Fusion Café
Beef Phở
Awarded by William Chen
Nam Do and Annie Duong of Fusion Café have put the famous Vietnamese Beef Phở on the local eating out map, regularly attracting restaurateurs and food celebrities to come in and savour this iconic beef soup. Creating Beef Phở is a labour of love; the rich beef stock is the result of simmering beef marrow for a minimum of 12 hours, with onion, ginger and a spice bag that includes cinnamon, coriander, star anise, cloves and cardamom, all previously charcoal grilled for maximum char flavour. Good quality fish sauce is integral to the richness of the beef stock. The marrow fat from the beef marrow is utilised to stir-fry the (marinaded) beef for the phở. To serve, the finished soup is ladled over rice noodles and the afore-mentioned beef. Fusion serves their phở with bean sprouts, fresh chilli and Thai basil (in season) or coriander, and the final result is garnished with spring onion. Tuong Ot (hot chilli sauce) and Tuong Den Pho (pickled soya bean sauce) are available if you wish to zoosh up the beef. Slurp away!