Sometimes, when you’ve spent all your pennies on things (for Queen Viv: an overseas trip, for us: home renovations and a new computer) you may want to eat out but you don’t want to spend a small fortune. Which let’s be honest in Sydney, is quite easy to do. So I consult my oracle, aka Queen Viv, and she suggested Yen’s Vietnamese in Waterloo. It’s her go to for a quick lunch or a quick dinner.
We’ve driven on this street so many times and hadn’t even noticed it. It’s busy this evening and people are huddled over steaming bowls of pho or heaped plates of freshly cooked noodles and seafood. We take a seat at a table for four but it is underneath the air conditioner so when another table leaves, we take up residence there. The menu is just over one page long and features almost sixty dishes with pho, bun, noodle soup, fried noodles, seafood, beef chicken and pork dishes. There are some specials also on the walls (along with apologies for a $1 price increase) and the service is warm and lovely although the temperature inside is cold.
Fresh coconut juice $2.50
Our order came out quickly. With just the right amount of sweetness, the coconut juice came with large pieces of young coconut meat and a refreshing juice.
Rice paper rolls 4 for $7
This was an order for Karen who is a celiac. With the amount of soy and home made chicken stock they couldn’t guarantee that the menu items were suitable for her. The waitress was so lovely and went out of her way to make sure that the rolls were gluten free. The next night, lured by the promise of more addictive pho, we visited with my parents Rose and Ronald and this post is made up of both visits. The rice paper rolls are soft and made fresh to order. The chicken and prawn filling is delicious and it comes with vermicelli noodles and a hoi sin and garlic based dipped sauce with a little sprinkling of ground peanuts.
Chim Cut Chien 3 for $9
As Queen Viv is a regular she knows the menu well and suggests that we order the quail. Marinated and crispy fried so that you can practically eat the whole thing and nibble on the larger bones, you squeeze some lemon juice in the salt and pepper mixture and then dip the quail in. There is an explosion of flavours, salt, tangy and soy and we wish we had ordered the serving of six.
Banh Khot 7 for $9
The banh khot, usually one of my favourite items come here less crispy and larger than what I’ve had. The taste is very much of coconut milk with bits of pork mince and prawns and whilst they’re pleasant, they’re not the little crispy sensations that I’ve had in the past.
Pho ba ga $9.50
The pho comes as a large bowl filled with rice noodles and we took the waitress’s recommendation of the beef and chicken pho. It comes with the regulation bean sprouts, purple basil and chilli and the soup itself has a generous amount of noodles and meat with thin slices of white onion. The smell of star anise and the herbs hits you as soon as it is set down and we go back for bowl after bowl of this wonderfully delicately fragranced soup with the slippery noodles.
Go Kho Gung $18
The ginger chicken claypot is redolent in aromatic ginger with a rich, sweet sauce not unlike a caramel chicken sauce with hints of black pepper, fish sauce, eschallots, garlic and brown sugar. The ginger is pronounced and the thick sauce and retro bucket of steamed rice are welcomed this chilly winter’s evening and every drop of sauce is savoured.
Pho Dat Biet $10
I seem to have quite a serious addiction to the pho here with the fragrant, delicate broth and wonderfully slippery rice noodles. The stock and noodles were as good as yesterday’s although this one was their pho special with beef tripe, tendon and halved beef balls. The tripe provides texture and the tendon is sliced in layered squares and I did like the beef balls the best out of the three but I did prefer yesterday’s with the beef and chicken the best for the contrast in flavour of the two meats.
Banh Xeo $9
Always one of my favourite dishes, the banh xeo pancake is made with rice flour and is filled with mince, prawns and yellow mung beans to form a delicate lacey pancake which you cut into four and fill with vegetables. Served alongside is a plate of lettuce and fresh mint and the nuoc cham sauce which you spoon over it.
Thit Suon Chien Xa $12
Ordered because I thought my mother would like it, the marinated pork chops are flavoursome and come three to a serve, cut like bear claws. The meat which is still on the bone comes alive when dipped in the nuoc cham sauce and is a good accompaniment to rice.
