This place categorically the 2nd worst pho I have ever eaten in Hong Kong. The first being Pearl River restaurant in Causeway Bay.
I arrived at 11:27am. The lights were on, and the 'Open' sign was hanging in the door. I opened the door and one of the kitchen staff rudely said to me "We open at 11:30" and made me leave. OK, so if you're not gonna open til 11:30 then why did you flip the "Open" sign on the door over???
So, I took around the block and arrived back at 11:35. This time a server happily greeted me and asked to take seat wherever I wanted. The rude kitchen guy seemed to have forgotten me.
Then I looked at the menu and decided to go with the No. 3, which was $98. I was told by a friend who shall remain nameless that this place was good, so I thought let's try the expensive pho. And I also got an order of spring rolls just to try too.
The pho arrived quickly. The first thing I always do to know whether pho is done right or not is try to broth. So I took my spoon, took a scoop of the broth and gave it a taste. It was horrendous. No beef flavour at all. No hint of onion, ginger or toasted spices. They used white raddish, which is something you use when making Chinese-style beef noodles, but not Vietnamese beef pho. It sweetens the broth, but not the right away. Vietnamese pho uses roasted onion to add that sweet flavour it the difference is astounding. This broth actually tasted like they added soy sauce to it. I squeezed some lemon, added some hoisin sauce and chili and the few bits of greens they gave me. It didn't make it any better.
Then I tried the beef. Ahh, those fine cuts of beef which made this bowl of pho cost $98. It had to be good right? WRONG.
The thinly sliced beef was chewy. The beef balls were from a Hong Kong wet market. They didn't taste at all like Vietnamese beef balls. There was some tendon or something, but I could barely make out what it was. This portion of meat certainly was not worth $98.
The noodles were overcooked. Good pho noodles should have a bit of a crunch to them, like al dente pasta. Another fail here.
So, the pho was a massive disappointment. It shouldn't even be called pho. It's basically water mixed with soy sauce.
Then I tried the spring roll. They can't have messed this up, right? WRONG AGAIN!
Sure, it was crunchy, but there was nothing to it. It was the blandest spring roll I've ever eaten in my life. Barely any filling. It tasted of nothing. And the dipping sauce they served it with tasted like lemon with some garlic. Did they forget to add the fish sauce which is an essential ingredient???
This place has absolutely no business masquerading itself as a Vietnamese restaurant. Absolutely nothing about it is authentic. I feel sorry for Hongkongers who think this place is Vietnamese cuisine.
Awfully rude staff combined with even more awful tasting food. A total fail. It needs to shut down so it doesn't ruin the reputation of what is otherwise a beautiful and oh so tasty cuisine.
影片
