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*Restaurant is closed*
I'll be pretty frank here... When I first drove by Vietnamese Tea House on Hastings, it didn't even register in my subconscious "I have to eat here" voice. Similar to bubble tea joints and coffee shops, there seems to be a new or re branded Vietnamese restaurant opening up every now and then. However, looking over the online reviews, the place seemed to be getting plenty of love. Then ironically, I was contacted by the owner to try the place out. So I did, along with Amy, Diana, Elaine, Emily and Karen.
A barrage of appies hit the table including the Bò Tái Chanh (Beef Sashimi on the menu). This consisted of thinly-sliced rare beef topped with a combination of onions, garlic, fried shallots, cilantro, sugar and lime juice. The buttery and tender beef was still meaty while the aromatics on top were complimentary. It was pretty sweet where the amount of lime juice could've been just a tad more aggressive. Next up the Chả Giò (Pork Spring Rolls) were pretty solid with a crunchy exterior that wasn't oily. Inside, the somewhat firmly packed filling was tender and well-seasoned. I would've liked to see rice paper used here, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.
We were also served one each of the Garlic Butter Chicken Wings and Honey Garlic Chicken Wings. Despite being doused with a bit too much sauce, the wings were still crispy with rendered skin. Underneath, the meat was fairly succulent. I personally enjoyed the butter garlic more as it was impactful with aromatics and a touch of spice. The side of lemon pepper dip was very peppery and added even more flavour. Piled high, the Green Papaya Salad with beef jerky was texturally on point. The crunch of the papaya and carrots was appealing while the beef jerky added a robustness. There was plenty of dressing underneath which was mostly sweet with some saltiness from the fish sauce. In the background, there was a slow rumble of spice.
The best appie of all was the Stir-Fried Corn and Shrimp. Apparently, this is served exclusively as a street food in Vietnam (specifically in Saigon). Well, we are in Vancouver, so served in a restaurant it is! Beyond the sweet pop of the niblets, there was a buttery garlickiness that was addictive. Add in the meaty and briny shrimp and there was a certain amount of umaminess that kept us wanting more. Such a simple item, yet at the same time, appetizing.
Onto the mains, I sampled the Bun Bo Hue first and it featured slippery, yet chewy lai fun noodles. There was a decent amount of meat that was sliced thin and tender. I would've liked to see the traditional pork knuckle and pork's blood, but that didn't make or break the dish. As for the broth, it was mildly spicy with a noted sweetness. There could've been a touch more lemongrass though. Of course we couldn't do with the baseline or standard in the Pho Dac Biet. The broth was clean and clear having an almost healthy quality to it. It was mild with a balanced amount of sweetness and saltiness. There was a background meatiness as well. Even after all of our picture-taking, the noodles were still on point being chewy and not clumpy. A fantastic value at $8.50 including tax!
Now those 2 bowls of noodles were fine, but the real deal was the Crab Pho with crab protein. This was intoxicatingly aromatic and briny. The soup was flavourful without being salty. Rather, it really tasted like crab and hence seafoody. The noodles were on point again while the shrimp was meaty. Loved the clumps of crab protein which was flavourful and fluffy. Served as a large portion, the Beef and Chicken Vermicelli Bowl was solid. It featured chewy noodles topped with a considerable amount of meat. I found the chicken to be nicely charred with rendered skin. It wasn't juicy, but was tender. The beef was also caramelized and decently tender.
One of the weaker dishes was the Chicken Curry. Although the thin curry was to be expected (Vietnamese Style), the flavour was also lacking in impact. There was not much in the way of discernible flavours or spice. The chicken was moist though and the potatoes were soft yet not melted. The Banh Mi with Grilled Beef was decent with crunchy and chewy bread. Inside, the beef was similar to vermicelli bowl being caramelized and fully seasoned. It was sweet with a slight saltiness. As you can see, the food at VTH is pretty solid. We also tried some of their slushes and they were smooth and tasty. Prices are currently very reasonable where they include tax. The place might be rather unassuming, but it is definitely a hidden gem.
*All food and beverages were complimentary*
The Good:
- Overall solid eats
- Reasonable, bordering on cheap prices
- Super nice people
The Bad:
- A few items could use a bit more refinement, but really, for those prices, complaints are far and few in between
Sometimes a quick meal doesn't have to involve a drive-thru or a food fair in a mall. For those who know, grabbing some Pho can be pretty time efficient and easy on the wallet (although the prices are creeping up there). So with not much time to spare, we were driving up Kingsway in search of Vietnamese. Well, that is as easy as stumbling on a Trump joke on social media. However, we were nearing Boundary and the selection gets a bit thin until you reach Metrotown. But there was a new spot in Love for Pho.
