Checked out the new downtown location of Pho Ngoc Yen in Adelaide St W near Peter in the middle of the Entertainment District. Fairly large space with a luxurious decor. A big step up from the usual Vietnamese restaurants I’m accustomed to downtown.
Very extensive menu with the usual pho and vermicelli dishes. But there are quite a few new to me dishes. Such as the hu tieu ca Saigon fish noodle soup ($26) I settled on. Lots of deep fried red snapper pieces and various kinds of fish cakes. Really like the kind that had keffir line leaves mixed in. So delicious. Served with fried dough sticks that were perfect for sopping up the fragrant broth. It was complex and rich with flavourings like dried fish, pickled peppers and fried shallots.
A little pricey but seems worth it for the huge serving size, decor and service. Great addition to the area.
by bbqporklomein
6 Comments
I really miss $12 large pho…
This place rocks. Their classic pho with various beef cuts is fantastic and agreed on the serving size – protein-heavy too. Price is quite a bit higher than your typical Viet, but reflective of the area.
Will have to try OP’s dish very soon!
Dayumm $26
I wish they made bun mam
Glad they’re downtown now. I went with my folks recently (Etobicoke location). Neither are vegan, but we’d already ordered quite a few meaty dishes. My dad didn’t realize the soy-based meat replacement wasn’t beef – though he did find it salty.
Personally, so far, this is the only Vietnamese place I’ve had a decent stir-fry dish(es). Akin to many Hakka (Indo-Chinese) spots, I feel most Vietnamese fail MAJORLY in wok technique (and frying, glazing, etc). I wish they’d remove the affiliation with Chinese when this is (often the case). With that said, I have found Thai-Viet are ok on the wok. Korean-Chinese food relies less so on wok techniques, even if they use a wok – fine. Most Filipino spots suck at stir-fry too, despite using woks for dishes with Chinese origins.
Over the years, I’ve been surprised to learn how many cuisines use woks, without necessarily the gusto they are capable of, eg Burrito Boyz even uses a wok?! In these cases, it’s just a large, handy vessel – fine.
ETA – Hakka in GTA. (I also have a small annoyance about the fact that “that Hakka” isn’t the only Hakka food, which stems from people, who moved not just to India. They had and have dishes lesser known in Toronto at least. I’m not Hakka, but grew up knowing these dishes as “just food,” which turned out to actually be Hakka. It’s not what goes for Hakka here. A lot is unintentionally hidden on menus, at Cantonese restaurants – it’s not even the best “Chili Chicken” – but know there’s more.
That looks amazing!