Pho Ta, 131 Nicholson St, Footscray. Phone: 9041 2607

Pho Ta is a bit of an odd man out on this stretch of Nicholson St.

There’s another Vietnamese place a few doors along, but otherwise the whole street – both sides of it – is a rainbow of African, Turkish and even Iraqi hues.

As well, the Pho Ta kitchen is open and right out there in the rear of the restaurant dining room.

When I comment to the boss, Tony, that as far as I’m aware it’s the only set-up of its kinds in Footscray, he quickly sets me right.

“Only one of in all of Melbourne!” he proudly proclaims.

On this, my second visit, I see someone at one of the outside tables served a huge plateful of wok-cooked rice noodles with various vegetables and (I think) meats.

Tony tells me that while it appears Chinese, it is an authentic Vietnamese dish. I promise to try it next time.

There’s signs on the walls advertising the availability of banh mi bo ko (Vietnamese beef stew).

And as I arrive, Tony is whipping up a couple of serves of quickly wok-fried diced beef and onions to go with tomato rice.

But mostly, this is a straight-up pho joint.

On my previous visit I’d made the mistake of ordering a medium-size soup, and didn’t even get halfway through it.

This time, I get smart and order a small “sliced beef and sliced chicken” ($7.50).

It’s brilliant!

The broth is quite a deep brown and is equally deep of flavour.

MSG? Probably quite a lot, I suspect.

Care factor? Zero.

For a small serve, there’s a lot of meat.

The chicken is beautiful – no bones, gristle, fat or skin.

AND there’s two kinds of beef – already cooked, thickly sliced brisket and thinly sliced raw beef cooking in the broth.

The bean sprouts and herb components are of fine quality and – bonus! – there’s lime instead of lemon.

Could be we’ve found a new default setting when it comes to Footscray pho.

Check out Ms Baklover’s review here.