Pho Hoa Noodle Soup @ Holland Village

Pho Hoa has been in Holland Village for the longest time but I have never stepped into it. I wondered why I have never gone in, perhaps I had this impression that it's not the same?

That was until the other day, Sis and mum were having their 'nails done' at Holland Village. KopiKosongGirl and I buzzed them to ask if they wanted dinner. Sis said they want Vietnamese and ask us to meet them at Pho Hoa. Mum and Sis was talking about their Vietnam holidays they had and wanted to eat Vietnamese food.




The Gỏi Cuốn / Summer Rolls. ($7.95)
We thought these were really nice. It has julienned cucumber and carrots and prawns inside with lettuce. I think it was a little cold, so it tasted rather good.



The sauce was somehow tempting. It's tasted like hoisin, plum and peanut butter mixed in.
Not sure what's really inside, but dipping it with the rolls was nice.



Mum and sis both had the Pho Soups. I can't remember if they had the Beginners, Regular or Adventurer's Choice. I think this was the Steak Pho ($11).



Looking at this always reminds me of having Vietnamese food in Richmond and Russell / Swanston St Vietnamese shops in Melbourne during my student days. Sis and KopiKosongGirl will talk about their Springvale versions.

We used to have it once or twice a week, yeah, they were the cheaper food for students. Long ago, it was AUD3 for small and AUD5 for large bowls. Now looking at the prices here in Singapore, we have to console ourselves it's cheaper than flying over.



Sis' Pho, Steak and Brisket Pho ($11).

Do you like your sprouts pre scaled or have it all raw?
The soup here was served very hot, so the sprouts were cooked.




KopiKosongGirl has the Bún Gà Nướng / Grilled Chicken on Rice Vermicelli.
She seemed to have enjoyed it, finishing up everything except the bean sprouts!

As she works in the Suntec area, she said there's Pho Hoa and another Vietnamese place, Pho House that is more popular and the broth there is nicer. We should go there and try and compare she said.




I had the Grilled Beef with Rice plate. ($12.25)
The grilled beef was nice, but if only there was more. For a guy, you will still feel a little hungry after having this portion. ;-)

The total bill was $63.20 after taxes. Vietnamese Food in Singapore are usually expensive.
The food here is lighter in taste. I find it priced a bit higher.

Note:
KopiKosongGirl says Pho House might be another good choice for people who prefer more intense flavour broth.

I know of a very cheap and quite nice Vietnamese food at the NUS School of Computing / Business School canteen. The Cold Rice Vermicelli bowl costs only $3.30 and it is really good. They are generous too.

Pho Hoa Noodle Soup 18 Lorong Mambong Holland Villlage Singapore 277678 Tel: +65 6467 3662 Hours: Daily, 11 am to 10 pm

Scan QR Code for Address Details

Hubalicious: Naturally Viet with Chef Luke Nguyen

[This was an invited session by Word of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd]

If you are a Starhub customer like me, you would have received emails from Starhub about their Hubalicious Food Festival 2010. I procrastinated and forgot to register. Procrastination was a good thing this time because a few days before the event, I got an invite by PR Company Word Of Mouth Comms asking if I am interested to attend the Hubalicious event. 

***

If you are wondering what these Hubalicious Food Festival 2010 is about, visit http://hubalicious.starhub.com/ to read more about it. In short, you get to meet the chefs in person! Hear them speak, see them cook, taste their cooking, get them to sign autographs and take photographs with them! Who knows you might also win some prizes at the event!

For our TV at home, the channels that we watch are mostly the Food Channels or Lifestyle Channels. We were really happy when Starhub started offering a new food channel called the Food Network Asia. We were even happier when it was in HD! On High Definition, food looks even more delicious!

If you have been watching Food Network Asia, you would have caught the series "Luke Nguyen's Vietnam". I have been watching his show so I was really glad when I was invited to see him in person!

