Authentic Northern Vietnamese Dishes

Pho bo, featuring diced raw beef, meatballs and rice noodles

 

Today my colleague who is Vietnamese-Australian, took me to a small shop in Yau Ma Tei that serves northern Vietnamese food.

While he was not born in Vietnam, he has traveled there a few times. Here he is tired of the many Vietnamese restaurants that are more Hong Kong-style Vietnamese, and his girlfriend managed to find this place and he was pleasantly surprised. It is run by Vietnamese people.

Deep-fried spring rolls that are wrapped in lettuce

The place, called Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine has many devotees, and my colleague warned we had to get there early to get in line as the shop is quite small. If you don't get seated in the first round, it will be a while to wait for a table.

So we got there just before noon and were the first ones to line up -- a few minutes later there were a some people behind us. 

The woman behind us said she liked eating the broken rice dish, featuring pork with a slice of omelette and rice that are mixed together. It was her second time there.

On Google it says the shop opens at 12.30, but the sign on the door says 12pm to 3.30pm. Luckily we got there early and within a few minutes the server lifted the metal roll top gate and let us in, but not before giving us hand sanitizer and taking our temperatures. He also insisted we keep our masks on until our food arrived. Very strict, but understandable.

The menu is very short for lunch, 19 items. We ordered three items, and I had a passion fruit soda, and my colleague an iced Vietnamese coffee.

bun cha Hanoi, a sour soup with grilled pork

The deep-fried spring rolls (HK$65) arrived first, three of the rolls accompanied with strips of Romaine lettuce, basil and mint, and fish sauce. The spring rolls were piping hot and a delicious start, filled with pork, carrot and vermicelli. 

Next came bun cha Hanoi (HK$76), where there was a soup bowl with what looked like a soup, with strips of grilled pork, and thinly sliced carrot and turnip in a broth that was sour and savoury. Also with the dish was a bamboo basket of balls of rice vermicelli and herbs.

My colleague instructed me to put a ball of the cold vermicelli in my bowl and then spoon some of the broth along with some pork on top of it. This was delicious and meaty. I liked the sour taste and interesting together with the thin slices of grilled pork. I had never eaten anything like this before.

Finally our bowl of pho bo (HK$79) came, and it's a large bowl! In it is the wide rice noodles, along with beef meatballs that were halved, and bits of raw beef. We mixed the beef into the steaming hot broth that had lots of scallions and herbs in it. A side dish had a wedge of lime and fresh chillis.

The bun cha has cold rice vermicelli in bunches

A guest next to us had ordered the same thing and asked the waiter why there were no beansprouts. He explained this was northern Vietnamese style. There were no slices of onions either.

The bits of beef were very tender, not chewy or sinewy. Amazing. It was definitely a comforting bowl of noodles, but I don't think I could have eaten it all on my own!

As we ate, some tables turned twice. Another guest next to us ordered takeaway. The server asked why so many, and she sheepishly said it was for her children. "Oh are they still asleep?" he asked. She was surprised he was so smart. "They are all night owls," she said. Luckily to have a mom bring delicious food for them.

When we left the bill came to HK$302 and well sated. 

Hope to visit again, maybe for dinner? But good to know this legit place exists if I get there early enough...

Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine

G/F, 99 Portland Street, Mongkok (Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit A1)

6884 8898

A Pho to Remember?

Dinner last night -- rare beef pho at Chua Lam's Pho in Central

Yesterday my colleague and I finished an assignment in Central just before 6pm and she was wondering where to get a cheap bite to eat.

I suggested Tsui Wah, the cha chaan teng chain, but she said "no" right away. Then I remembered the famous food writer Chua Lam had opened a pho shop nearby and suggested we check it out.

Food critic and restaurateur Chua Lam at his restaurant

Called Chua Lam's Pho, with the tagline "A bowl of pho to remember", is on Wellington Street in a two-storey building with minimalist decor, complemented with beer bottles cut to have plants in them. There's a variety of seating and even more upstairs so we went up to get a table near the corner. The menu is pretty straight forward.

If you want to splurge, there's the "special beef pho" for HK$128, apparently with wagyu beef, but we stuck to the "rare beef pho" for HK$88.

Or you can have a basic beef pho for HK$68 and add toppings like raw beef, beef shank, brisket, tendon, beef ball, and tripe.

There are also other dishes like fried spring rolls, or rice paper salad rolls with fish and mango, or Thai pomelo salad -- what is that doing there! We ordered a dish of stir fried morning glory.

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, we sipped on the complimentary glasses of water and quickly realized they had a sweet peanut flavour! It's obviously a ploy to get customers to order drinks as well, which is what we did -- a young coconut for my colleague, a preserved plum and lime soda for me.

