My's Vietnamese Restaurant, Canberra

"The best part of the apple is definitely eating the core."

There's a slight pause in conversation as I allow this piece of information to sink in. Across the table, Hannah looks at me in earnest, unblinking.

"You. eat. the. seeds" I clarify.

"Well it started out of laziness, because I couldn't be bothered finding a bin, but now it's my favourite part," she says, nodding eagerly.

It's not the first conversation I've had with Hannah, a chocolate-loving food blogger, but it's my first one In Real Life. My day job had taken me to Canberra and I grasped the opportunity to finally meet the girl I'd been chatting with online for over a year.


Campfire beef $21.90

We'd agreed to meet for dinner at My's Vietnamese Restaurant, a taxi ride that took me out of Canberra's city centre and into the wild west. It almost feels like a blind date, meeting a blogger the first time, especially when I'm sitting in a cab heading toward dinner and wondering whether we'll hit it off.

I recognise her immediately. Corkscrew curls. Alone at a table for two. I push forward a tote bag of edible gifts I'd collected in the previous week. She plucks out each item one by one and gushes with such enthusiasm I feel like I'm getting more out of the exchange than she is. In the meantime, I'm more than chuffed with her gift to me, a bar of dark chocolate with coffee and fennel by Canberra company, The Curious Chocolatier.

We have to send away our waitress three times before we're ready to order, distracted by presents and conversation and menu choices.


Dark chocolate with coffee and fennel by The Curious Chocolatier

I'm surprised by how busy this little Vietnamese restaurant is on a Monday night, watching as several people who turn up without a booking are sadly turned away.

We start with the campfire beef, always a favourite dish of mine, particularly as it involves the spectacle of fire at your table. Our bowl of raw beef slices cooks at a rather gentle pace, although we prefer it to the wild bonfire raging at the table next to us, whose occupants end up summoning a waiter to help tame the greedy licking flames.


Cooked beef with lettuce, vermicelli, pineapple, mint and cucumber on a rice paper sheet

We assemble the cooked beef slices on rice paper sheets and pile it high with a mixture of vermicelli noodles, shredded lettuce, pineapple chunks, cucumber and fresh sprigs of mint.


DIY rice paper roll

Wrapping the rice paper roll tightly is an art I've invested hundreds of calories dinners practising. What I love more is the social aspect of making your own dinner at the table, waiting for your chance to grab a bit of meat and a sprinkle of salad, and then the personal satisfaction of dunking your roll into the sweet nuoc cham dressing, and savouring the crunch of lettuce, the tender beef and the zing of mint and pineapple on the palate.


Bean curd with lemongrass and chilli $13.90

I'd had my eye on the crispy pork belly but Hannah's preference for lighter fare leads us to compromise on the beancurd with lemongrass and chilli. It's not the crispy deep-fried silken tofu I'd envisioned, and the sauce is more Thai chilli sauce than fresh chilli and fragrant lemongrass, but I feel better for it, even though images of pork fat ribbons do pop into my head every second mouthful.


Prawn and pork paw paw salad

Prawn and pork paw paw salad is much more of a hit, a tangle of julienned paw paw clustered in a lofty nest that hide slices of pork and peeled prawns. The fish sauce dressing is light, sweet and refreshing and a garnish of crushed peanuts provides a pleasant contrasting crunch.

Needless to say we talk non-stop throughout dinner. Mostly about food. And blogging. And travel. And food.

The next morning I tell my work colleagues about dinner and eating apple cores.

"Oh apple cores are the best," someone pipes up. "The seeds are great. I eat kiwifruit skin too."

Since then I've eaten two apple cores. It's bizarrely satisfying to have no rubbish for the bin, but I'm not yet convinced. Is the eating of apple cores a widespread phenomenon or does it just give you the pip?

You can read Hannah's very sweet (and prompt) version of our dinner on her post here.


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My's Vietnamese Restaurant
35 Brierly Street, Weston Creek, Canberra, ACT
Tel: +61 (02) 6288 6565

Open 7 days 11am-3pm and 5pm-10.30pm

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Canberra - Le Rendezvous
Canberra - Mecca Bah
Canberra - Pancake Parlour
Canberra - Senso Restaurant (truffle lunch)

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