Mum's Table, Surry Hills

Mum’s Table claims to make “home-cooked style authentic Vietnamese cuisine the way Mum intended it.” What is it about food cooked by moms (or other maternal figures) that is so good? Is it because it is the food equivalent of getting a big, warm hug? Probably. It’s easy to tell that maternal figures are important in Vietnamese culture, as in all cultures, from the amount of restaurants named after them. Mum’s Table is in a terrace front building in Surry Hills; stepping in makes you feel like you’re coming home.

On the table, an empty Knorr chicken powder tin holds the utensils and the obligatory sriracha sauce sits next to it. Upturned conical hats (nón lá) decorate the ceiling. As with almost every new Surry Hills restaurant, a communal table sits in the middle waiting for a large party or a bunch of friendly strangers. Order at the counter then pick a table and wait for your food.

Traditional Vietnamese iced coffee ($4.50); marinated roast chicken rice paper rolls ($9); rice vermicelli noodle salad with bbq pork ($12) with added spring roll ($2)

On any given day in Saigon, the kerbs barely contain a sprawling mass of plastic tables, stools, and people having lunch. Their food is usually cooked by somebody’s mom, auntie, maybe even grandma. The menu at Mum’s Table is composed of items like rice paper rolls, vermicelli noodle salad, and phở; basic items that most Vietnamese will have had cooked for them by their maternal figure at one point in time. There’s also a curveball: pork stuffed chicken wings. Thirsty? Try a tall glass of iced coffee or homemade lemonade.

Mum’s Table is there for you if you’re really craving a spot of Vietnamese food in the city, but while it is home-style food, the prices prevent you from forgetting that you’re in Surry Hills. You might be left feeling that something was a little lacking, that this was more a pat on the back than a hug. In this case, it’s a little more the way the lady next door intended, not the way mom did.

Mum's Table
457-459 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills NSW 2000
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