Pho Hing Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup @ District 1, Ho Chi Minh

Our second pho stop in Ho Chi Minh. Were there for lunch.

chopstick

Vietnamese chili sauce

Wanted to eat beef brisket noodles but they ran out of it or not available during the time of our visit. So had to settle for beef balls noodles instead. Once the order is placed, they'll bring a large plate of greens out.

greens and more greens; sweet basil/thai basil, mint, spring onions

beef balls noodles

closer view

The soup was light and tasty. I preferred the noodles here, because it is like 粗米粉 (thick rice vermicelli). The beef balls were quite hard though. For the herbs, just pick the leaves and throw it into the soup to eat together with the noodles. My friend hilariously dumped the whole stalk into her bowl. -_-'''

noodles with grilled pork and shrimps (dry)

spring roll

We shared a bowl of cold dried noodles with grilled pork and spring rolls. The dried noodles came with sauce (that looked like watery chili sauce) in a separate small bowl. The dipping sauce for the spring roll was dark like hoisin sauce.

Liked the cold noodles, tasted refreshing! For drinks, we ordered juices and ice coffee.

pennywort with coconut

apple juice

ice coffee with milk

The Pennywort with coconut tasted mild and refreshing, and the apple juice was quite sweet.

Restaurant @ near Lush, Ho Chi Minh

Located within walking distance near Lush, the nightspot that we wanted to go but was closed for renovations. It's next to a place called 'Vixen', and the dining area is at Level 2. Level 1 is a carpark basement. Looked like a seafood restaurant.

beer never tasted better after a hot day full of walking...

our table overlooking the street

We ordered rice and some dishes. Unfortunately, they ran out of pork. So we ordered grilled honey shrimps, a plate of sweet cabbage (which is our xiao bai cai), springrolls and beef cubes with potatoes.

vegetable and beef cubes with potatoes (french fries)

yummy beef cubes

The food was good and tasty. I remembered that the price was decent, though can't remember exactly how much we paid for. Reasonably priced and beer was cheap. But the chicken meat were priced higher. Not sure why too.

grilled shrimps

hahaa, the shrimps were quite ok in size

salt and lime for shrimp

The white rice came in a large plate, so you're free to share amongst the group on your own accordingly. No refill though.

springroll

meaty and yummy

Adored the samosas looking 'springroll'. Categorized under seafood, so I guessed the filling is a mix of pork and shrimps. This is one dish that I'll recommend. One plate contained 6 good sized pieces.

The food and beer here is good. The service, well, we had two waiter who stood behind us most of the time glaring at us. Hahaa, not sure why too. We thought it was because we were holding up their closing time but we still had half an hour more to go. One of them actually look like Andrew Seow of Growing Up fame. Seriously, the waiter might be his Vietnamese twin! The hairstyle, the gaze.. wow, so 70s!

Pho24 @ Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Market (Ho Chi Minh)

Lunch place on our first day in Ho Chi Minh city. Had lunch here prior to exploring the nearby Ben Thanh market.

shop front

They have menu in English, so ordering is not an issue.

menu

Ordered a bowl of steaming hot phở bò (beef noodles soup) and can opt for tái/ chín/ nạm (fillet/ flank/ brisket). We also had a plate of fried spring rolls to share.

garnishes for pho: beansprouts, chilies, Thai basil and lime

pho bo (beef noodles)

closer view

The soup was nice and soothing. The serving size seemed small though, and the meat was just a few slices. Not sure if my tastebud had went haywire, but I thought the noodles tasted slightly funky. My friends seemed to enjoy theirs though.

The fried spring roll was also surprisingly small. And I thought it would be filled with beansprouts but instead, it was just meat fillings.

fried spring roll (chả giò)

meat fillings (pork?)

For drinks, my friends opted for fresh fruit juice, while I chose the hot coffee with condensed milk (cà phê sữa nóng).

coffee with condensed milk (hot)

end result

My first impression of Vietnamese coffee? The coffee was just lukewarm, and it tasted a strange mixture of sweet and salty. Hmmm...

The meal costs about VND300,000+, so it was about SGD20 and fed 4 pax.

Baguette The Viet Inspired Deli @ Square 2

Located at Square 2, Level 2, we kinda stumbled upon this place. Was thinking of having something light for dinner, so decided to give it a try.

One can top-up $3.80 to get a drink and a side dish to go along with the bread. However, to get the Vietnamese drip coffee, one will need to add another dollar. The side dish, can choose either cakes, sushi bread or summer roll. We wanted to get 4 inch bread but apparently, they ran out of it. So we chose a 6 inch grilled pork baguette, top up to make it a set, and add another drink. This feeds 2 not so hungry ladies. We chose summer roll as the side dish, and for drinks, we had soda chanh with plum and a lemongrass soda.

soda chanh with plum

summer rolls

The soda chanh with plum was very likeable. Slightly sweet, sour and salty and a little fizzy. A real nice cooler. The lemongrass drink reminds me of spa.. mild and tranquil.

The summer rolls has lots of of greens in it. It has lettuce and mint leaves. Must eat it with the sauce. Sweet, tangy and garlicky!

refreshing rolls

sauce for summer rolls, loaded with garlic

baguette

6 inch grilled pork baguette (@$6.20), unwrapped

The bread was tasty, but the meat seemed too little. Liked the pickled carrots, and chili. All the ingredients complemented each other well. Not sure how it's done in Vietnam, but perhaps can have more butter on the bread? Or some sauce? It was kinda dry.

