Mooloolaba restaurant Phothentic to open offering traditional Vietnamese food

A brand new restaurant is about to open along the front of one of the Sunshine Coast’s favourite beaches. Read about the owner’s incredible journey to restaurateur here.

The golden sands of Mooloolaba Beach are a world away from the refugee camp Jenny Luu honed her craft in.

The Vietnamese refugee fled her home nation by boat in the early-1980s, dodging sea pirates before landing in a refugee camp in Australia.

For two years she served pork buns from a food stand alongside her mother while her childhood dream of opening a restaurant continued to grow.

On Wednesday, August 10 Ms Luu will open Vietnamese restaurant and takeaway Phothentic on Mooloolaba Esplanade.

The new venue will specialise in two traditional dishes, beef noodle soup and crispy pork banh mi buns in honour of her mum’s recipes after her death in 2002.

Ms Luu said she hoped this new venture would revitalise her partner and co owner Muoi Le’s wellbeing as he was diagnosed with severe depression in April, 2020.

Ms Luu said they first opened Phothentic as a food truck in 2019, but it quickly wrapped up following Covid-19 and Mr Le falling ill.

She said he struggled to get out of bed in the past two years.

“[I want to] get him back to normal,” she said.

Mr Le said he deeply appreciated his partner’s support and was excited to give back by supporting her ambition of opening a store.

“I’m realising my wife’s dream,” he said.

Mr Le, who also fled Vietnam by boat in the 1980s, said he wanted to bring a slice of his home country’s authentic food to the region.