We ended up with our usual Pho Dac Biet and it was full of ingredients including an inordinate amount of tendon (which was soft with still a bite). The rest of the meats were fairly good where the brisket was fatty and soft. As for the broth, it was clean with mild flavours including the sweetness of daikon and a faint anise finish. The noodles were plentiful and still chewy. My son loves Lemongrass Chicken with rice, so yes that's what he had. It featured chewy rice with shredded pork and a large piece of deboned leg. It was succulent and juicy, but lacking in impact. We thought there a more aggressive marinate was necessary as well as more charring to the fatty skin.
We also got my son's other favourite dish being the Beef Stew with bread. Hidden underneath the onions were a plethora of super tender melt-in-our-mouths beef shank. The tendon portion of the meat was partially melted which meant the meat was barely chewy. In terms of taste, the broth was not overly fatty nor seasoned, but there was a noticeable meatiness combined with 5 spice, anise and the sweetness of carrots. Sticking with bread, we ordered the Banh Mi Dac Biet, which was quite good. The crusty bread was not overly dense inside while there was enough ingredients to balance. Add in the pate and the drops of Maggi and the sandwich was tasty. Overall, we found the meal good, but the flavours could've been stronger.
The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay portions
The Bad:
- Flavours could be more impactful
- Service is fine, but sparse
With all the new Pho joints strewn throughout the GVRD, it is easy to sometimes forget one of the originals. Yes, I'm talking about Pho Hoa (aka the McD's of Pho). Recently, Pho Hoa has fallen on hard times where location after location has closed (making way for Pho Boi). As much as I tend to dismiss Pho Hoa publicly, it does hold a place in my heart. No, it isn't food, rather, Viv and I would frequent the place when we first started going out. So I guess we returned mostly for ol' times sake because the place didn't look like it had been updated since.
I got the standard Pho Dac Biet and although I specifically said I wanted cilantro, they omitted everything from the broth. Actually, for our entire menu, it appeared no one really understood what we wanted (like water and a knife). Back to the pho, the broth was somewhat clean and pretty mild. It wasn't bursting out with any discernible flavours. With that being said, it didn't offend. Noodles were okay while the meats did the job. For Viv, she went for the Grilled Pork & Spring Roll on Vermicelli. Inconsistently charred, the pork was super fatty and not appealing. It did exhibit a smoky sweet taste where there was sufficient caramelization. As for the spring roll, it was pretty standard but a tad greasy.
For the kiddies, they shared their favourite being the Lemongrass Chicken with Rice. We added a fried egg on the side. This was actually not bad with a well-marinated and juicy piece of deboned chicken leg. The char was a bit more uniform here where there was smokiness to go with the sweetness. We also got the Banh Mi Dac Biet for good measure and it was more or less decent with crunchy bread. There was a enough ingredients including a good splash of fish sauce. Oh well, I guess we knew what to expect from a visit to Pho Hoa... But at the very least, it was serviceable and for us, a walk down memory lane (although this lane needed some upkeep).
The Good:
- Predictable
- Okay pricing
The Bad:
- So so
- Staff were okay, but didn't really understand what we wanted
Despite hailing from Vancouver, it is not lost upon me that there are not a whole lot of great bowls of Pho to be found in West LA. My first night here was not supposed to start with a Vietnamese meal. In fact, we were trying to hit up ROC and their supposedly great XLBs, but they closed early for July 4th. Hence, we decided to try Nong La Cafe next door. They were pretty busy and we were only able to snag a table outside, where the lighting was bad and nowhere for my bounce flash to bounce off of... Yes, woe-is-me... #firstworldproblems
With thicker than usual rice noodles (Northern version?), the Phở Đặc Biệt otherwise looked pretty typical. The noodle themselves were chewy while the meats were not as soft as we would've liked. As for the broth, it was quite sweet and had a particularly strong licorice hit from the abundance of star anise. Despite this, no huge complaints about the entire package as it was decent. I went for the Bún Bò Huế and it was mildly spicy with not much lemongrass essence. There was a lack of lai fun noodles where I was left a bit hungry at the end. On the other hand, the noodles were pleasing being slippery with a rebound texture. Sliced a bit thickly, the beef shank was rather chewy.
