The Brass Coq

The Brass Coq is located on 470 Little Lonsdale, and I will be frank and admit that I had never heard of it until my friend told me about this place. As I don't work near that area, I will never walk past it either. However I am very glad that I did find out about it. It's a quirky, modern setting and they set out to do 'good home styled' Vietnamese food. I love Vietnamese food, so when O and A told me about it I said yes straight away.


We started off with Spring Rolls. They were crispy on the outside and had a mixed pork and prawn filling. Along with the fish sauce it was a good start to the meal.

VFC (Vietnamese Fried Chicken) were finger licking good. The crispy batter over the chicken ribs then paired with chilli, fried shallots, spring onions and nouc mam glaze. It was a great fusion interpretation of the classic fried chicken. I loved it and I will be definitely getting this again on my next visit.

Green Papaya Salad was fresh and a good way to balance out the other fried starters. The citrus from the grapefruit and the nouc mam cut through the heaviness of the other dishes and the herbs, carrot and papaya gave that fresh bite.

Grilled Pork Neck Skewers - succulent and marinated pork neck with crushed peanuts and served wrapped in lettuce and noodles. Reminds me of the amazing street food in Asia.

Pig ears chips. Thinly sliced pig ears deep fried. Personally I wasn't a fan, but I can understand the appeal as alternative to fried potato chips.

For mains we started with Hanoi Lamb Curry which was interesting. I won't say it was my favorite, as I found it too salty for my liking. If it wasn't so salty it would have been a great main, the lamb was soft, and the coconut curry was smooth and gave the curry great depth of flavour.

Steak with pho jus and triple cooked chips was the next main we shared. I can't say I have ever had pho jus before so I wasn't sure what to expect. The steak was cooked medium with a just pink centre. The pho jus was rich but it didn't remind me of pho, it tasted more like an aromatic gravy. I quite enjoyed it, especially when I dipped the triple cooked chips into it.

Beanshoots was done just the way my mum would stir fry it; with a bit of garlic and ginger. Basic, warming and I can tell mum I ate my vegetables!

Durian & Passionfruit parfait. I know not everyone is a fan of durian so this may not appeal to everyone. For those who do, you are in for a treat! The smooth durian with a pop of passionfruit. Who knew you could make durian taste so sexy?

Banana pudding was steamed with palm caramel and served with coconut custard and praline. At this point I was so full but it was so spongy and soft... I think I almost killed myself trying to eat it..... but it was worth it.

Overall I was really surprised with the calibre of food plated up. I spoke to one of the owners there and his vision was just to show Melbourne what good home cooked Vietnamese is like. I think he smack on delivered. I enjoyed my meal and I can't wait to go back.

They also have some mean cocktail making skills too.... we had quite a few drinks there. You wouldn't pick it but I would definitely recommend you try their cocktails.