WITH the Reserve Bank ratcheting up interest rates again, you might want to take refuge in Hulme Court.
Situated behind a bunch of car yards on the Leach Highway, the unassuming Myaree precinct is home to a collection of budget-friendly eateries.
It’s no Rodeo Drive and looks like the kind of place where folk would meet in the 1970s to plan a bank heist in a beat-up Holden.
But there are lots of treats to be found—Nishi is a fantastic Japanese and Presotea do some great bubble tea.
Your biggest problem might be getting parked.
On a Monday lunchtime, the car park, which borders a light industrial zone, was overflowing as folk abandoned ship on verges and zoomed in and out.
Luckily, I managed to nab a space in the Chook jalopy, a few doors down from Bun & Broth.
The Vietnamese eatery is one of the latest additions to Hulme Court, opening in July.
It’s a small no-nonsense affair.
You know the drill—a few tables and chairs, buzzing drinks fridge, and a counter with cutlery, chopsticks and napkins.
There were a few nods to South-East Asia including red lanterns dangling from the industrial ceiling, a lovely woodblock map of Vietnam, and a painting of a woman in traditional Vietnamese dress.
It was clean and bright, and the staff were friendly and super down-to-earth.
The green laminated menu had a nice selection including banh mi, pho, vermicelli, rice dishes, rice paper rolls and beef stew.
With temperatures starting to rise, I was tempted by something light like the grilled pork banh mi or stir-fry beef vermicelli, but the test of any Vietnamese cafe’s mettle is pho.
There was a decent selection including rare beef, chicken, vegetarian and combination, but I went for the cooked beef ($17.99).
The older man behind the till was working up a sweat serving a large group of tradies, who looked like they had been on the tools since dawn and could eat a horse, every Bunnings sausage sizzle and the entire cast of The Block.
My pho arrived just in time. It had a light, fragrant broth with a medley of red and spring onions, and herbs.
The thinly sliced beef was top drawer and there was plenty of it.
It was nice and tender with no fatty bits and hadn’t been overcooked (easy to do in a pho).
The dish really came to life when you added in the accompanying bean sprouts, extra herbs and a generous squish of lemon.
I really liked the broth, which wasn’t greasy or too heavy.
A very refreshing and clean pho, which was perfect for lunch on a warm day.
My son’s grilled chicken and rice ($16.99) didn’t quite scale the same heights. It came with boiled rice, shredded carrot and sliced chicken with dipping sauce.
There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but the chicken was slightly bland and it all tasted a bit pedestrian.
Things picked up again with my daughter’s crispy pork belly banh mi ($12.99). The roll was perfectly toasted—you could have heard her crunching from the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge.
I had a sneaky taste and it was lovely and light. The pork belly had a latent sweetness with lots of herbs and shredded carrot.
Very enjoyable and perfect for a hot spring day.
Last up was the chicken bao ($6.99) which was tasty enough without setting the world on fire.
Throughout the meal, the staff were friendly and helpful, asking if my son wanted another type of sauce for his dish and checking in on us.
Bun & Broth is a solid addition to Hulme Court, and I would definitely come back for the pho and banh mi, which were super tasty and well priced.
Now, time to get back to the Chook jalopy and examine the blueprints for the bank.
“Kids, you crawl along the air vents and I’ll drill the lock.”
Bun & Broth
Unit 12/47 Hulme Court
(McCoy Street)
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