***

For Luke Nguyen's Hubalicious session, he cooked one dish from each of the courses we were going to have. The rest were all done with the help of the kitchen hand in the restaurant.

The menu of the night had 2 Entrees, 1 Middle Course, 2 Main Courses and a Dessert.

For the Entree:

Luke demonstrated how to make "Pan-fried turmeric and dill sole fillets, rolled in soft rice paper and mint leaves".





I tell you, everyone was salivating as the sole fillets were being pan fried in front of us. The smell of food with tumeric pan fried always smells very very good! How did he make it so easy peasy?

Well, making something looks good is easy, making something taste so wonderfully delicious is real skill!

***

The next entree was "Beef scented lemongrass rolled in wild betel leaves and char-grilled". We did not get to see him prepare this. But it sure look tempted us when it was served. There's a layer of rice paper below the vegetable. You wrapped it all up dip it in the dipping sauce and let the flavour blast in your mouth!

***

For the Middle Course:

Luke showed us how to prepare Banh Xeo. Banh Xeo is Rice flour crepe filled with Mung beans, prawns & Enoki mushrooms (wrapped with lettuce and fresh Vietnamese herbs).

He manage to make it look so simple! He chats with the audience, jokes a little, get someone to share the kitchen with him and before you know it, the food is ready and looks absolutely stunning! How do they do that? You know how some of us fumble in the kitchen?
 
For the middle course, the food was served with Beringer California Chenin Blanc.

***

Vietnamese food is always so healthy. They use lots of herbs and vegetables. As you can see in the photo above, a mountain of 'leaves' was served together with it.

The Banh Xeo was really crispy on the outside, and moist inside with all the seafood and mushroom. I guess sometimes you really got to have patience and let the outside brown and crisp without disturbing it. For most of us, we tend to always want to check and flip the things on the pan ya?

I was quite fascinated by one of the mint that was served. It was called Fish Mint! Why Fish Mint? Because it tasted a bit like fish! That's the big dark green leave show in the following photo.

***

For the main course:

Luke showed us how to prepare the "Salt and pepper soft shell crab, served with green mango salad". The Green Mango was all hand shaven! He proudly proclaimed, the mango salad that we all will be eating is ALL hand shaven by him! Don't waste it!

Who can resist crispy soft shell crab? The crowd absolutely loved it. Aha! He taught us how to make sure they were crispy inside not still moist (but not oily) inside. ;-)

***

The next main was the "Beef ribs, slow-braised in young coconut water." We did not get to see him prepare this in front of us. I guess it would take too long.

Just look at the beef ribs. Absolutely gorgeous don't you think?
It was well marinated and executed so nicely. ( I took thirds! Shh.....)

The mains were served with jasmine rice and Beringer Founder's Estate Merlot.

***

For Dessert:

We were served the Trio of Dessert: Caramelised grilled pineapple, Lemongrass gelato in shot glass and Baked Cassava Square.

Luke told us, desserts in Vietnam have always been loads of fresh local fruits. So this is not really the usual dessert. It's something special he prepared for us. These so called 'desserts' are Vietnamese snack all day long!

I particularly love the lemongrass gelato!

Dessert was served with Beringer California White Zin.





Oh wow, what a great meal! Thanks to Starhub and Word of Mouth Communications for presenting me the opportunity to attend it.

Here are some info that might be helpful:

• Food Network Asia is shown on Starhub TV Channel 433.
• Food Network Asia in High Definition is shown on Starhub TV Channel 468.
• You can read more about it on www.starhub.com/entertainment/channel/foodnetworkasia.html 
• Robert Rainford, Bobby Chinn and Rachel Allen will be next on Hubalicious Food Festival 2010. If you are fans of them, click through to http://hubalicious.starhub.com to sign up for the event. 
• The wine and the wine pairing with the food were done courtesy of Beringer.

