Top Asian eatery branches out
There has been a profusion of Asian street food openings in Hobart lately – and I’m not at all unhappy about it. Most of them have been small on size and big on flavour, but the new Moonah branch of crowd favourite Cyclo delivers on both.
The generously proportioned space has been freshly fitted out in Cyclo’s signature black, white and yellow with plenty of tables for larger groups – an option the original North Hobart location was lacking.
While there are some new items on the menu (more on those later), I can’t resist starting with a classic banh mi thit ($9) and a serve of six pork spring rolls ($12.50). The banh mi bread roll is pleasingly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with crumbs going everywhere as I take my first bite. Inside are all the traditional fillings – pate, mayonnaise, hoisin, pickled vegetables, Vietnamese ham and pork.
As I’m sharing with my chilli-averse husband, I opt for the chilli-free version but add plenty later from the help-yourself station of sauces, pickled chilli and pickled onion. Every mouthful is fresh and full of flavour. The pork spring rolls, in their crispy netted wrapper, are a favourite of mine at the North Hobart outlet and they don’t disappoint here, either – enclosed in lettuce, topped with herbs and pickled carrot and then dipped in a sweet chilli sauce.
With the new, larger location comes some new menu items, including a Vietnamese beef stew ($17) that is a daily special. Served on a bed of thin rice vermicelli, this traditional stew is tender chunks of beef marinated in fish sauce, ginger and Chinese five-spice that’s then braised with more ginger, lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon. The result is a wonderfully flavoursome dish that’s slightly sweet, with a hint of anise coming from both the star anise and the fresh Thai basil on top. With chunks of carrot and potato and the noodles to soak up the gravy, it’s more than enough for a one-bowl lunch or dinner.
Cyclo’s owner, Hoang Bui, has plans to expand the menu even further as the team settles into the new location – there will be outdoor seating, an alcohol licence, steamboats and a dessert menu. Bui is a stalwart of the Hobart Vietnamese restaurant scene, having opened the CBD’s Sapa Rose in 2011. He moved to Hobart from Ho Chi Minh City, with his father, in 1990.
Hoi An chicken rice ($18) is another item that’s particular to this location. It’s a meal that’s similar to Hainanese chicken and includes rice cooked in chicken fat and a tasty broth, served with poached chicken, pickled vegetables and a small bowl of clear broth.
Cyclo’s version includes a green peppercorn sauce that adds a little extra oomph to this popular comfort food.
Naturally, there’s pho on the menu but we decide to try something different and are delivered a bowl of steaming pork and prawn soup with tapioca noodles ($17). The delicate broth is clear and full of flavour, topped with fried shallots, a handful of bean sprouts and fresh herbs. Thin slices of roast pork and a couple of prawns (some more would have been nice) bring the protein and fat, slippery tapioca noodles (similar to udon noodles but slightly less dense) provide the comforting carbs.
It’s one of those dishes that you feel healthier for eating and there’s plenty of opportunity to turn up the heat by adding pickled chillies or a squirt of the chilli sauce that’s on every table. Be warned, though, the tapioca noodles are slippery little suckers.
My husband decided to finish off my half of the banh mi, forgetting that I’d loaded it with pickled chillies, so a cooling dessert was deemed a necessity. He was presented with a glass of che ($7.50), which is a layered Vietnamese dessert comprised of mung beans, cubes of green jelly, mango pudding, crushed ice, coconut cream and a sprinkling of peanuts. It’s colourful and a wild mash-up of textures and flavours, but it puts out the pickled chilli fire.
Cyclo is delicious and well-priced, with generous portions. We’ll be back for outdoor dining, a banh mi and a 333 beer come summertime.