It's always good to feel as if you're in the know. That hidden little gem that the locals love. A place where the food is fresh and tasty, great value, great vibe and super central too.
The place in question is also where you can get an authentic pho and Vietnamese curry for a fiver or less in Brighton.
It's called Milk No Sugar and happens to be another of My Welsh One's finds. So far his hit rate has been 100% and I'm beginning to think that he's getting himself a bit of a rep.
From the outside it could easily be confused with an ordinary coffee shop, but don't be fooled, you're in the right place. And word has got out, although there were only a few diners when we arrived around tea time on a recent Friday night, apparently at lunch time they can have queues out the door.
Expect a fairly limited number of options and the only menu to be had above the counter on a series of hanging chalk boards. We ordered at the bar, two mains, two cans of pop and the whole came to an extremely good value £12.
My Welsh One went for the Vietnamese curry. The same he had eaten the last time he had visited the cafe. It's available with beef, pork, chicken and prawn. It was just too good not to have again, he said.
I stalled for time, should I go for the noodle soup, with three types of noodle to choose from, or maybe the Vietnamese salad, or the rice pot?
It could have gone any way, but I decided that the rice pot with chicken was the dish that was calling to me loudest that evening.
The dish tasted sweet with coriander freshness and a delicate chilli bite. It was absolutely delicious.
Meanwhile, in the background a summer Ibiza beat was drifting across the airwaves. I was loving it so much I didn't want to leave, so I sat on while my Welsh One took his coffee outside.
The owners Kim and Hugo opened Milk No Sugar four years ago and two years later started to serve Vietnamese food learnt from a Vietnamese relative.
To find it climb Trafalgar Street towards the station and you'll find it on the right hand side at the top end of the street.
I hope you get a chance to try this place out. Expect some happy house music when you go in, the lady who served us said it's played all the time. The set we listened to was by Nada called Deep in the Sky 5. You can find it on Soundcloud and I have been literally listening to it on repeat ever since.
Milk No Sugar, 68 Trafalgar Street, BN1 4EB Brighton, United Kingdom
