Boxing day - the ultimate homage to consumerism at its very best and worst. Regular, calm, polite human beings morphing into hungry, ravenous shoppers early in the morning just to score a deal. They fight for parking spots. Fight for their space in a lineup. Fight to be the first to get into the store. Fight to get to the sale items first. They even fight to lineup again to pay. Hey, it's a normal day in Richmond; but on boxing day, it's everywhere. For me, the only fighting I was planning to do was to click with my mouse for the online sales. I succeeded in purchasing everything I wanted at NCIX, Futureshop and Bestbuy. For once the websites for FS/BB did not crash and the ordeal was little more than 15 minutes. NCIX was another story... I stuck with it and eventually got what I wanted. However, there was one thing I could not get online and needed to get on boxing day itself. The item? A Canon Speedlite 430EX II with diffuser. A what??? It's an external flash for my DSLR so that my nighttime pics will finally look half-decent, such as Kim and Wilson. Well, at least closer... They're still better!
There was one problem, I had to take my daughter with me since Viv was heading out to shop as well with our son. Off I went to Broadway Camera fairly early in the morning. Getting the flash was one thing, lining up to pay was another. It took 45 minutes to checkout! I was originally going to eat at Sha Lin since it was nearby; but it wasn't open so early. Thus, we headed back and met up with Viv. Remembering Kim's post on Triple Coconut Tree, I decided to give it a try. Well, that and my son usually eats Pho too... I've been to this location before; but back then it was a Chinese restaurant.
We started with the Spring Rolls, which incidentally are the real deal. However, I thought they were a bit too greasy for my liking. They were crispy though. We also got a House Banh Mi and it was a bit disappointing. If you look at the picture, you'd find more meat on Kate Moss than this sandwich. The bread itself was a bit crispy and a tad chewy. I did like the carrots though, they were crunchy and tart. Trying to sample something different, I gave the Spicy Pho a go. Honestly, it really wasn't all that spicy; but I do like my food on the spicier side. To me, it was a regular bowl of pho with some a spicy oil slick on top. On a positive note, there was plenty of meat and I did like the noodles as they were al dente.
Viv had a regular bowl of pho and curiously, the soup wasn't all that hot. Furthermore, we didn't find the broth particularly flavourful. There was not much meat taste or spices you'd normally pick out such as onion, star anise or ginger. For those who like a light broth, this one would suit you fine. The food wasn't bad; yet it was missing something. With so many pho places around, the food has to be above average to stand out. For us, this one didn't.
The Good:
- Very friendly staff
- Good amount of meat and noodles
The Bad:
- Soup wasn't exactly hot
- Regular broth was a bit too light
Triple Coconut Tree
Posted by
Sherman Chan
on Saturday, January 16, 2010
Labels:
Banh Mi,
Burnaby North,
Pho,
Vietnamese
3 comments:
Thanks again for the shoutout!
Two things:
1) It proves that we are not clones. We can disagree at times! :D
2) My photography skills are overrated. Wilson, on the other hand... Now, he is the master!
LOL... Maybe it was an off day for them. It just wasn't very good...
Oh Kate Moss!
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