Vietnamese Stall @ Business Canteen, NUS

It has been a long long time since I ate at the NUS Business Canteen. It's the university holidays, so it's less stressful to find a place to sit here. But there's also a downside eating here during the holidays. Not all stalls are open during this time of the year.

Colleagues and I decided to eat here and we thought we would have some Vietnamese food. While queueing up, we saw this new dish, (new to me because I have not been here for a long time) that consists of raw watercress and beef slices. Well, it looks tempting on the serving trays!

When I got nearer to the serving lady, I saw they had beef stew too. I was also tempted by it! I want it all! So I ordered both together with a vegetable sidedish.



Another colleague ordered the same thing too. We all think it's nice.

The raw watercress had some tangy dressing on it. That made is so tasty yet so light! The beef slices (a few more hidden below the greens) was delicious too! Thinking of it makes me wanna go back for more. :-p

The stew was not too bad too. Ah... for only $4 for this meal was very worth it!

Vietnamese Stall
Business Canteen
National University of Singapore.

Vietnamese Food @ NUS Business Canteen

A quick post as I have been extremely busy these few days. This was lunch few days ago when I ate at the NUS Business Canteen.

What a coincidence that I met an old friend there. I seldom come to this canteen, and he works in Science Park and also seldom come here, I think it's the first time this year here.

This is food from the Vietnamese stall. With the swine flu around, I guess I will still eat pork. The lady stacks the food up very high.

The rice is hidden behind, and no I did not do adjust the vegetable and meat. ;-)
Around 5 pieces of Vietnamese style pork, and 1 big scoop of greens. $2.



Oh yes, a bowl of complimentary soup.
Simple, satisfying and cheap lunch.

I was also tempted to 'add extra ingredients', but decided I should eat less. LOL.
The other stew looks good too.

Vietnamese Stall,
NUS Business Canteen

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chop Noodles @ Business Canteen

This is only available on Wednesday at the Vietnamese Stall in the NUS Business Canteen.

I wanted to try this for some time, but never got to this canteen on a Wednesday. Last Wednesday, colleagues and I made a trip there and got to try it. The reason I wanted to try it is because the Vietnamese students seems to be always ordering it. Why? Why? Curious to find out why they like it so much?

It looks simple isn't it? It also looks kinda dry. But....



When you lift up the 'frills' on top, you see this deliciously grilled pork chop.
Looks normal, but somehow, the whatever marinate they use and makes these few pieces of grilled meat taste so delicious.



When you order they pour a scoop of 'liquid' over the dry noodles. This 'liquid' or sauce taste very addictive. Its a mix of fish sauce, lime juice and other ingredients that I can't really decipher at the moment. (Good excuse to eat it again).

The crisp lettuce, strings of carrots and cucumber slices make it very healthy and light. The cold noodles makes it quite appetizing as well. This is it all mixed up. After mixing, it does not taste dry at all.



Yup, the price is only $2.50. I should make a trip there again.

Colleagues and I are beating the inflation by eating cheaper food these few days. NUS Canteens seems like a good place to hunt for food this week. All the students have finished their exams and is staying away. :-)

Beef Stew Noodles, Vietnamese Stall @ NUS Business Canteen

A quick lunch over at the NUS Business Canteen. It was a Tuesday and this was the special that is available on Tuesdays only.

It was very tasty and the beef was tender and was generous too. Looks clear, but it is spicy! Yum! $2.50




With Singapore's inflation hitting 6.7% last month, we got to thank food vendors like this who still maintained their prices and continue to give us delicious food.

Realized a few stalls that I frequently visit has raised their prices. Sigh...

Vietnamese @ NUS Business Canteen

This was lunch last week at the Business Canteen at NUS. I read from the baker who cooks that she likes the food here too!

This is the Phở that I had. It's very simple and nice dish. One thing I like about Vietnamese dishes is the fresh herbs that they put on top.



Phở is pronounced to sound like 'fur'. Yes I had problem trying to pronounce it too previously.



The Vietnamese stall at the Business Canteen serves different specials daily! You see lots of Vietnamese students buying food here, so I guess it's one of the best around. It's cheap too. Only $2.50.


I have not visited Vietnam, so I am not sure how Phở taste there. But many of my friends and I, we miss the Phở in Melbourne! Right in Swanston Street there's a Viet place that served delicious Vietnamese food, and not forgetting the suburb of Richmond and Springvale. Anyone here love the Vietnamese food in Melbourne? :-)

Vietnamese @ Business Canteen, NUS

Today with the same colleagues that had lunch with me yesterday, we ventured into another NUS Canteen.

We went to the less crowded canteen. We think this less crowded canteen has more yummy food! I had the rice from the Vietnamese stall. You can always see lots of Vietnamese students buying from this stall. Me too. LOL.


The way they cook the meat dishes are different from the normal 'chinese' chap chai peng. They really use lots of aromatics like ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, etc.. in the cooking. It somehow taste really good and fragrant.



You know for most stores, you order 2 veg and 1 meat and it comes quite pathetic in portion, but this stall gives quite generous portions. People who orders from here usually only have 1 veg and 1 meat. The veg portion is big. It is $2 usually.

What I had above was 2 meat instead. I ordered the cabbage and lemon grass chicken. $2. Then i felt like having their stuff toufu. $1 extra.

Va Va Voom (Desserts)

These are some of the drinks and desserts we had, or those that I managed to take some photos.

Lemongrass & Honey drink I think...



This is Vietnamese Coffee. Have you seen it? It brews and drips while you wait.



This is what I had. Sago with Avocado sauce. The Avocado sauce is yummy.



I forgot what this is, maybe when those who ate it updates me, I will put the name here.
It's pancakes with ice cream.



This is I think their most favourite dessert. Pancakes with mango puree. Only a few person had it as they ran out of mangoes. haha..



Hope you like this series from Va Va Voom Cafe.

It's located at:
36 Seah Street,
Singapore 188392

View Location Map at: Streetdirectory or Earth@SG

Va Va Voom @ Seah St (Part 2)

The last appetiser that came was these spring rolls.



We also ordered the mains, most of us took the same thing, how creative! haha..

It was either the soupy beef set or the 2 diff rice sets.

This is the steak with rice.



This is the the grilled pork chop I think.



I ate this! Vietnamese Beef Combi set. Beef balls and sliced beef. The flavour was not what we expected. Maybe we ate too rich and variety of appetizers, but this comes out a bit bland to me.



But it is a huge bowl. Look! Compare it to be big cup beside it.



We were too full, but we still had desserts! haha...

Va Va Voom @ Seah St (Part 1)

One of our friends knows the boss of this place, so when we were there, we did not really order the starters, we have 12 persons, so we let the boss decide for us.

It was like a surprise. We were just waiting and wondering what will come out.

This interesting looking dish came out first. The boss says it is his special creation.
Morning glory with sliced beef. It is actually very very refreshing and nice tasting!







Next came the Vietnamese Rolls. I am not sure how you all eat it, but I stir up the sauce and then pour a big scoop of it over the rolls. yum......








Next came the chicken wings. Ooo.... I just love chicken wings, do you?




Next, the fish cake. It looks so simple right? But it taste quite good actually.



No, the starters have not ended! The next is many people's favourite. Its very tender beef rolls, with cheese in it. You just have to put in your mouth and taste will just make you want to have more!



We told the boss, next time, use wagyu ok? he laughed at us...


But wait! There's more. More starters came, view it tomorrow lah.....

Va Va Voom @ Seah St

Last Saturday, our group of monthly makan/birthday celebration friends went to Va Va Voom. One of the friends recommended it, so off we went.

I have not really downloaded the photos yet. So wait a while ya.
Am disrupted from having internet access these few days. I am busy moving house and so many things going on at the same time.

Here's one photo for today first.




Do you like Vietnamese food?