The ground floor interior of the shop

The food arrived quickly and in large bowls, and come with small cups filled with basil leaves, bean sprouts, lime wedge and fresh chillis. When the place first opened, everyone was raving about the soup base, and I have to say it has a round, flavourful beef taste, and wasn't oily.

Meanwhile the portion of morning glory was much larger than we expected and a bit on the spicy side, but still delicious.

My drink had a fake green syrup in it, probably a lime syrup which was completely redundant, while my colleague enjoyed her drink and the thick coconut meat inside.

In the end our bill came to HK$360 for two, a cheap and cheerful dinner.

Chua Lam's Pho
UG/F, 15-25 Wellington Street
Central
2325 9117

Germany's Basic Cuisine

This crispy pork knuckle in Munich was so good! The skin really was crunchy

When you think of German food, the first things that come to mind are sausages, pork knuckles, schnitzels and sauerkraut. Oktoberfest food!

A disappointing currywurst that was hardly fiery hot

You would be correct. Most of the restaurants serving German fare in touristy spots serve the above items. In big portions.

First we tried the currywurst and they are advertised on signs with flames to indicate how spicy they are, but it's a pathetic sham. Even eaters who can't stand a piece of chilli on their food can eat the currywurst because it's basically a boiled sausage with a kind of ketchup sauce with curry powder sprinkled on top of it.

Seriously it was really disappointing.

Then we tried roasted pork knuckle in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The one in Berlin was tender but the skin was very tough and hardly crispy. We thought perhaps the Germans could learn a thing or two from the Chinese when it comes to roasting pigs to ensure a crispy skin.

A pretty bland sandwich of pickled herring with onion rings

In Frankfurt, the situation improved a bit, with the meat from the pork knuckle meat very tender, though the skin was less tough, but again not very crispy.

However, by the time we made it to Munich, at a German restaurant near our hotel called Munchner Stubn, we were surprised and impressed that the menu item "crispy pork knuckle" really was crunchy! It was probably deep fried, but the skin delicious and the meat was not salty either.

The schnitzels I tried were good, hardly tough, even though they were breaded and fried. The meat was very tender and the flavour was helped along by some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Meanwhile I tried eat as much sauerkraut as I could as it's not often found in Hong Kong and I basically eat it once a year during Oktoberfest. We also liked the braised red cabbage, more on the sweeter side though equally delicious.

A hearty portion of schnitzel in Dresden

The potatoes are either boiled, made into a potato salad with a tangy mayonnaise, French fries, or potato dumplings, which are chewy in texture, but not very palatable!

My friend YTSL asked if I had tried pickled herring, but I didn't see it on any menus. However at a rest stop along the autobahn from Frankfurt to Munich, I did try a pickled herring sandwich for 4 euros, garnished with onion rings and pickles. It was on the bland side, but oh well. At least I tried some seafood!

Perhaps the bonus of coming to Germany in the late spring is white asparagus season! I sometimes get to try it at fine dining restaurants in Hong Kong (at inflated prices because they are shipped over), but in Germany they were very fresh and meaty, and not too expensive.

Some restaurants offered several white asparagus spears with a side order of say schnitzel or smoked salmon or beef. It was the perfect combination with schnitzel. However, in Dresden I tried the white asparagus soup and it tasted way too salty.

Fantastic white asparagus in season wit boiled potatoes

We had dessert only a few times. Once was at a cafe in the Palmengarten, or Botannical Garden in Frankfurt, where we each tried different desserts. My apple pie was pretty good, a hearty slice. However, we had a fantastic apple strudel in Munich (the same restaurant as the crispy pork knuckle!) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The strudel wasn't saccharine sweet, and was choc full of thinly sliced apples marinated in sugar and cinnamon and wrapped in several layers of pastry. Oh so good!

In terms of drinks we did try apple wine that was quite sour so it had to be paired with something sweet to eat, though the draft beers were refreshing, even the dark beer brewed with malt made from at least 50 percent wheat. It's easy drinking and doesn't have much of a bitter aftertaste.

Absolutely divine apple strudel with vanilla ice cream

We didn't just eat German food -- we did eat quite a bit of pasta thanks to a casual Italian cafeteria-style restaurant called Vapiano that seems to be a chain all over the country. It's relatively fast and good value for money.

In Dresden we saw a Vietnamese restaurant and decided to give it a try. The pho ga or chicken pho was basically rice noodles in a delicious broth, but with thin slices of chicken that probably came from a deli. There was way too much chicken meat in the bowl. That was the only Asian food we had the entire trip. And what was I craving as soon as I came back to Hong Kong? Soup noodles with vegetables!

Epic Meal at Phnom Penh Restaurant

A unique (and delicious) place serving Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisines

Yesterday I met up with an acquaintance in Chinatown and he suggested we eat at Phnom Penh, a Cambodian-Vietnamese restaurant.

