Mama's Buoi, Surry Hills

Bao Hoang doesn't care if you call him a Mama's boy. He's so proud of his mother's affections, he named his restaurant after it. The buoi isn't just a fancy way to write "boy" either. In Vietnamese, it's the word for pomelo, a type of large grapefruit that his mother used to grow in their back garden and cook for family meals.

Hoang's family story is embedded in the experience at this new Surry Hills eatery. The story of his parents and relatives "in the rag trade working 16-hour days in the garage to make ends meet" is unravelled beautifully on page one of the menu.


Mama's Buoi menu with family photos

The menu itself feels like you're flipping through a family photo album. It's set up like one of those old skool photo binders, complete with yellowing glue markings on every page. In amongst the dish descriptions are personal photos from Hoang's childhood: of family snapshots, fashion flashbacks and growing up in Australia.


Diners beneath the phrase that translates to "Do you love mother?"

There's a cool slickness to the restaurant itself, put together by Giant Design. That means an eye-pleasing palette of olive greens, blues and timber hues throughout the bright and light-filled restaurant. The seating is a mix of booths, tables and stools at the open kitchen counter. The wrap-around larder shelving around the kitchen is both practical and artistic too.


Bar counter

There's a proper bar with a substantial wine list too, not often found in your average Vietnamese joint. That means two sparklings, ten whites and ten reds on the menu - nine of which are available by the glass. Cocktails are all $15, including a Vietnamese caipirinha that uses palm sugar and lemongrass. They haven't forgotten the beer drinkers either. They've got Singha beer on tap, Beer Lao from Laos and the Vietnamese classic 333 beer. That's a total of 7 different beers plus 2 Steps cider from Victoria.


Fried chicken ribs with five spice and a chilli lime glaze $10

The menu is weighty with options, so much so that we took ages to decide on what to order. The share plates menu is a good place to start, including fried chicken ribs that are dressed up with chilli, shallots and thin shavings of radish. The batter has a fantastic crunch, laced with five spice.


Goi cuon rice paper rolls with prawn and pork $8

Goi cuon rice paper rolls are probably one of the more expensive items on the menu for what you get. $8 will net you two rolls, freshly rolled and cut in half for easier eating. They're a little light on the herbs, tasting more of noodles and carrot, but you can have fun choosing the filling inside. In addition to the usual prawn and pork combo, you can switch to roast pork and crackling, barbecue chicken or tofu and mushroom.


Kitchen counter seating


Lemongrass pork and pork spring rolls vermicelli noodle salad bowl $14

The vermicelli noodle salad bowls are hugely popular at lunchtime. They're always a favourite in summer, the cool huddle of vermicelli noodles topped with grilled meat, bean sprouts, herbs and pickled vegetables. In most Vietnamese restaurants you get a small bowl of nuoc cham on the side, so you can drown everything in sweet fish sauce dressing at the very last minute for maximum crunch.

There's a lot less interactivity here, so the salads already come with dressing, much of it collected in the bottom of the bowl. It takes a little bit of work to get everything tossed through evenly, and the dressing isn't as punchy with fish sauce as the ones you'll find in Cabramatta. However there's a great char on the lemongrass pork, and two miniature spring rolls are full of crunch.


BBQ chicken vermicelli noodle salad bowl $15
and 333 beer (Vietnam) $8

They've got all kinds of vermicelli noodle variations here. That includes a BBQ chicken version, shredded sirloin steak and roast pork with crackling.


Mushroom and silken tofu vermicelli noodle salad bowl $13

Vegetarians get to revel in a medley of mushrooms as well as two giant squares of deep-fried silken tofu.


Chefs checking dockets in the open kitchen


Pho bo dac biet $9 small
Special pho with thin rare slices of beef, beef balls and tripe in a six-hour broth

There's only one type of pho on the menu, the pho bo dac biet or special beef noodle soup. A small one will only set you back $9 (it's $14 for large), served in a ceramic bowl that feels oddly heavy when you're used to having them served in giant melamine vessels.

The broth tastes a little thin, even though the menu boasts a six-hour broth, but there's plenty to fish around for in the bowl, including beef balls, beef slices and tripe. There's also that moment when you go to reach for the hoisin sauce on the communal condiments tray and realise there isn't one, but perhaps that's the price of stripped back table settings. You do get a side platter of bean sprouts, Vietnamese basil and a lemon wedge though.


Coconut tamarind curry $15
Vibrant and sour coconut tamarind curry of pumpkin, eggplant, mushroom and sweet potato

The coconut tamarind curry is another score for vegetarians, although it's more coconut than tamarind to our tastebuds, tasting more like a Thai yellow curry. It's perfect for ladling over rice though, the thick creamy sauce swollen with chunks of pumpkin, zucchini and sweet potato.


Mixed skewers $18
Marinated chicken, pork, beef and nem nuong Vietnamese sausage

The mixed skewers works equally well as an entree to share or a main meal for one. It's a little bit of everything, with marinated chicken, pork, beef and nem nuong Vietnamese sauce skewers. You get two of each.


Nem nuong Vietnamese sausage

The nem nuong is more like a meatball than the usual flattened-style skewer, but all the meats have a pleasing sweetness, with a smoky char from the grill.


Mixed skewers with rice papers sheets

The skewers come with lettuce cups, pickles, chilli and mixed herbs, but if you ask nicely they'll bring you some rice paper sheets so you can roll your own. Usually they charge $7 for rice paper sheets, vermicelli noodles and pickles (as an addition to the whole fried market fish for $29) but they happily obliged my request for rice paper only. And didn't charge me a thing. Not sure how long this menu hack will go uncharged though!

It was a ripper of a dish though, rolling up the sweet juicy meat with mints, coriander, lettuce, pickles and chilli. I had to ask for chilli sauce too. I never realised how important that condiment tray was until now.


Che chuoi $9
Banana and sago in a warm coconut cream

There's no che bau mau three colour drink, but they do have a raft of desserts. Che chuoi combines banana and sago in a thick slurry of coconut cream. It's terrifically sweet, with a crunch of peanuts, and guaranteed to have you rolling out the door in a calorific stupor.


Coconut and lime panna cotta $14
dressed with seasonal tropical fruit infused with a ginger syrup

They also step things up with more elegant offerings, although the coconut and lime panna cotta seems a little steeply priced at $14 for the serve. Next time I have my eye on Mama's affogato (Vietnamese coffee soaked tapioca with condensed milk ice cream) and banh ran taro doughnuts filled with red bean.

And if the crowds we encountered are anything to go by, the locals love it. The place is heaving at lunchtime. Welcome to the neighbourhood. We think Mama would approve.


Rear courtyard seating 






Mama's Buoi
116 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 9993

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11am-11pm

Opening soon at
Crows Nest - 77 Willoughby Road (November 2014)
Darlinghurst - 336 Victoria Street


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