HOT: Pho Dzung Tan Dinh, 208 Victoria St, Richmond 3121

Victoria Street is Melbourne's mini-Vietnam, which means the strip from Hoddle St to Church St is lined with numerous pho (sliced beef noodle soup) restaurants, all propounding to sell the best bowl in town. Selecting a restaurant can be a bit daunting for the uninitiated - life's too short to be eating bad pho.

The only place I recommend is Pho Dzung Tan Dinh, otherwise known as Laughing Cow, Laughing Chicken. This sticky, white tiled restaurant has my parents' approval, my Chilean friend Oscar enjoyed it and more importantly, my Vietnamese friends Huy and Jenny rate it for being tasty and authentic. On a Wednesday afternoon, it was filled with a brisk trade of Asians (always a good sign) and gweilo in the know, all ferociously slurping up bowls of steaming noodles piled with fresh mint, bean sprouts and chilli for under $10. If your budget can push over $10, give the 3 and 4 colour bean drink a try too.