Hu Tieu/ Mi Xao DoBlen $11
We order crispy fried egg noodles with seafood and vegetables which was similar to Chinese chow mein although I liked the sweetness in this sauce and I found myself going back for second and third serves before finishing off the plate!
There’s no dessert on the menu but that’s just fine as we are too stuffed to contemplate eating anything else. The bill is more than reasonable and we happily hand over the cash. We make our way out into the blustery cold and I suggest to Mr NQN that we come again for more pho the next night.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have a cheap and cheerful local restaurant that you go to regularly? And how much do you typically spend on a night out?
Yen’s Vietnamese Restaurant
29 Botany Road, Waterloo, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 8399 0598
Open 7 days from 10am-9pm
Cash only
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
55 Comments | Add your own
Wow so affordable! What a little gem!
There is a tea house that I go near Chinatown in Brisbane. Kuan-Yin Tea House. They have a yuzu tea that I am completely addicted to and every time I go there I buy this one dish, phantom chips. They are tiny fingers of orange sweet potato with layer of purple sweet potato with some kind of netting wrapped around the outside. Virtually nothing over ten dollars and service with a smile. Love that little place.
Hi Lorraine, I am so hungry now for a bowl of that Pho… Yes, we do have a inexpensive place to eat sometimes, and guess what? It is Vietnamese: Pho Vietnam! I think we are going there right now, as after reading your blog I got hungry and I haven’t had my lunch yet…
We go to this place quite often: every Thursday after yoga class we have dinner there, and fun too…:)
It’s great when you can go out and eat wonderful fresh food and know it’s not going to cause anyone any financial strain. But, what annoys me is this belief that in Sydney we don’t get cold weather and so wherever you go it’s as cold inside as it is outside. We were out on Saturday night and I wore a full-length coat which I planned to remove when I got to the venue. However, inside the venue we were seated under the air conditioning and there were enormous sliding windows that they also opened that looked out to the street below. I asked one of the staff if the windows could be closed and he said, ‘No, we want everyone on the street to hear the music’. So I had to keep my coat on all night. Bring on summer! xx
Love a good dingy local – the worse the decor, the better the food! The pork chops look yummy.
I love how there is such a place nearby the city. It does serve up authentic Vietnamese food and at very affordable prices by the looks of it. Glad you enjoyed the feed Lorraine
The boy and I resort to Vietnamese food for a quick fix for a meal. We tend to only spend anywhere from $16-$20… for the both of us 
We have a wonderful Thai restaurant that is fantastic value. The chef previously worked as a chef at a huge hotel in Bangkok and this little spot tucked away (hidden) in a difficult to find area. Food this good should cost more.
Cheap and cheerful? It’s a bit hard to come by on the North Shore unfortunately, but we tend to eat at a pizzeria called Borruso’s a lot. It’s not exactly cheap and cheerful, but it’s pretty reasonable and the pizza’s are phenomenal.
Wow everythings so cheap here! I wish there was an affordable Vietnamese place near me too ~
We do have a few go to places or we just get takeaway and Mr Bao will make some rice at home hehe But i definitely know what you mean… by wanting to go out but want to save money at the same time hehe
Depends where we go if I know it’s a nice restaurant I’m happy to spend $50 or $100 per head, but if it’s just local $20 for lunch and $30ish for dinner
LOL I always go over this because i always get dessert hehe
Ben was just saying that since it costs $30 for every lunch, we might as well get steak.
Rice paper rolls and quail are two of my favourite Asian dishes – sooooo want these! For cheap and cheerful, Sambul Kampung in Little Collins St is my go to place.
I’ve never visited Vietnam, but I love its food. This place looks like quite a find! Those bear-claw pork chops look great! I have mainly experienced really light Vietnamese food.
We have plenty of cheap eats here in San Miguel–and the cost of dining out varies greatly.
Hi Lorraine, I love Yen’s! So delicious and so cheap
you should also try Thai Thai across the road if you haven’t already!
Sarah x
I’m nearly convinced that ‘cheap’ doesn’t exist in Brisbane any more. They just keep getting more and more expensive. I will not give up the hunt though. I’m happy to splurge on a meal if it’s really good and a nice atmosphere.
