Rice – $12.50
Roasted pork belly, homemade chili oil, Chinese broccoli and egg
We ended our savoury lunch with the signature pork hock. This was crispy on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside. Wrap the meat in lettuce and dip it in the tamarind hot sauce and BAM Bob’s your uncle.
Pork Hock – $33
Crispy pork hock with tamarind hot sauce, herbs, lettuce wrap
We ended the lunch with a banana fritter and you can’t really get this wrong. Mr D went back to his childhood eating this.
Banana Fritter and Ice Cream – $6
Ngon Vietnamese is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to and considering that the owner has worked in Springvale perfecting his pho and roast meats, you’re in for a treat. If we lived closer, we would definitely be there all the time. You have definitely earned your Ngon title!
Verdict: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Food: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Service: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Value: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Disclaimer: I was invited to dine by Ngon Vietnamese and Asian Cuisines and First Chapter Agency and all opinions expressed are my own.
332 Highett Rd, Highett VIC 3190
Tel: (03) 9553 4838
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