AJ Vietnamese Noodle House - 70 Charlotte Street, Brisbane QLD 4000

Don't ever judge a restaurant by its cover - this tiny hole in the wall gives you one of the most authentic bowls of Pho (a Vietnamese type of noodle soup) you can find in the CBD - it's definitely comparable to the ones in Darra.

If you can get past the cramped and unglamorous interior, this place is really worth visiting as they offer a good selection of Vietnamese food.

Whenever you go to a restaurant, you should always order the cuisine's specialty dishes. In this case, I ordered the Special Beef Noodle Soup ($10.9), which came with a generous serve of fresh mints, bean sprouts and a slice of lemon. Loaded with sliced beef, tripe, tendons, beef balls, and boiled brisket, the Special Beef Noodle Soup is bound to leave you feeling very satisfied. The highlight was the beef broth - it was light yet packed with amazingly rich beef flavours. I must warn you though - this addictive soup does induce thirstiness (possibly due to MSG).
 

 

My fellow Food Extinguisher ordered the Rice Vermicelli Salad with Grilled Pork ($10.9). Served with grilled pork and accompanied by crush peanuts, sesame seeds, fried onions, salad, mint, basil, it sounded like a delicious combination. However, I found the Vermicelli quite bland as there wasn't enough House Fish Sauce in it. Instead of mixing it in for me, I would rather have it in a separate bowl so that I can make it to suit my liking.

Verdict:
Authentic Vietnamese food at a great price. Note that the food here leaves you feeling thirsty, but who cares as long as it tastes great?