Arrow Foodie: Review

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Review - Roll'd

Tuesday, 10th July 2012

Roll'd
Shop TG10
Goldsbrough Lane
181 William St,
Melbourne

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Taste Rating: 7.5/10 Value Rating: 7/10

We went to Roll'd for lunch. This Vietnamese cafe opened early in May and is already so popular that it is packed at lunch times.

Roll'd offers Vietnamese street food - rice paper rolls (Cuon pronounce with a 'K' sound), vermicelli noodles (Bun pronounce 'Buon'), baguettes (Banh Mi), Pho (pronounced 'Fuh'), and salads (Goi pronounced 'Guy'). There is also hot coffee or iced coffee ('Ca Phe' - coffee pronounced phonetically!) I found this helpful site which has audio pronounciations of common Vietnamese food names.

We ordered Beef Pho and BBQ Chicken Vermicelli. This is my second Beef Pho in two days! I had eaten Beef Pho on Sunday in Richmond, a popular destination for Vietnamese food in Melbourne. But today was a cold winter day and I was starving and wanted a hot soup. The soup was not bad - savoury and slightly sweet, not too oily. The beef slices were lean and tender, and not too pink, which was just as well as the soup was not piping hot. The coriander, bean shoots and Vietnamese basil were already in the bowl of Pho, unlike the typical Vietnamese restaurants where you add your own from a separate plate. There is an interesting addition of pickled red onions on top, which adds a splash of pink colour. The Pho came with a dish of Hoi Sin sauce. Unusual combination. We had to ask the waiter to make sure we had not got the sauce confused - was it for the BBQ Vermicelli or the Pho?! The serve is small, even for me, so I still felt hungry and had a chocolate afterwards!

I had a taste of the BBQ Chicken Vermicelli. The chicken was thigh meat and slightly underdone. I liked the sauce that the vermicelli was immersed in - the flavour was possibly from lime, fish sauce, herbs and sugar.

The queue is constantly forming but fast moving. Interestingly, this row of dining shops at Goldsbrough Lane has mostly outdoor seating. There is a wind tunnel effect at times. I was sitting right under the outdoor heater so was quite comfortable but did spare a thought for the carbon effect ... and the carbon tax!

Overall, this is a nice place to go for Vietnamese food that seems healthy, with fresh vibrant colours. Roll'd has a small menu but there is a good variety to choose from, with several interesting sounding dishes that I want to try. So yes, there will definitely be return visits.