Pho Phi Truong

I have eaten here many times, it has now changed hands which is a shame because Truong was so hospitable. The new owners (2 sisters) are a little more reserved but still friendly. The food has only changed slightly and is still fantastic, Beef Pho, Spicy Beef Soup and Crispy Skin Chiken with Noodle Soup being my favourites. I have also had the Deep Fried Flounder which came out steaming hot and was eaten with gusto! My daughter loves the Broken Rice...so it must be good and the Shaking Beef is always tasty and filling. The staff do their best with most being very friendly and courteous.
We weren't too sure about the Deep Fried Flounder as far as GF goes, however it seems to be coated in rice flour. R decided to skip it just in case, but if you are not Gluten Intolerant...give it a go.
Thursday is Pancake day...no ordinary pancake, a monster rice flour, turmeric infused coconut milk pancake filled with your favourite filling, vegetarian, chicken and the one I opted for, pork and prawn. We aren't too sure whether this is completely GF so R left it to me and had Beef in Black Bean. This came out piping hot on a sizzling plate and was salty and full of flavour. This is served with rice and a chicken soup

The Quest

Finding places that are able to make dishes tasty AND Gluten Free (GF) is an ongoing quest. That is not to say there are not plenty of great restaurants willing and able to accomodate but I have a passion for asian food and a GF girlfriend, so teaming the two has sometimes been challenging to say the least.

Vietnamese is high on my favourite list but I have found one of the major stumbling blocks in eating GF in "authentic" asian restaurants is the language hurdle. I say hurdle rather than barrier because you can leap it athletically it if you are skilled and practiced but it can be a hazardous, tedious learning curve.

Try asking someone who understands Gluten in their own terms whether the food is Gluten Free. Asian cuisine has Glutinous rice, packets of gluten, use wheat flour and rice flour..but some rice flour contains wheat flour...etc etc. Now add a dash of language hurdle...and you get the picture.

In this blog I will be featuring restaurants, recipes and of course the dishes we eat, as we attempt to accomodate a GF diner and myself, a diner who doesn't want to be scowelled at for having bread!