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Le Feu in Mornington serves gluten free Vietnamese

A new Vietnamese eatery has the Mornington Peninsula abuzz - and not just with coeliacs who can now banh mi with abandon.

Soft shell crab bao. Picture: Rebecca Michael
Soft shell crab bao. Picture: Rebecca Michael

No one’s going hungry in Mornington. As far as out of town main drags go it’s a veritable global eat street.

From Afghan (Marco Polo) to Greek (Lorida) through dumplings for days (Lunar Dumplings, Fortune Kitchen), there’s Spanish (Casa de Playa), Chinese (Dragon Town), Japanese (Kazu Izakaya) and southern fried chicken (Wowee Zowee). There’s Indian (Chutney Bar, Amazing Aromass) and Italian of course — Assagini and Sugo, DOC and the soon-to-arrive 400 Gradi — and you could take your coffee at a different cafe every day for a month.

But this Contiki Tour of international eats has historically, strangely, skipped Vietnam.

Until now.

And Morningtonians couldn’t be happier that banh mi and beef bolalot, crisp caramelised pork and beef pho have finally come to town.

Kevin Nguyen is the man they can thank.

The caramelised pork bowl. Picture: Rebecca Michael
The caramelised pork bowl. Picture: Rebecca Michael

He first brought Le Feu to the southeastern suburbs to the delight of those lucky locals, though he was forced to close its Aspendale doors in June last year.

But having fallen for the industry as a young boy — his father was a chef-owner and his grandmother owned a floating seafood restaurant in Nha Trang in Vietnam — and with a background cooking in five-star kitchens around the world and closer to home at Shannon Bennett’s Jardin Tan in the Botanic Gardens, Nguyen wasn’t going to let lockdown stop him from doing what he loved best.

So Le Feu Mornington was born, opening its doors at the end of last year, and this walk-in only restaurant has been packed since day dot.

Along with Le Feu, Nguyen also opened Burgette in a strip of shops near the Mornington racecourse serving up rice paper rolls, noodle salads and banh mi filled with pork, chicken and even lobster for weekday lunches, and will open a Le Feu in Moorabbin next week. Busy man. That Nguyen’s entire menu at Le Feu and at Burgette is gluten free is a real point of difference, but it’s not only coeliacs who can eat with abandon, for dishes are dairy and peanut-free, too.

The soft shell crab gluten-free bao. Picture: Rebecca Michael
The soft shell crab gluten-free bao. Picture: Rebecca Michael

It’s low FODMAP fun for the whole family, and what the GF bao lost in the cumulus cloud puffy stakes it more than made up for with its crisp crab filling. The bao’s not bad, just slightly denser and chewier than the best, but the whole soft shell crab with its legs splayed either side, squirted with Sriracha mayo and tickled with pickles, is as generous as it is artfully executed and is a very happy way to spend $8.50.

The chicken spring rolls, by comparison, are fine though more forgettable ($14), but the bolalot — minced beef wrapped in betel leaves — is excellent, thanks in the main to being made from top quality Sher wagyu. A bright sauce made from almonds (traditionally served with a peanut dipping sauce) performs its dunking duties with aplomb ($15). A range of curry rice, noodle and salad bowls are offered to follow, and those tried all impressed even if they were variations on a similar theme.

Served on a mound of white rice, with fresh cucumber and an apple/cabbage slaw-like salad, the tail-on fillets of fish (named as whiting on the menu) are lightly battered and fried to crisp outer and steamed sweet inner. A tamarind sauce adds spicy bite amped by fresh red chillies ($24.90), while it’s a deliciously sweet soy that’s drizzled across a similarly constructed bowl topped with terrific crunchy-fatty-meaty slices of pork ($24.90).

The crying tiger calamari salad. Picture: Rebecca Michael
The crying tiger calamari salad. Picture: Rebecca Michael
The Sher wagyu bolalot. Picture: Rebecca Michael
The Sher wagyu bolalot. Picture: Rebecca Michael

A crying tiger salad — a Thai dish usually served with beef — here instead comes with the choice of roasted pork belly, vegan stuffed tofu or fantastically tender crisp calamari rings. It’s perfect beachy fare that’s elevated by a cumquat dressing that dances a sweet-heat tango ($22.50).

While it’s order-at-the-counter for both meal and drinks, smiley happy young staff are plentiful this Saturday night and keep the tables turning without it feeling rushed. The small wine list ($10 glass/$40 bottle) doesn’t list vintage or region but does come with two-word flavour descriptors (pear and nectarines for the Villa Parini pinot grigio; cherries and vanilla for the Bistro pinot noir), which are arguably more useful for many, while Australia’s first gluten-free brewery, Two Bays in Dromana, comes in lager and pale ale form fresh from the tap ($10).

With its beach shack chic vibe, frozen dumplings and dim sims and Mega Chef GF sauces for home, Le Feu has Mornington abuzz for good reason with the gluten-free and feasters, alike.

LE FEU

Where: 10 Blake St, Mornington

Open: Wed-Thu from 5pm;

Fri-Sat, noon-3pm; from 5pm; Sun noon-8pm

Go-to dish: Crisp caramelised pork bowl

lefeu.com.au     

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/food/le-feu-in-mornington-serves-gluten-free-vietnamese/news-story/e6d5ec86a1eb946e638734d68c8ba365