Toly and her husband, Tien, are long standing members of Flinders’ food community, with a presence at Bedford Park for over a decade. They started in the southeast corner of the Student Hub, prior to its renovation in 2014, when the popular Vietnamese eatery only opened twice a week.
“Students and staff would line up at our door!” remembers Toly. “It was always so long! I used to be so worried about the queues.”
But over the years, demand fuelled by their fresh cuisine and friendly service has seen them build their popularity and opening hours to match. “Everyone knows us and loves us. We are proud to have introduced many people to the freshness of Vietnamese cuisine,” says Toly. “Our steamed Bao Buns, Banh Mi (Vietnamese baguette) and Rice, Vermicelli Noodle or Salad Bowls with a choice of grilled proteins (crackling pork, beef, chicken or tofu) sell out every day.”
“Students love us too, because we are good value and offer a healthier option,” says Toly proudly. “And we have special price items each week that everyone can afford – at around $10 a serve.”
This week it’s Honey Chicken, but it could be Pad Thai, Stir Fry Noodles or Fried Rice on the week you visit. In fact, Toly says they’ve had students come back to campus for their Lemongrass Chicken. “They can’t get it anywhere else,” laughs Toly. “Because it’s my grandmother’s recipe.”
But Toly and Tien pride themself for being different to others. “We’re here every weekend doing our fresh food prep for the coming week,” says Toly. “Homemade food and cooking for different seasons is a lot of work. We make everything from scratch, so it’s fresh with no additives or artificial colours.”
They source all their fruit and veg locally, some even from their own back yard veggie patch! “We grow the cumquats, chillies and some herbs ourselves.”
Toly caters for all dietary needs too – even putting meals together which are not on the menu. “And we do catering – for all the metropolitan campuses, so staff should keep us in mind.”
But it’s the popular Vietnamese street drink – known as nước mía (freshly squeezed sugarcane juice) that is set to steal the show this summer. “Travellers and international students all know it’s available on every street corner in Asia,” says Toly. “But now we’ve brought it to Flinders too!”
Toly will press the fresh sugarcane before your very eyes and serve it with ice (and a smile). Laughing, she says, “we don’t grow the sugarcane in our own backyard (it’s from Queensland) but please enjoy the garnish of sliced cumquats – fresh from our tree.”
The zesty cumquats offset the sweetness and adds to the very refreshing, antioxidant-rich juice. A cup of fresh juice is $8.
Toly is open in the Student Hub ground floor food court, Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm.