Pho

I first went here about 6 years ago.
I think I tried some kind of duck wrap. It was like water wrapped in toilet paper with lettuce and a shred of duck. I’d never been so reluctant to part with currency.
A couple of weeks ago I was out with Sophie and she done the thing where she was hinting that she wanted to eat out without saying those actual words.
Food for Friends was busy, Gars always looks too mobbish and I don’t like the ginger they scatter around Moshi Moshi.
Oh and the light was out on the menu outside Jamie’s so that stopped us from wanting to go in there. Wazzy wazzy no no.
Which meant we were left with Phở.
I was very reluctant but Sophie assured me that this place had changed. I think she was lying but she was annoying me and I just wanted to eat.
They told us that we would have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for a table (it was a Friday night I think). This made me even more miserable. I began to calculate the total cost of food PLUS the cocktails that Sophie would now inevitably want to order. I was being robbed. Robbed by the bland duck thieves.
She ordered about 18 cocktails and I had a single apple juice. It bugged me that my apple juice was so fresh that it went brown really quickly. Unappetizing as shit.
Then we got pitched up next to 4 American girls. I think they were on holiday. I had to try really hard and filter out their conversation. It’s not that they were loud, but their voices just weren’t built for an open space like this. I tilted my body slightly to the side so I didn’t have to see them spitting food everywhere.
We were sat on the stools. I don’t mind sitting on stools but I know Sophie hates it. Because I know she hates it, that made ME on edge.
So up to this point, I would have gladly taken some Andrex lettuce to go and cut my losses.
Then things got a lot better.
We ordered a lot of food. I figured that if I played a numbers game, there would have to be something for me to enjoy.
The spicy chicken wings were dreamy. I forgave them for everything solely on the basis of this sassy poultry. I am easy.
Then we had some hog springers (pork spring rolls. I want this to catch on).
Then broken rice and I think some kind of red chicken curry for main.
It was all really, really good. I have no complaints. In fact, I think I could have eaten more. I wanted more rice so that I could swish it about in the sauce.
I really liked the lighting in here. It softened the headache I had from all the mental arithmetic and Sophie yapping on at me.
Oh you should probably know that they also offer NUS discount.
I have learned my lesson. Just because somewhere is bad once, it doesn’t mean you should NEVER go back.
Forgive, forget and always order the chicken wings.

Obviously for someone with coeliac disease, a restaurant where the majority of the food is naturally gluten free is going to be a dream come true!
I grabbed a phở takeaway last week. We hadn’t ordered ahead of time, so we popped in to order. The website says there can be a bit of a wait so it’s best to call ahead to order if in a hurry. But it didn’t feel like we waited long at all. They prepared our two beef phở soups in a few minutes and we were off.
Once back at work, I was pleased to find the noodles and broth in separate containers. There was also a little baggy of extra coriander and chilis and whatnot, so you can really tailor your experience. And it was loads of food. I couldn’t finish mine.
I think next time I’d go for a spicy version, just for a bit more flavour than a beef broth. But otherwise, this is definitely on my list of places where I can get something good and not too absurdly priced.

The last time I went to Phở was about 5 years ago when I was still at Uni. I really didn’t enjoy it, but I think that’s because I went for something (Phở/​Broth with noodles) that isn’t really my cup of tea.
However I went again last weekend, as Scott and I fancied somewhere different and I thought I would give it another shot. I’m really glad I did!
We had a delicious starter of pork spring rolls and chicken wings. They were both really tasty and flavoursome.
For the main I opted for the ‘broken rice’ with brisket. Scott had the same but with chicken. It came in a coconut based curry sauce that was really nice. I imagine it to be the Vietnamese version of a Katsu Curry.
I know what to get the next time I go to Phở :)