He was shocked to find that I had never been there and insisted we eat lunch there.

I arrived at the appointed time to find a crowd of people standing in the foyer waiting for a table, while others preferred to soak up the sunshine before their name was called to come in.

Watching people come in and out, there were not only Cantonese-speakers, but also Mandarin, as well as non-Chinese who seemed to be very familiar with the place. Guess it was a good sign.

Deep-fried chicken wings have alight batter and tart sauce

By 1pm the restaurant was still bustling, and after about a 10-minute wait we finally got a table. And since my acquaintance is such a regular here, he practically knew all the dishes we should order, adding that four of the items on the menu are ones one should eat before they die. Die? Really?

He asked me if I had such a list... I had to answer in the negative.

I'd never thought of it that way before, but that just made me more skeptical of how good Phom Penh really was.

Nevertheless, the food soon arrived fast and furious on the laminate table. A half portion of deep-fried chicken wings were garnished with spring onions, garlic, and coriander, with a peppery lemon sauce on the side. Fantastic, and perfect beer food. The batter wasn't heavy and was quite crunchy.

Cubes of beef covered in a dark sauce, topped with fried egg

Next came fillet beef luc lac on rice with egg (CAD$10.95). Honestly it doesn't look pretty -- the cubed beef was smothered in a very dark brown shiny sauce with a fried egg on top. The egg was a bit more cooked than runny, which would have made it takes a bit better.

My friend mixed these all up as well as he could, minus the salad on the side. This wasn't a dish I would consider a must-have before dying -- the flavour was actually flat -- even the egg couldn't save it.

However, we really liked the beef fillet anchois (CAD$19), which was basically beef carpaccio topped with a soy sauce mixed with lots of coriander, garlic and lemongrass. The sauce complemented the beef, and interestingly for a restaurant in Chinatown we did not get sick after eating a raw meat dish!

Finally the flavour of the Phnom Penh hot and sour soup with prawns (CAD$12.95) was fantastic. I like sour tastes, and this one pretty much hit the jackpot. It was a curious combination again lemongrass, and probably lime for tartness, added with tomatoes, pineapples, beansprouts, potatoes and overcooked prawns.

 SE Asian beef carpaccio with lots of coriander and garlic!

The food we ordered was enough for three people, but we somehow managed to almost finish it all. Needless to say I was so full afterwards that I could have almost skipped dinner.

When we came out of the restaurant, there was yellow police tape cordoning off the sidewalk a few doors down with police cars on the street and people in uniform checking out the area. One wiped blood off the sidewalk which meant that it was probably a stabbing.

And we didn't even know! We were too busy eating to hear any commotion if there was any...

Phnom Penh restaurant is pretty good, but as long as you're willing to wait...

Phnom Penh

244 East Georgia

Vancouver

604 682 5777

Flavourful Vietnamese Lunch

Refreshing light flavours in the green mango salad starter

Moi Moi by Luke Nguyen is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant opened by the Vietnamese-Australian celebrity chef.

On the menu is a wagyu beef pho where the broth has been simmering with beef bones for 18 hours along with spices and herbs.

However it's only available at lunchtime, and so today I had planned to take the day off but in the end had to work in the afternoon because we are so short-staffed in the office at the moment.

Nevertheless, I made sure I was free for lunch and went there with my friend at noon. It wasn't full when I arrived just before noon, but it soon filled up and by 12.30pm there was a line up at the door.

Slices of wagyu beef are hidden under the beansprouts

Customers can't just order the pho though, they need to order the set lunch, which includes a starter for HK$168 and an extra HK$28 for dessert.

We each ordered different things on the menu to try. We had the paper rice rolls with prawns, kurobuta pork, rice vermicelli and perilla that was pretty straight forward.

However, things were interesting with the green mango salad, that had julienne carrots, green mango and red onion, mint and shallot chips with small chunks of Australian spanner crab and rambutan too.

It was so refreshing and the flavours were piquant, particularly the tart green mango and mint, while the crab meat was generous and rambutan added a bit of sweetness.

For our mains, the wagyu beef pho arrived in a giant bowl with the simmering full-flavoured broth. A heap of beansprouts was on top of the thin slice of semi-cooked beef along with other cooked chunks that had a bit of fat on them, along with some basil leaves.

A crunchy and warm banh mi that is choc full of ingredients

This was the ultimate comfort food -- hearty, warm, but not too heavy, full of flavour and lots of broth you don't mind drinking because you know it doesn't have MSG in it.

We also shared a banh mi, featuring a warm crunchy baguette filled with chargrilled pork patties, pork floss, and Vietnamese pickles. There's some shredded carrot in here too along with coriander and spring onions.

