Hoa Tran

Hoa Tran Chinese Vietnamese restaurant is my favourite cheap eats restaurant. They serve very good food at insanely cheap prices. It only takes about 5-10 minutes for them to serve your drink and food. I've been so many times and they have yet to get my order wrong. If you want a quick good cheap meal, this is the place to go. It's always packed in the restaurant despite being in a very competitve market in Springvale where there are heaps of other similar restaurants. It's the quality of their food and service that separates them from the pack. They were recently reviewed in The Age Newspaper and the reviewer gave a very glowing review.

I went there to lunch today with 12 other work mates. Since it was so packed on the table, Tin and I decided to sit on another table, hence I have only taken photos of what we ate. There are so many dishes that I love at Hoa Tran. Just to name a few, I like the following: Grilled Beef Skewers with Vermicelli, Malaysian Style Beef with Fried Rice Noodles, Starch Noodles with Seafood, Lemongrass and Chilli Chicken, Salt and Chilli Chicken, Vietnamses Style Broken Rice, Seafood Fried Rice Noodle etc etc. I also like what I ate today and what Tin had as well.

I got a free soup since I ordered a rice dish. The soup is usually a chicken based soup with vegetables and various other ingredients which change from day to day.



Most soup based dishes are also accompanied with salad that you can put into it. The little bowl contains the Vietnamese Fish Sauce mixed with chilli, lemon juice, sugar, water and some carrot pieces.



I chose the Flame Grilled Chicken with Steamed Rice. This dish only costs $7 and you get the free soup as well. The chicken has a nice charred flavour and is still nice and tender.



Tin ordered the Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Spicy Soup with Vermicelli) is also only $7. This is a great dish as well, with strong flavours in the soup. I really like the cooked beef pieces and the pork leg. I usually get it without the pig's blood though since I just don't like the flavour of blood rather than being disgusted by it.



For drinks, Tin and I both got the Avocado Milkshake. It's so creamy and delicious. Usually I will get this shake or the Durian shake, the Jack Fruit shake or a Strawberry Shake. They're all made from real fruit and they don't put too much ice so that it's all watery.



Overall Rating: 14/20, The service is very efficient and the food is very nice and exceptional value for money. It has a very noisy raucous atmosphere and is great for general dining. If you want a quiet setting, do not go here.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.