The same family has run Tu Do for over 40 years. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Tu Do in O’Connor is one of the older restaurants in Canberra, and almost certainly the oldest Vietnamese restaurant, clocking in over 40 years of service. And it’s been run by the same family, with the same menu all this time.
Hiep Nguyen opened the restaurant in the 80s – memories are vague about exactly which year – and enlisted his family to help out. His son Phong Nguyen has taken over as head chef, with nephew Sony Vu helping out in the kitchen and on the floor. Sony told me his parents actually met at the restaurant!
He’s proud to have served so many in the local community.
“We have adults who come in now and tell us, ‘My parents brought me here when I was a baby’. We’ve had people come in to eat when they were ANU students, they go away after graduation, and then many years later return, and we’re still here,” he told Region.
Sony Vu (L), his Aunt Minh Pham (centre) and cousin Phong Nguyen (R) work together at Tu Do. Minh is technically retired, but still comes in for the odd shift. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
They’ve formed close relationships with many of their customers over the years – Sony even used to drive an elderly regular diner home after dinner each Sunday.
There’s now a third generation working in the restaurant, but not much else has changed.
“We still serve the same menu, it’s very traditional. A lot of places mixed the food with Chinese, but ours is all Vietnamese,” said Sony.
Tu Do was certainly a fixture of my Canberra childhood, and when my order of spring rolls arrived with a bowl of nuoc cham dipping sauce (complete with grated carrot), I felt 8 years old again.
At that age, my favourite dish was beef with cashews, but these days I’m more likely to order the Phở. My favourite dish at Tu Do (and just about any Vietnamese restaurant) is Bún Chả: rice vermicelli salad with spring rolls and grilled meats. But with an Autumn chill in the air, I decided to have a spicy soup instead.
Bún bò Huế hails from the city of Hue in Central Vietnam. Like phở, it features a rich broth but has an additional layer of spice. The noodles in Bún bò Huế are round and chewy (unlike the flat, slippery noodles in phở). This version featured thin slices of beef brisket and a few slices of a traditional steamed pork sausage, which has a bouncy bite. I added a few drops of fresh lime and some hoisin sauce to taste. The spice quickly activated my sinuses and warmed my cheeks as I slurped away.
I was reminded of a meal I once shared at Tu Do with my (slightly eccentric) grandfather, who had brought along two large tea towels for the occasion because “paper napkins aren’t up to the job!” He unashamedly tucked in his makeshift bib (I followed suit, slightly embarrassed) and slurped to his heart’s content. To be honest, I could have done with a tea towel on this particular slurpy occasion!
A spicy bowl of Bún bò Huế is an excellent alternative to Phở. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
While I was eating, I eavesdropped on a neighbouring table’s conversation: they were regulars who had been coming back for years, and they reminisced about the old days of the public service and restaurants which used to be at the O’Connor Shops “back in the day”.
The term institution is sometimes bandied about, but Tu Do certainly deserves the title.
Tu Do is located at 2/7 Sargood Street, O’Connor Shops. They are open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch from 10:30 am to 3 pm, and for dinner from 5 pm to 10 pm (9 pm on Sundays). Follow Tu Do on Facebook.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
