If you are looking for a cheap and cheerful dinner out in the Western suburbs look no further than Kim Khanh Vietnamese restaurant in Darra. The decor is a little on the strange and tacky side but the food is amazing and at a very good price. This restaurant was a favourite for my partner and his family when he was growing up and after returning to Brisbane we have rediscovered it, the owners have changed but little else has.
Don't let the decor put you off, the food is great
At first entering the restaurant you may feel like you have made a bit of a mistake. There are some very unusual decorations here including a plastic crocodile, fake plants and a very cloudy fish tank. Don't let that put you off though, the food is worth it.
Yeah, that's a crocodile. I don't get it either.
Like many Asian restaurants the menu runs for several pages and it can be a battle to decide what to have. We always stay with the same dinner, starting with the roll your own cold rolls with stir fried beef. A plate comes to the table overflowing with fried beef, bamboo shoots, lettuce, carrot and cucumber. A separate plate has rice paper that you dip into hot water. This can require a bit of practice to get the timing right so luckily you are provided with a lot of paper sheets as many end up as a gooey ball. Once you have the paper sorted, load it up, roll and dunk into the dipping sauce, yum.
The rice paper rolls are great fun to make and taste fantastic
The main for us is the steam bowl, we find that the medium is more than enough for four people. A gas burner is brought to the table with a big bowl of soup stock, once it is boiling you add beef, chicken, squid, prawns and vegetables and let it cook. Then serve it over noodles and chilli sauce. The taste is amazing and it is a great fun and social meal.
The steam bowl is ready to go
If after you are still hungry there are the typical desserts like fried ice cream to finish. They do not serve alcohol but you can BYO beer and wine. It may not look like much but you can get a great meal for around $15 a head and it is certainly never dull at Kim Khanh.
