Gao restaurant at Regency Rd, Croydon Park | SA Weekend restaurant review

The interior is understated, to say the least. But this hidden restaurant is the definition of never judging a book by its cover.

You get a little messy, but you’re sure to enjoy dining at Gao restaurant at Croydon Park.

The amiable couple sitting at a table across the room are trying to get our attention.

First, they let us know via an enthusiastic thumbs up that they approve of our order.

Then, having seen our struggles to eat the rice cakes known as banh beo, they offer some guidance.

They simulate the technique with a pretend spoon and bowl, then watch with equal measures of sympathy and amusement as we still make an awful mess (thank goodness for the tissue box).

The Vietnamese street food at Gao restaurant in Croydon Park is a mighty dining adventure that I can’t recommend highly enough.

But, unless you are particularly gifted in wrapping and rolling, be prepared to wear an old shirt and to swallow your pride along with all those herbs, leaves and sauces.

The interior at Gao restaurant at Croydon Park is understated.

Gao was opened just on a year ago by Tien and Chang Nguyen, who both grew up in family-owned restaurants in southern Vietnam.

They met in Adelaide during a hospitality training course and, after running a takeaway shop together, found a space with potential across from the Regency TAFE campus.

Approached from this side, where a few numbskulls have left graffiti on the wall, Gao doesn’t look that promising.

Around the corner, however, a far more useful inscription explains that gao is the Vietnamese word for rice.

A few bags of the stuff are among the pantry items stacked near the entrance to a room that is larger than it initially appears, with timber tables, a mixed bag of chairs and simple illuminated etchings the only real decoration.

The food, including the banh khot (coconut pancake with prawn) comes highly recommended.

The banh xeo gion rum (pancake filled with bean sprouts and prawns) at Gao restaurant.

The floor is being managed and drinks prepared by one waiter and, by the end of the night, he is running to the pass each time the bell rings to keep up.

Earlier, he has more time as he hands out menus in which each dish has both a detailed description and a vivid colour picture.

Unless you know your banh khot from your banh trang cuon, it’s all most helpful.

The first of those, as it happens, should definitely be on your radar.

Little crisp-edged pancakes are golden with turmeric but it’s the coconut milk in the mixture that is clearest in the flavour.

The banh khot (coconut pancake with prawn) is a must try.

A whole peeled prawn is nestled on top of each one, along with a drizzle of spring onion oil. Decide between gutsing down in one mouthful or wrapping in a lettuce leaf with mint, cucumber, pickled carrot and a splash of nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Banh xeo gion rum uses a similar rice flour and coconut batter but is much, much bigger and folded over a stir-fried combination of bean sprouts, chunks of pork and prawns.

Like all the options in this section, it comes with the lettuce and other trimmings.

The little thumb-sized packages that look like dolmades are banh hoi bo la lot, in which ground beef and spices are rolled in a betel leaf before grilling.

This is one of the better examples I have eaten, particularly with an anchovy and pineapple dipping sauce that is as unapologetically fishy/salty/sweet/sour as its murky appearance might suggest.

That leaves the previously mentioned banh beo that are presented with two different toppings. “Dried shrimp” is a potent prawn floss, while “wet shrimp” is the minced crustacean meat fried up with (I think) a little pork.

The idea is to scoop out the sticky rice cake, douse it in sauce and munch. Good luck.

Other parts of the Gao menu are more commonplace. There are bao buns (try the soft-shell crab), noodle soups, stir-fries and a variety of salt-and-pepper-crumbed goodies.

Broken rice, in which the grains have been smashed up, is a specialty, and comes served with a pork chop and your choice of roast pork, steamed meat loaf and fried egg.

Desserts are even worth a look. “Thai sweet delight” is a tall glass filled with layers of crazy coloured tropical fruit beneath a durian ice-cream, while the crème-caramel-style egg custard flan sits in coconut milk and palm sugar.

Gao is one of this year’s great discoveries. Take family, take friends. Just be prepared for some splatter.

Originally published as Gao restaurant at Regency Rd, Croydon Park | SA Weekend restaurant review