For the kiddies, they split the Lemongrass Chicken with Fried Egg on Rice. The 2 breast portions were relatively moist while mildly seasoned. I could get a slight sense of lemongrass, but it could've been more apparent. The rice was fluffy and soft while the fried egg was nicely runny. Personally, I would've liked to see dark meat here as it would've been more succulent. Since I was still hungry, I got a Bánh Mì as well. I found the bun to be overly dense albeit crusty. The pate was plentiful and smooth with far too many whole peppercorns. That in turn made it too peppery and a bit hard to eat. Although Nong La did the job in filling our bellies, we weren't sure if we actually liked the food. It wasn't bad per se, but hardly impressive either.
The Good:
- Friendly service
- Clean
- Vietnamese food where there isn't a whole lot of choice
The Bad:
- Something lacking with each dish
- Skimpy with the noodles
Posts
A barrage of appies hit the table including the Bò Tái Chanh (Beef Sashimi on the menu). This consisted of thinly-sliced rare beef topped with a combination of onions, garlic, fried shallots, cilantro, sugar and lime juice. The buttery and tender beef was still meaty while the aromatics on top were complimentary. It was pretty sweet where the amount of lime juice could've been just a tad more aggressive. Next up the Chả Giò (Pork Spring Rolls) were pretty solid with a crunchy exterior that wasn't oily. Inside, the somewhat firmly packed filling was tender and well-seasoned. I would've liked to see rice paper used here, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.
We were also served one each of the Garlic Butter Chicken Wings and Honey Garlic Chicken Wings. Despite being doused with a bit too much sauce, the wings were still crispy with rendered skin. Underneath, the meat was fairly succulent. I personally enjoyed the butter garlic more as it was impactful with aromatics and a touch of spice. The side of lemon pepper dip was very peppery and added even more flavour. Piled high, the Green Papaya Salad with beef jerky was texturally on point. The crunch of the papaya and carrots was appealing while the beef jerky added a robustness. There was plenty of dressing underneath which was mostly sweet with some saltiness from the fish sauce. In the background, there was a slow rumble of spice.
The best appie of all was the Stir-Fried Corn and Shrimp. Apparently, this is served exclusively as a street food in Vietnam (specifically in Saigon). Well, we are in Vancouver, so served in a restaurant it is! Beyond the sweet pop of the niblets, there was a buttery garlickiness that was addictive. Add in the meaty and briny shrimp and there was a certain amount of umaminess that kept us wanting more. Such a simple item, yet at the same time, appetizing.
Onto the mains, I sampled the Bun Bo Hue first and it featured slippery, yet chewy lai fun noodles. There was a decent amount of meat that was sliced thin and tender. I would've liked to see the traditional pork knuckle and pork's blood, but that didn't make or break the dish. As for the broth, it was mildly spicy with a noted sweetness. There could've been a touch more lemongrass though. Of course we couldn't do with the baseline or standard in the Pho Dac Biet. The broth was clean and clear having an almost healthy quality to it. It was mild with a balanced amount of sweetness and saltiness. There was a background meatiness as well. Even after all of our picture-taking, the noodles were still on point being chewy and not clumpy. A fantastic value at $8.50 including tax!
Now those 2 bowls of noodles were fine, but the real deal was the Crab Pho with crab protein. This was intoxicatingly aromatic and briny. The soup was flavourful without being salty. Rather, it really tasted like crab and hence seafoody. The noodles were on point again while the shrimp was meaty. Loved the clumps of crab protein which was flavourful and fluffy. Served as a large portion, the Beef and Chicken Vermicelli Bowl was solid. It featured chewy noodles topped with a considerable amount of meat. I found the chicken to be nicely charred with rendered skin. It wasn't juicy, but was tender. The beef was also caramelized and decently tender.
One of the weaker dishes was the Chicken Curry. Although the thin curry was to be expected (Vietnamese Style), the flavour was also lacking in impact. There was not much in the way of discernible flavours or spice. The chicken was moist though and the potatoes were soft yet not melted. The Banh Mi with Grilled Beef was decent with crunchy and chewy bread. Inside, the beef was similar to vermicelli bowl being caramelized and fully seasoned. It was sweet with a slight saltiness. As you can see, the food at VTH is pretty solid. We also tried some of their slushes and they were smooth and tasty. Prices are currently very reasonable where they include tax. The place might be rather unassuming, but it is definitely a hidden gem.
