12 November 2010

Misschu: Vietnamese, Darlinghurst (10 Nov 2010)

1/150 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010


Dumplings with MissRude

This hole-in-the-wall hawker style eatery certainly has it's fans who enjoy alfresco dining in uncomfortable and awkward seating — I felt like an oversized kid in a primary school classroom. Everything is served in take away containers which probably isn't the best for the environment but I guess makes it a lot easier for Misschu cleaning up. After perusing the menu I started with a Peking Duck pancake ($2.20 each) which is pretty small but had a decent amount of flavour and the meat was moist although sadly you probably won't find any crispy skin. Misschu is probably best known for their Fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls since their tag line is 'queen of rice paper rolls' and the decent sized Tiger Prawn & Green mango ($6 for 2) were tightly packed with ingredients. The medium sized precooked and marinated prawns were flavoursome but only one of the rolls seemed to have the green mango — not sure what happened to the other.

Just as many varieties of Steamed dumplings ($5 for 3) exist on the menu and I tried the Scallop and Prawn. There was evidence of small bits of scallop and prawn although it's a shame it's served in a takeaway box already sauced because I assume it wouldn't stand up well with travel time before going a bit soggy. While still a bit hungry I was tempted to try the Deep fried spring rolls ($5 for 4) and got up to order them from the busy yet friendly guy behind the counter. Unfortunately shortly upon returning to my table where I left my bag and bottle of water a woman (I assume the owner Miss Chu, pictured above wearing blue) had accommodated my seat with her business laptop. After explaining the situation she was very reluctant to move and implied they were two tables together and subsequently slightly moved them ever so slightly apart. The table next to her had even less leg room against the wall so my only option was to pick up my stuff and move to another table without any apology or customer acknowledgement. Since my visit I've heard more complaints about the rudeness of a particular woman which I assume is the same one — it seems the customer is never right at Misschu's establishment.

Once relocated and after a little wait I collected my Prawn and Crab net spring rolls which were served in a take away box with a small bottle of dipping sauce. It was a bit awkward to eat with the sauce since you couldn't actually dip the spring roll in the sauce but had to pour it over, and thus over the other spring rolls. I enjoyed the crispy net texture but they were a bit oily so a couple of napkins were definitely necessary. I'd be curious to try their King Prawn or Traditional Pork Hanoi if I visit again although my preference for a quick tasty meal with nicer seating and decor would be the ever popular Phamish around the corner and up Palmer Street (but only open for dinner).

Other food blog reviews:
TWO-KG

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Specialise in bite sized snacks, Decent variety of rice paper rolls and steamed dumplings, Fairly reasonable prices but can add up quickly, Catering available
CONS: Very uncomfortable and awkward seating, Near busy traffic of William Street, One of the staff lacked good customer service, Everything served in take away containers
MUST TRY: Possibly the Green Papaya Salad and Wagyu Beef Pho next time to compare

Peking Duck pancake ($2.20 each)

Fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls - Tiger Prawn & Green mango ($6 for 2)

Couldn't spot any green mango in this one

Thankfully found some green mango in this one


Steamed dumplings - Scallop and prawn ($5 for 3)



Deep fried spring rolls - Prawn and Crab net ($5 for 4)

Menu — price for spring rolls listed as $4.50 but on updated tuckshop menu is $5

Specials board menu

Bicycle delivery

Basic seating and tables — somewhat very uncomfortable

Service counter

12 comments:

the dainty baker said...

I love those types of springrolls!! I call them the Viet springrolls coz thats where I first tried them a few years back!! soo yummy!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Simon,
Great blog post! Thank you for the shout-out link to my blog! Shame about the customer service you got too :(
By the way, those spring rolls look amazing!
Cheers,
Spotted Pufferfish

Ms Darlinghurst said...

The Dumpling Nazi!! Total attitude but the food is quick, fresh and she does do the best dumplings around that area. Those crab spring rolls you had are awesome. Try the beef vermicelli salad next time...yum!

xxMs D

ps Great pics...as usual.

Bean Sprout's Cafe said...

I did try the duck rolls and prefer the one at Pharmish a lot more (the more expensive, the better in this case ^^)

john@heneedsfood said...

I've been wanting to get here for ages. The food looks decent enough. Shame about the treatment you had

Anonymous said...

Whilst the food is tasty Miss Chu herself has to be the rudest person I have ever come across in the restaurant trade - shouting and swearing at her staff and customers alike. If you want to try the food then I recommend home-delivery so that you don't have to encounter her and her ego...

Simon Leong said...

hi the dainty baker, with the netting seems to making them extra crunchy. i think Thanh Long Vietnamese Restaurant on Crown St make them too.

hi spottedpufferfish, no worries about the link. it seems a lot of people are aware of the particularly bad service at times.

hi ms darlinghurst, hehe she sure is the dumpling nazi. i guess there's not many options for dumplings in the area except for the dumpling and noodle house on victoria st where the service is much nicer. i'll keep in mind the beef vermicelli, thanks for the recommendations. i'll be prepared for the attitude next time if i go.

hi bean sprout's cafe, even though phamish is more expensive (2 for $14) they are way better and more filling and tastier and more a complete meal. service is far better too.

hi john, as long as you're prewarned that's the main thing. hope to get to check it out in due course but i wouldn't expect too much.

hi anonymous, that's a good tip about home delivery then you don't have to worry about the service part :-)

little miss food said...

I was having a browse on the website for the new eating spot down at the Opera House (Opera Kitchen - under construction, supposedly being finished in December...) - Miss Chu is opening an outpost there... They have a pic of her on the website which should resolve the questions about her identity!

http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Opera_Kitchen.aspx

Simon Leong said...

hi little miss food, that's the one in all her glory. they should do pretty well down at the opera house because there's not much choice down there at the moment.

Anonymous said...

after a severely vicious & unwarranted tongue lashing from the self-appointed 'queen' I need to vent... if there were an award for all time monstrous bitch of the universe misschu would win by a mile. hands down most volatile arrogant unreasonable demanding woman bar none. food 5/10 - attitude & temper off the scale. success has gone to her head & its about to blow - stand clear!

Simon Leong said...

hi Anonymous, sounds like she still needs to learn about customer service. i'm not surprised. there's nothing about the food that really makes me want to go back either. i can live without :-)

DroolWorthyWorld said...

Drools at the deep fried spring rolls!

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