Thank you! i’ve been looking for local Pho but i wouldnt have looked past Regent st! We quite like Pho 236 in Newtown, Vietnamese restaurants tend to be the only ones you can get a nice big meal for under $25 (for 2). I think its hard work getting breakfast for under $40! Though Fernside on Baptist st Redfern has great prices for breakfast.
Sometimes it’s just great to have cheap and cheerful meal! Here in Canberra there is a fantastic Shanghai dumpling resturant and very often with a group of people stuffing ourselves with dumplings the bill only comes to $15-20 each! They also don’t charge corkage…but you also do’nt get wine glasses, you drink wine out of tumblers but it adds to the experience! Typically I guess for meals out I spend between $30 and $50 but there’s such a big range of places to go to in Canberra, it’s equally possible to have a $100 meal too.
I too have a serious addiction to Pho, Lorraine, except that I’ve had to stop eating it out as it has way too much salt and makes me feel bad. The food looked great and quite reasonable for Australia! The lighting looks really bad and that would turn me off. We have a couple of Japanese places that work out to less than $30 for two for a reasonable amount of food. Dinners are usually accompanied by wine, and that’s never cheap — a nice reasonable dinner for two with a bottle of wine is usually between $60-80, where the wine is usually around $40-50.
Yuuuuum! Good pho is amazing, hey? There’s a little shop in Flemington (Sydney), near the station, where all the Asian shops are – our family loves that place
Oh my! The pork chops and cute quails has me drooling! I love cheap and cheerful Vietnamese but having had a poor experience at Parramatta last week (Pho Pasteur) I have become wary. But this looks like gold!
OMG Yum!
That’s it, I am so moving there and making this my local!
Wow – never seen this place but everything looks pretty authentic. That first shot is pretty funny…
Wish I lived near Waterloo.
Those dishes looked so tasty.
–The Rice paper rolls look sooooooo good
I have a fave. place that is called Pizza Luce. It has funky waiters/waitreses w/ nose rings, tattoos etc… They sell mashed potato Pizza and really unique dishes.
Lorraine, What is your new TV addiction? Have you watched Sons Of Anarchy yet?
Xx
i love a homely little viet restaurant! so authentic and cheap!
yens is the best! the pho is amazingly good.
Delightful appetizing food at prices which do not make one feel guilty! Really love the look of the phos, the pancake and the noodle dish with seafood and vegetables! Don’t think the corned beef on stove for lunch appeals nearly as much [tho' have a new recipe!], but that too was ‘economical’!! Also like to jot down the correct Vietnamese names for the dishes for future reference: not my strongest suit, tho’ it is my favourite cuisine! Out here in the rural wilderness all the restaurants tend to be cheap and some are even cheerful
!
In Adelaide’s chinatown, there is a small restaurant called the Dumpling King – and funnily enough they make the most awesome chinese dumplings. Plate of 15 pork dumplings are $7.80, plate of 10 Chicken and Shrimp Dumplings are $7.80 – and one plate is certainly a meal in itself. They have other varieties including a chilli oil dumpling i have yet to try and plenty of other dishes. Please excuse the decor, looks like it is trapped in the 70′s, but the place is always packed and always a great, fast feed. oh and they have frozen dumpling packs for anyone who wants to try them at home too.
The pho looks good…. so does the rice paper rolls and quail! Quail are so addictive to eat, the other day I ended up eating a few of them.
I love Vietnamese food, and you are right, in Sydney you can eat well even without spending a fortune!
Ciao
Alessandra
I love little places like these that you would probably walk past and never notice. But once you go in you realise they have the best food ever! Same as Pasteur in Chinatown.. looks dodgy, tastes yummy!!!
Yen’s IS my cheap and cheerful local. And not only when I’m after a cheap mid-week meal; I’ve found myself going there for comfort food when I’m jetlagged. Your description of the pho ba ga is spot on. It’s actually the only thing I order from Yen’s, so this post has enlightened to me on what else I’m missing out on at this little gem. The staff there are so friendly too. Thanks!
Egg noodles with seafood a winner for me. The Sushi Club across the road from us in Pyrmont s good for cheap, tasty and local morsels. Though when skint I tend to cook lots of stews, curries and chillies.
