Mui Huong Goat Meat Restaurant, Marrickville

EDIT (Dec 2011): Mui Huong has closed. It has been replaced by Everest Kitchen.

Goat Meat Restaurant. I wonder what they serve in there.

I would be lying if I didn't admit my heart skipped a beat when I chanced upon this Vietnamese restaurant in Marrickville. I've had goat a few times over the years. I'm sure my mother even cooked us a goat casserole once. But an entire restaurant devoted to goat. Now that was definitely worth investigating...

Seven of us gather for a six-course degustation of goat. There are eleven dishes to choose from for dinner and every dish comes with goat. Leave the vegetarians and non-goat-lovers at home. Lunchgoers fare slightly better; non-goat options include wonton noodle soup, bbq pork noodle soup, fresh prawn rolls and fried spring rolls.


Goat meat salad $17.50
with green turnip, carrot, onion, coriander, peanuts and prawn crackers
Goi De

We kick things off with the Goi De goat meat salad. The surrounding discs of prawn crackers are thick and meaty in flavour, stronger in texture and crispness than the usual blue-and-yellow packet.

And hovering shyly behind the prawn cracker curtain is a densely packed jumble of sweet and sour crunch. Cool strips of cucumber, slivers of carrot and thin slices of goat go well with green turnip, red onion, peanut, chilli and coriander. It's zingy and refreshing with just my kind of flavour profile.


Goat meat steamed with shrimp sauce and basil leaves $20.00
De Luoc

De Luoc steamed goat meat is an opportunity to enjoy the true flavour of goat. The goat is firm yet still tender, the lean meat reminds some people of cooked tongue. We savour these slices dipped in a potent shrimp sauce that can only be described as feisty. The intense flavours are lightened with a splash of lemon and a few freshly torn Thai basil leaves.


Salted plum drink $3.00
Nuoc Xi Muoi

Nuoc Xi Muoi is a drink I first discovered in Vietnam, and its salty sweetness is a perfect accompaniment to the meal. Bits of salted preserved plums are muddled with iced water and sweetened with sugar.


Braised goat meat with coconut milk and lemongrass $20.00
Cha De

Cha De braised goat meat is dressed in a sauce that is only slightly scented with coconut milk and lemongrass. The meat is extremely tender although the overall sweetness of the dish hides some of its flavour. A spray of coriander leaves, green onion shreds and toasted crushed peanuts add texture and bite.


Goat meat with lemon grass $20.00
De Xao Sa Ot

De Xao Sa Ot goat meat with lemongrass looks similar to our prior dish, but this one is more of a dry fry, the strips of goat generously bathed in strands of pounded lemongrass. The goat flesh is also tender in this dish.


Raw goat meat with lemon juice $20.00
De Tai Chanh

When we'd orderd the De Tai Chanh raw goat meat, our waiter's pen had paused mid-air. "Are you suuuuuurrrrree?" he'd asked, with a look of utter incredulity. We nod on in displays of enthusiasm. In fact, by the time the dish arrives, the goat meat is practically cooked, wallowing in its acid bath of lemon juice.

This dish is merely a goat version of Bo Tai Chanh, the traditional Vietnamese lemon beef salad. I quite enjoy this dish: the soft slices of goat go well with the crunch of peanuts, the lemon and fish sauce dressing, and the palate-cleansing mint leaves.



Our meal concludes with a simmering pot of mystery that is plonked onto our table along with a plate of cooked vermicelli noodles and a giant mountain of baby tong ho greens.


Goat meat with taro, dried mushroom, chestnut and salted bean curd $35.00
served with vermicelli and vegetables
De Nau Chao

Five minutes of simmering later and the lid is removed to reveal the De Nau Chao, a hot pot of goat meat cooked with taro, dried mushroom and chestnuts. This is how I'd imagined goat had to be cooked, stewed for hours in liquid until the meat falls off the bone. There's a bit more heartiness in this dish, and there's plenty of fighting that goes on for the giant mushrooms that lurk beneath the surface. The soup is wonderful over the accompanying noodles, and the tong ho mustard greens are cooked briefly in the liquid until barely wilted.

The accompanying sauce for this dish is made from fermented bean curd, cubes of chilli tofu that is usually enjoyed with rice. Most people opt out, but I enjoy the extra pungency of flavours.

It's an interesting journey through the many possibilities of goat. We finish the evening with dessert. No goat ice cream, alas, but a Pat and Stick's maple lace cookie icecream sandwich at Marrickville Road Cafe around the corner.



Mui Huong Goat Meat Restaurant (CLOSED)
EDIT (Dec 2011): Mui Huong has closed. It has been replaced by Everest Kitchen.
314 Victoria Road, Marrickville, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9569 7654
Open 7 days 10am-11pm

Marrickville Road Cafe
212 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9568 5485

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