The baguette holds up to the filling very well, keeping pretty much crunchy, while one needs a pretty big mouth to squeeze the sandwich in, or it somehow needs to be squished to get a mouthful.

It's a very hearty sandwich, and very filling too. We were quite full by the time we finished our half of the banh mi and couldn't manage sampling dessert.

While the price is pretty expensive for lunch in Central, the lunch set minus dessert is definitely filling. Even if I worked in Central I could not afford to eat this everyday, but the flavours linger in your mind and so you can't go without it for too long...

Moi Moi by Luke Nguyen

G/F, Nexxus Building

41 Connaught Road Central

Central

2808 1086

moimoi.hk

Mysterious Murder of Kim Jong-nam

Kim Jong-nam traveled between Macau, China and Paris

The news of the murder of Kim Jong-un's half-brother on Monday is shocking news, and now three suspects have been arrested.

One woman carrying a Vietnamese passport was arrested yesterday. She was seen on CCTV footage at Kuala Lumpur International Airport wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with "LOL" on it, and a long skirt.

CCTV footage of one of the women who was arrested

Is she trying to be ironic?

The other two are an Indonesian woman and Malaysian man.

Kim Jong-nam, 45, was attacked at in the shopping area of the airport before he passed through immigration. There are still questions over what exactly happened -- one story is that two women put a sheet over his head that had poisonous chemicals on it, another is that poisonous darts were shot at him.

But many believe North Korea was behind the assassination, demonstrating Kim Jong-un's undisputed power in eliminating any other critics and rivals in his way.

According to Kim Jong-nam's friends in Macau who knew him as "John", he didn't speak much about the regime in North Korea, but knew he was living on borrowed time, as there had been assassination attempts on him before.

It is believed Kim's son in his early 20s, daughter and wife all live in Macau.

Kim Jong-nam (right) with his father Kim Jong-il

As the oldest son, Kim was believed to be the potential heir to Kim Jong-il, but after he entered Japan illegally to visit Disneyland in 2001 on a false Dominican Republic passport, his prospects ended.

Kim never contested his younger half brother for the leadership, and instead moved to Macau. According to his friend, Kim traveled between Macau, China and Paris, where he liked French wines and food.

Before moving to Macau, Kim had reportedly held senior posts in the Pyongyang government, working in information technology and domestic intelligence.

"He didn't talk much about his brother or the regime, although sometimes he would crack jokes about it," Kim's friend says. "He was mostly reserved in that regard. He never hid that he had some political aspirations. He did not want to succeed his father and he did not agree with his brother's regime, but I think he hoped one day he could play some political role in his country."

The following days and months will reveal more about the autopsy results of the body and perhaps more on why and how Kim was murdered. And to do the dirty deed in another country raises many diplomatic issues...

Vietnamese Comfort Food

A very delicious and colourful salad with char-grilled beef

A popular Vietnamese joint in Central is by the escalator on Wellington Street. It used to be called Nha Trang, but about six months ago changed its name to Bep and the interior looks more casual.

What has remained the same are the long queues, because the food is basically the same delicious dishes and bowls of noodles people have loved to eat over the years.

My relatives and I hit this spot on Saturday night, and by the time we arrived around 8.30pm we were lucky there wasn't too long of a wait.

This is one of their favourite places (and they were hungry) so they were eager to try several dishes, whereas I was fine with a bowl of pho and rice paper rolls.

Pho = comfort food!

One of the new dishes we tried was goi bo, char-grilled beef salad, with chopped cucumber, red onion, tomato and herbs, lemongrass, crushed peanuts and lime dressing. The beef was very tender and sweet-tasting, and the salad was refreshing and crunchy with a zesty taste.

We also ordered cha gio, Vietnamese fried spring rolls with pork, shrimp, wood-ear and jicama, or Mexican turnip. I didn't appreciate them as much as the tom cuon, the prawn rolls, with herbs and roasted peanut. I like the freshness of the natural flavours, rather than being deep-fried.

Nevertheless, my pho tai, with thin slices of tenderloin that arrived bright red and had to be further poached in the lovely beef and chicken broth that's perfect comfort food. The broth really is the best part, as the restaurant says pork and chicken bones are added to the stock to give it even more flavours, as well as star anise, cinnamon and dried fruit peel.

I was about to order a lime soda, but when my relative ordered a fresh young coconut I couldn't resist either! Again, it hit the spot and was a perfect complement to the meal.

They also ordered a banh me thit, a baguette sandwich with crisp pork belly, liver pate, assorted cold cuts, house-made pickles and cucumber, but I was too full to even have one bite! Again they said it was very good.

In the end our bill came to around HK$609 for three of us. Cheap and cheerful on a Saturday night!

Bep

G/F, 88-90 Wellington Street

Central
2581 9992

bep.hk