Charlie’s Shack should be on the ‘to do’ list of the Adelaide food lover. It has all the qualities you might find in a truly authentic Vietnamese food outlet. It’s proximity to the Central Markets and their limited storage space lends itself to having fresh ingredients all the time. It truly is a shack! It is possible that Charlie’s Shack is due to be shut down at any time, let’s hope the inspector is a fan. Most of the time you barely get a smile when you arrive and I often feel as though I am interrupting their nightly comedy sitcom by ordering. ‘Grandma’ does all the delivering of orders, and she gets busy when the place fills up with 7 people in the tiny space. I order the Special Dumpling Soup ($6.50), Regular Beef Pho ($7) and some Cold Rolls ($4.50) for the two of us. You have to clamber over recent deliveries to order and scour the fridge for a cold drink beside the beef mince, herbs, vegetables and Chinese Milk products. It is all highly risky practise, but I love, love, love it! Charlies’ Pho is a hearty serve with plenty of beef slices and noodle to fill your boots, the dumplings are glutinous and textured inside with a hint of spice. The cold rolls are fresh with prawn, chicken and mint, and I always double dip into the amazing sauce. You have to!
Pho is the most basic of food. It is an aromatic stock served with fresh stir fried beef and vegetables, throw in some noodles and you have Vietnam’s most favoured dish. There are no big secrets involved, just the quick fresh approach that makes this dish so popular. If you get a fresh batch the stock it is sometimes a little weak – show up later that day or a few days later when the batch has reduced and the flavour intensified to really awesome heights. Don’t just try it once. Try it three to four times a week to really appreciate it.
The menu’s are sticky, the chopsticks communal and the sauce bottles un-named, you rarely have to use them as you are served some fresh Thai basil, bean sprouts, lemon wedge and sliced chilli as a fresh garnish. I always go for a bit of chillied vinegar – it moves whatever you might have thought un-movable!
Charlies does not serve alcohol which is a reasonable proposal – I would love a BYO policy but you can’t have it all when the food is so cheap and so very delicious. This place is a shining beacon of fast fresh food – not a processed patty, sesame seed bun or rubber cheese slices in sight. I wish these sorts of restaurants were everywhere because we would all be thin and fabulous, instead of fat and horrible!
Everything is available takeaway, and I would recommend taking some Cold rolls home if you need to be reminded of the genius.
But please do not whinge to me when it all comes out in a hurry. No you’re not sick! It is just that you’re not quite ready for all that salty, spicy liquid just yet. Keep going and you’ll get the Charlie’s Shack knack.
Pho is the most basic of food. It is an aromatic stock served with fresh stir fried beef and vegetables, throw in some noodles and you have Vietnam’s most favoured dish. There are no big secrets involved, just the quick fresh approach that makes this dish so popular. If you get a fresh batch the stock it is sometimes a little weak – show up later that day or a few days later when the batch has reduced and the flavour intensified to really awesome heights. Don’t just try it once. Try it three to four times a week to really appreciate it.
The menu’s are sticky, the chopsticks communal and the sauce bottles un-named, you rarely have to use them as you are served some fresh Thai basil, bean sprouts, lemon wedge and sliced chilli as a fresh garnish. I always go for a bit of chillied vinegar – it moves whatever you might have thought un-movable!
Charlies does not serve alcohol which is a reasonable proposal – I would love a BYO policy but you can’t have it all when the food is so cheap and so very delicious. This place is a shining beacon of fast fresh food – not a processed patty, sesame seed bun or rubber cheese slices in sight. I wish these sorts of restaurants were everywhere because we would all be thin and fabulous, instead of fat and horrible!
Everything is available takeaway, and I would recommend taking some Cold rolls home if you need to be reminded of the genius.
But please do not whinge to me when it all comes out in a hurry. No you’re not sick! It is just that you’re not quite ready for all that salty, spicy liquid just yet. Keep going and you’ll get the Charlie’s Shack knack.
Giles
Note:
I know I have done a spot review of Charlies before but it is good!
Charlie's is the real thing. If it closes I will surely die. When I see that sign on the door that Liz is on holidays I begin to have palpitations and suffer panic attacks! Call me desperate. But the food is so good. I am going there for lunch today. That makes it three visits this week!
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