They have loyalty card and you get a stamp for every $6 purchase. 

loyalty card

This shared meal costs us $11.90 in total.

Pho House @ Suntec City

Located at Level 3 near Toy's R Us Suntec. It's where a small colony of restaurants exist close to one another.

shop front

It was an impromptu decision to have Vietnamese food that night. We were there at about 8pm on a Saturday. Their menu board displayed the set meal combinations available. If not wrong, there were a total of 17 sets to choose from. The formula was pretty simple. Have a set meal at $13++, and you can choose 1 appetiser (either spring roll or rice roll), 1 main course (either noodles or rice) and 1 drink (either ice-lemon tea or Vietnamese drip coffee).

Once decided to eat there, we were led to our table very quickly and I think it's because there weren't many customers, they gave 2 tables for us 2 pax. Haha, spacious. My friend ordered a satay chicken rice set while I chose pho bo. Both of us ordered prawn rice roll as appetiser. For drinks I had ice-lemon tea, while my friend chose a Vietnamese drip coffee.

hoi-sin sauce at the bottom left, and vietnamese fish sauce with chili at the top

prawn rice roll (goi cuon)

The fresh spring roll was nice. Light and refreshing. I liked it dipped in the chili fish sauce. Mildly sweet and not salty at all. Basil leaves in the spring roll gave it that extra oomph. Fragrant.

satay chicken rice

salad with chicken strips

satay chicken

Tasted a little of the satay chicken, and it was quite salty. Probably need to eat it together with the rice.

pho bo

beef balls, beef 'steak' and beef brisket

dipping sauce, basil and taugeh

noodles

The Pho Bo, I like! Tasty broth that was light yet flavorful and served hot. Yums! The beef brisket was tender and breaks easily when chewed. The beef balls were heavenly. Soft and tasted like it was handmade. However, the beef 'steak' was tougher and if you like chewy meat, then this one is for you. For me, I'll just go with the beef balls and beef brisket. Actually the waitress will ask which combination of ingredients you want to be in the pho bo. Either just beef balls, or beef balls and steak or everything. Maybe can ask for just beef balls and brisket? ;)

Vietnamese drip coffee

with condensed milk

My friend commented that the Vietnamese coffee served here is not strong enough. I didn't try it, so guess my dear readers have to gauge it for yourself. Mine was ice-lemon tea and it was pretty thin. But I'm not complaining as it was cooling on a warm night. When my glass had just a bit of the ice tea left, the uncle (who is a service staff there) came around and asked if I wanted a refill. Hmmm, I didn't know whether it was chargeable or not, so I declined. I was chit-chatting with my friend after dinner, and we sat there for about another 10 minutes or so. This time I had drunk all of the ice tea. The uncle came around again with the ice tea plastic jug, and offered to refill some. So I said ok. Conclusion is, the refill was free. Hahaa!

A meal here for two pax should costs under $30. Good comfort food, and friendly staff. Not the best in terms of quality, but good enough to warm the stomach and heart.

Orange Lantern @ Harbourfront

Located at Level 1 of Harbourfront, it's at the other end away from customer service. The whole restaurant is orange in color, with a very big paper umbrella at its entrance. This is a halal restaurant serving Vietnamese cuisine.


wall decor


cutlery


special menu


On the day of our visit, they have only 2 service staff. The restaurant itself is not very big, so not much of a problem. They have set meals for individual priced at $21+ or for 2 pax priced at $39+. The set meal for 2 consist of 1 appetiser (choose either mango/pomelo/beef salad or assorted rolls), 2 main course (except combo meals) and 2 drinks. Main course are priced around $10+ and above. Combo meals are like bento sets.

We decided to go ala-carte and ordered imperial rolls, pho bo, stewed beef noodles, orange juice and plum juice.


imperial rolls


dipping sauce for the appetiser


Imperial Rolls has a very dim sum like crunchy outer layer that crumbles with every bite. It has similar fillings as spring rolls, and makes an enjoyable snack when dipped into the sauce.


closer view


fillings


The plum juice drink is quite nice. But I am biased towards plums in general :P. The saltiness and sourness of the plum used was just right.


plum juice


The stewed beef noodles looked decidedly western! Tasted somewhat like beef goulash, but with noodles. The noodles used here looked like the yellow noodles.


stewed beef noodles


yellow noodles


chunks of stewed beef


salt for dipping?


That was my first time eating coarse flavored salt with beef. Strangely, it did enhanced the taste of the meat! But not too much though, as the salt was very salty! The soup was thick in tomato taste but my friend seemed to enjoy it.

I had the pho bo, which is the beef flat noodles soup. It has beef slices, beef brisket slices as well as beef balls. The soup was clear and light, but tasty nonetheless. It is served with a plate of garnishes (thai basil and beansprouts). Eat it all together, and thai basil worked wonders to the meal!


pho bo


tender beef slices


flat noodles with beef slice, and thai basil


chili sauce and hoisin sauce for dipping


This meal for 2 costs us about SGD$42, inclusive of GST and svc charge.