Saving now for the next trip actually.
With us still new in our life with a mortgage, I don’t eat out often (maybe once a month), so it’s great to see this post! Everything looks delicious – especially the quail and pork chops!
When you say “beef balls” do you mean meatballs, or actual ‘balls’?
But… no dessert menu!?
Hi Chanel! There is no dessert menu there I’m afraid!
I love discovering small places which have the best food. The fact is affordable is just bonus.
Had lunch there today at after reading your review.excellent summer rolls & pho-so glad I found a place closer to home,as we usually head to cabramatta for our Viet cravings! True,surrounds not very salubrious but food seemed good at this first tasting!
What a perfectly reasonably priced restaurant my friend – a lot of fantastic and obviously delicious choices
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Great looking place, not sure our Vietmanese restaurants are quite as authentic. Tripe is not a big seller here although traditionally it was part of the British diet. GG
Wah Fung along the same street does the MOST AMAZING CHINESE BBQ roast dishes EVER. Roast duck, char siew, crispy skin chicken…soya sauce chicken. I salivate just thinking about it.
I must pass here almost everyday but I haven’t noticed it!. There are some hits and misses but- so cheap!
cheap and good! i love to discover new food, especially the Chim Cut Chien . yummy!
Being in Canberra, I find that our typical dinner bill is far more than the equivalent level of restaurant/cafe in Melbourne or Sydney. Booo! But pho is always good. ALWAYS.
Our local is the Yen Linh; a wonderful little Vietnamese place in Croydon Park, Adelaide. We often take our four sons there for dinner and get out for just under $90 for dinner and drinks with a take away serve of cashew tarts for all. The serves are ENORMOUS and the food is wonderful. I doubt it can be beaten!
We are spoilt for choice with cheap and cheerful restaurants in West End. Eating out in Australia has become quite expensive so we go out less often.
Yes, I do have a cheap and cheerful location to go to. the place is imbi market! i love the hawker food there!
I went out to eat pho last night with my kids (since my husband had business dinner) and I always love Vietnamese food. Banh Xeo is my favorite, and I think I had craving to eat it after I saw your post with Banh Xeo picture in it I think. Now I got another craving… I have to go a different restaurant this time to eat that. Looks so good!!
What a great little place. Yummm…..I could eat thos erice rolls all day…..
God, I love Vietnamese food. Everything you ordered looks fantastic, but I’m super excited about that banh xeo. Looks gorgeous!
instead of making the trip out to cabramatta, i love finding new inner city haunts! thanks! p.s. some of my other faces are Pasteur on George St Haymarket (great seafood spring rolls wrapped in lettuce), and Non La on Fitzroy in Surry hills for delis shaking beef and pork-in-a-clay-pot. mmm!
I love theses no frills kind of places, with boxes of tissues on the tables, etc. Lovely looking meal, especially the Go Kho Gung.
Thanks for sharing.
Hole-in-the-wall style places are always the best. We go to a tiny Chinese bbq place that has no heating (in Canberra it should be compulsory!) sits maybe a dozen people, and each delicious dish costs about $15 at the Max.
Your meals look so yummy, I want some for lunch already!
This took me back to last year when I visited hanoi and the food there was amazing! Love Pho, the paper rolls and just about everything. Great post, L!
Hi Lorraine
My name is Tina and my mum runs Yen’s. We wanted to thank you personally for your kind words about the restaurant and are happy you enjoyed our food and service. Thanks to your great review, we have had many new customers come in to try our food. Apologies however for the coldness inside the restaurant.
There was some miscommunication between my mum and I the night you came in with your friend Karen. I just recently found out that our soup doesn’t actually contain any soy sauce so Karen could of had a bowl of our soup. Please pass on our apologies for the error.
Once again thank you so much for your kind words and we hope to see you again soon =)
Hi Tina! You’re very welcome, Mr NQN and I are big fans of the food and we only wish we lived around the corner so we could stop in every night for some pho. And good to know re the soy sauce, we should have called ahead of time to check but I hadn’t met Karen before. Thanks for stopping by!
I LOVE Yens in Waterloo – my favourite for a quick bite to eat on a week night or before you head out
Post a Comment