A Nice Little Pho Stop
PUBLISHED April 28th, 2012 12:40 pm | UPDATED May 9th, 2018 03:13 am
I’m a big fan of the simple yet delicious national dish of Vietnam – Pho. And soon after a new Pho eatery – Pho Stop – opened up on Tanjong Pagar Road, I went down to check it out.
To be honest, it’s hard to go wrong with a bowl of hot, steamy, savoury pho. It’s essentially a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, typically served with thin slices of beef and an array of condiments. Probably the worst crime one can make with Pho is making it too bland.
Anyway, having had a pretty stressful week, I knew this food for the soul was just what was needed. And the unfusssy Viet-inspired surroundings with chill music playing in the background is just the right set up to be tucking in to such soul food.
What I loved about the menu at Pho Stop was that instead of just the usual sliced beef or chicken Pho, you could also choose from pho served with different types of beef – including beef brisket or beef balls or if you really want to go for the whole hog and be a bit of a beef manic there’s a triple whammy combination of beef slices, brisket and balls. Well moo to that!
And just like Pho is supposed to be it’s extremely good value with a bowl of Pho ranging from $7.20 – $8.90
But before we get onto how the Pho was…of course we had to start off with the other popular Vietnamese dish – Summer Rolls ($6). Refreshing rice paper rolls filled with chicken and prawns (or you can ask for one or the other), rice noodles, fragrant herbs and Thai lettuce with that lovely more-ish Hoi Sin Peanut Dip.
We also ordered the Vietnamese Fish Cakes ($6.60) – Cha Ca which though had a nice subtle aromatic flavour were not quite up to scratch in terms of texture. Ho hum.
Not feeling in the mood for complete beef overkill, we went for the middle of the road – the Sliced Beef & Beef Balls ($8.80). One thing that can be really annoying about Pho is when you don’t get enough of the said meat in there. No fear here as there’s a generous portion and enough to keep everything balanced throughout – i.e. so you’re not poking around in a whole load of noodles and broth wondering where all the meat went.
The Pho comes with the usual side accompaniments including cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, chillies, lime and chili sauce so you can personalize your Pho just to your taste requirements. Though it is a rather small portion (I usually like to chuck a whole lot in) – if you’re on the same wavelength then don’t be shy just ask the staff for a refill and they’ll be happy to oblige.
If beef is not your thing then the Hanoi Chicken Pho ($7.20) is delicious and surprisingly took place of favourite over the beef, because somehow the fragrant flavours of the broth come through more on this version – flavours like ginger, cardamon and fennel. Perhaps that’s because they’re better soaked up by the shredded pieces of chicken. Note the difference with the garnishes – this variant comes with a simpler side of lots of coriander, beansprouts and wedge lime, typical of the Northern region.
And if for some reason you’re not really that into Pho, you can opt to have a rice dish like Grilled Chicken Cho ($8) which is a good alternative.
In summary, Pho Stop combines laid back yet pretty efficient service, decent Pho which is filling and satisfying at decent prices – making it in a good option for a cheap eat in my book. So make a stop there and satisfy yourself with a simple bowl of the lazy man’s ramen and let your worries fall away into that steamy bowl of simple goodness.
Written by Ms Demeanour
