2018
Bún bò huế is a Vietnamese noodle dish with ‘a broth prepared by simmering beef bones and beef shank with lemongrass, and then seasoned with fermented shrimp sauce and sugar, as well as spicy chilli oil added later’.
It’s easily one of D’s favourite foods — the one dish he can never tire of eating even for consecutive meals — and we so enjoy the one made by his mother that the first time we’d tried it at a restaurant was with Roll’d running a promotional special (free, usually $13.90 for a bowl or $7.50 for a cup) during the introduction of the dish to their menu in July.
Roll’d describes it as a ‘spicy beef, Vietnamese noodle soup with a delicious robust broth that packs so much flavour you’ll feel like you’re walking the streets of Hanoi’. After D’s colleague who’s a regular chilli fiend ordered a bowl at ‘normal spiciness’ and described it as ‘damn spicy’, we ordered a ‘mild’ bowl only to be surprised by the sheer amount of chopped chilli topping the bowl.
Upon tasting, the bún bò huế is definitely spicy and unfortunately, that’s about all there is to say about it. The soup lacked all of the rich meaty flavour of the homemade version and instead relies on a fiery spiciness to impress. The lack of flavour aside, there were around 4-5 thick slices of beef that were surprisingly tender, along with a generous amount of noodles and herbs. It’s a decent bowl of food for free, but we’re unlikely to return for this dish as paying customers.
2019
We’re always up for bánh mì thit, and unable to resist, decided to take advantage of a BOGOF offer (usually $9.50 each) to try the version at Roll’d. We’d been disappointed by their bun bo hue previously, so this was definitely one of our less bright ideas.
Nothing could’ve prepared us what is simply the worst pork roll we’ve ever eaten. We’ve had ones that were a bit skinny on the toppings, light handed on the pickling of the vegetables, or even toasted in the oven, but all those pork rolls still tasted like bánh mì thit. Blind folded, I’m not sure we could even tell this was a Vietnamese pork roll from any part of the taste.
The roll had a strong aroma of Maggi Original Seasoning, which we found formed the base layer of the sandwich next to some margarine. The bread itself was soft like a hot dog roll warmed in the microwave, while the carrots were not pickled, warm and lacked any crunch; and the cucumber was warm and limp. The meat itself (we ordered the crispy pork belly) consisted of slices of warm fat. The only saving grace for this pork roll — the crackling for the pork belly — had nothing to do with any of the quintessential ingredients and was unremarkable other than being the only component that had the right texture.
We’re not sure how Roll’d is still alive. It’s embarassing to think people consider Roll’d serve anything remotely like actual Vietnamese food.
Roll’d is located at various locations in Sydney, Australia. We visited Shop 4071, Westfield Parramatta, 158-175 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150.