Green Lemongrass Vietnamese Cuisine

The best pho soup base for me lately has got to be this place. It’s located between No. 3 Road and Cooney, along Westminster Highway.

Between the 3 of us only one ordered pho, but they still gave us a big plate of boiled bean sprouts, basil and lime. Even though it’s not the way to eat it, Boyfriend and I like to dip the sprouts in fish sauce and just eat it like that. Perhaps it’s a habit we have to satisfy our hunger before the main course arrives…

However, as I wasn’t very hungry that night, I opted for a less filling, healthier choice. I chose the Green Papaya Salad w/ chicken as I’ve always wanted to try it but never did since I always succumb to the aroma of pho soup.

I expected the green papaya part to be LIKE the usual papaya I eat, just…green. It was in no way as I expected. The texture was much crunchier and did not taste like papaya at all. That being said, it was not as if this was a horrible tasting dish. In fact, it was very refreshing. It was not light though, as after eating it I was stuffed. My jaw was sore too perhaps from all the ingredients being crunchy.

Boyfriend had the Beef ball pho. The soup base was good as always. We found that lately their beef slices have not been as tender as we usual like them, so he chose to just have the beef balls instead. The noodles were chewy and good. Beef balls were very flavorful.

Boyfriend’s mom had the Lemongrass Porkchop with rice. I didn’t try any as I was too stuffed. It looks good though. This came with a clear chicken broth with cubes of green and regular carrots.

One gripe about them is their constant sub-par service. They are by no means rude or anything, but they’re always seem to be understaffed. Also, because of the layout of the restaurant, some parts of the restaurant always seem to be neglected unless they’re bringing your food. You have to actively hound the servers afterwards for services like more water, extra utensils, getting the bill, getting them to PICK UP the bill, etc.