Thanh Quyen

There are always so many choices when it comes to vietnamese food in Darra and Inala that sometimes a little place in an inconspicous location becomes forgotten.  Thanh Quyen is one of those places.  Mr food hunter has been to this place before when he was just a child but it was only when some friends mentioned this place as one of their favourites that the memories came back.  So for a bit of nostalgia and on our friends recommendation, we went for a little stroll down memory lane.....

The restaurant is very small as Mr food hunter remembered it to be, with only limited number of seating.  There was quite a queue starting to develop as we got seated so hopefully a sign of some pretty good food.  We remembered the noodle soups to be pretty good here so Miss food hunter settled on Hu Tieu Nam Vang and Mr food hunter ordered his favourite Com Tam ( combination rice).  Also a Che Ba Mau (3 coloured dessert) of mung beans, red beans and green jelly. 

The flavours of Mr food hunters rice dish were spot on.  The lemongrass marinade on the pork was delicious and exactly how every restaurant should make it, the steamed meat loaf was infused with lots of flavour.  My only gripe was the rice was jasmine and not the broken type rice I was expecting. 

Hu Tieu Nam Vang which is also know as Phnom Penh Noodle Soup consists of thin, translucent rice noodles in a clear broth. We think that the noodle is made of tapioca instead of rice as it has that characteristic chewy texture. Miss food hunter ordered the combination noodle which came with slices of fishcakes, prawns, squids and innards such as liver and intestines. If you are not a fan of organs, perhaps avoid this dish as the soup does absorb some of that innard flavour . For Miss food hunter, it was satisfying!

Though, we waited almost 3/4 of an hour for our dishes to arrive and so did the other patrons. It seems that no one minded and was not fussed about the long wait. We'll probably avoid the weekends and public holidays to Thanh Quyen. The food standards are good and no doubt will we return on a quieter weekday.

Thanh Quyen

136 Darra Station road

Darra