Thy Thy 1

142 Victoria St, Richmond
Ph: 9429 1104
Open: lunch and dinner, daily

Trying to pick the best place for a feed of Vietnamese in Richmond’s Victoria St is like trying to find that illusive needle in the haystack. Every Melbournian worth their salt has an opinion and it’s not often that two people in the same dining party agree.

For me (after much research I might add) the cream of the Vic St crop are places like Quan 88, Minh Minh and Dan Hung. But last night I decided it was time to branch out and climb the stairs to Thy Thy 1 – a place often recommended but one I’m rarely impressed with.

I think I was hoping for the third time lucky rule to kick in, but unfortunately it just didn’t. Yes, the service was quick. Yes, the place was packed (always a good sign). And yes, it was dirt cheap. But for me, the food just didn’t kick goals.

The vegetables in the san choy bow ($3.50) were undercooked and the meat had a weird, strangely spicy flavour - and not in a normal way. The Mongolian beef ($9.90) was seriously lacking sizzle, in fact it was lukewarm. And the prawns with snow peas ($9.90) were in the gluggiest, most flavourless sauce I’ve ever had the displeasure of eating. The fried rice was ok and thankfully the spring rolls were tasty and served with plenty of fresh iceberg and mint but, let’s be honest, if a Vietnamese restaurant can’t do spring rolls well, there’s bigger issues at hand.
Anyway, I can almost hear howls of dissent at the fact I dare criticise Vic Street’s most loved eateries but for me, Thy Thy 1 has used all of it’s chances.

So my advice is, if you’re one of Thy Thy 1’s many local customers perhaps pop your head into one of the other Vietnamese gems along the strip and see what else is on offer.

Trust me, while Thy Thy 1 is passable, there are better options out there.

5/10

- zoe