Pho 26

About

I had walked part this place many times and hadn’t really expected much from it. But it turned out to have some of the best Pho I’ve had in Hong Kong, full of the strong fresh flavours which make the dish so special.

I believe that Pho should come overloaded with herbs and the version here didn’t disappoint. The noodles came with a huge pile of herbs and spring onion laid above the noodles. These slowly sank down into the broth giving it a really intense, earthy basil flavour that is so different from the water soup you get in a lot of places. There were also big clumps of lemongrass that added an extra, especially pleasing freshness and gave the broth more distinctiveness.

Some people might complain about the fact that this many herbs makes it harder to eat the noodles, but I’d much rather have this than loose all the flavour the herbs give. The pho perhaps could have done with a few more noodles in, but there was definitely enough to make is a satisfying porting. It also had a fairly generous amount of beef which, although not as tender as it could have been, wasn’t at all chewy like in some restaurants.

You can also get the special Kobe beef pho for $52 and a tomato sauce pho. Alongside these things, the restaurant has a pretty good selection of other Vietnamese dishes, like spring rolls and milk buns.

You can read another review here.

Directions

302 Queens Road Central, Sheung Wan

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110278381660667080594.00045eee009a4d17a789b&ll=22.285701,114.150508&spn=0.001737,0.00228&z=18&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Cost

Pho about HK$30

Little Hanoi

About

If you're looking for authentic Vietnamese food in London, then this small restaurant, tucked into the streets near Liverpool Street station, might just do the trick. Other recommended Vietnamese restaurants can be found here.  

Their Cha Ca (a fish dish cooked in a metal basin) is excellent, the fish being cooked well and satisfyingly scattered with a liberal amount of dill that gives a very distinctive flavour. Fresh spring rolls really did taste freshly made, instead of the dried our versions you get in some restaurants, and came with a thick, slightly sweet dipping sauce. The pho was also good, although I've had better elsewhere.  

Directions

147 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, London. Nearest Tube - Old Street or Liverpool Street.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110278381660667080594.000463a16a15fa92ffa64&s=AARTsJooNZ8_fEWcjy-sSvFz0EW2vGJrSg&ll=51.525834,-0.080295&spn=0.004673,0.00912&z=16&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Price

About £20 a person