20150712 Toronto Trip: Pho Dau Bo

The morning following my cousin, JS's wedding, my aunt and uncle took us to a pho place for brunch. During the car ride to the restaurant, my aunt told us that she had friends from Vaughn that would drive down to this restaurant, Pho Dau Bo, located in the same plaza as Long Hui Supermarket.


They had an impressive spread of Vietnamese dishes.

We ordered a few bowls of noodles. I had to go with their pho with beef balls. My aunt said that the restaurant makes them, so of course, we were interested. They reminded me of the beef balls that we used to get from Montreal. Their beef balls were tiny though.


The soup tasted just like our homemade pho. It was very comforting because it wasn't overly sweet with a punchy cinnamon flavour. The rice noodles that the restaurant used was more slippery and bouncy than we're used to. I'm disappointed that I forgot to ask what brand of noodles they used. Were they fresh rice noodles?


Dad had their mild bun bo hue and enjoyed it. He preferred another place because they didn't add enough lemongrass here.

Their noodles stood out to me. I can see why people like this over other pho places. Their local chain has expanded to many locations in the GTA.

~*~
Pho Dau Bo
2437 Finch Ave W
North York, ON
416-749-9943
 

Pho Tien Thanh: The Soup

There are some great perks to living downtown and being able to walk to some lovely dining options is certainly one of them. VN and KN both live just outside of Toronto's core around the Ossington neighbourhood. Yup -- that's the same place as Libretto (aka the best Neapolitan pizza I've had), but that's not what I want to talk about now. I want to talk about this small shop, Pho Tien Thanh, which is just down the street from Libretto.

VN and I walked to the pho restaurant and smelled their lovely broth about five feet away from their door. Once we took a step inside, the fragrant smell of BBQ'd pork (thit nuong) filled our nostrils. At that point, I knew we were in for a tasty dinner. The smell just invoked all the good memories of having Mom's BBQ pork. Our winter this year was very long, to say the least, and it seems like it was years ago since I had her marinated pork. We luckily got there just as the dinner rush was finishing up and so we were seated immediately in the restaurant.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to deviate from ordering pho or actually change it up and try the bún with the thit nuong. Either way, I knew it was going to be tasty. In the end, I stuck to my guns and went with the small rare beef, beef balls and well-done beef pho. Once my bowl arrived, I took a sip of the soup. The aromatics were there without being overpowering. It had none of that strong cinnamon taste like most of the pho in Ottawa's Chinatown. The soup wasn't overly sweet either. Most of the beef was actually still uncooked, which is a huge bonus! You could order some rare beef on a plate and then add it into your soup yourself for $2. I think it's unnecessary in this case though. Only the thin slices that was touching the hot soup had cooked. When I separated the slices, they cooked gently in the soup. I was thrilled that the beef was actually rare by the time it arrived.

This was the bun thit nuong cha gio that VN had ordered. We both liked how their cha gio was made with rice paper. It's the legit stuff. (For those who don't know, VN is Vietnamese. Like I said. Legit stuff.)

We washed it down with some cooling beverages. A refreshing coconut water with young coconut meat for VN and an iced Vietnamese coffee for myself. In our excitement to order, we accidently ordered the coconut water instead of the coconut slush had originally wanted.

The Asian Pear told me that if I wanted to have the best pho, I'd have to choose between two different pho establishments in Toronto: one with the slippery fresh noodles or one with an outstanding broth. Pho Tien Thanh is the latter. I wonder how their other dishes taste. The cash-only restaurant is open for business from 11am to 10pm everyday, so you have no excuses not to try out this place. I know I'll be returning in the future.

~*~

Cold Remedy: Homemade Pho

When I'm trying to get over a cold or a flu, I crave bowls of pho. What about you? Okay, so it won't cure my raw throat or the all the phlegm afterwards, but it does help alleviate the runny nose for a little bit.

Yesterday was the second day of my cold symptoms; cough, raw throat, and a little phlegm. I was craving pho but since great pho takes quite some time, we made a pot of pho last night. It simmered for a couple of hours before it was turned off last night. Then it simmered for a few more hours this morning to be ready for lunch time.




I just found out that this is AAA prime rib, broken down from a giant slab. We're thrifty like that. We usually use thinly slices of lean beef tenderloin. The slices of prime rib were so remarkably tender!

These slices, in my case, were placed raw on top of my cooked rice noodles. Then scoops of the aromatic pho soup was ladled on top, where the beef slowly cooked. Some people like to quickly dip the beef in the soup before adding to their bowls, but since the soup is hot enough, I just let it cook in my bowl of pho. This also prevents over-cooking the tender meat into something tough and chewy.

That was lunch. We'll have a second round of pho for dinner too.

Neighbourhood Pho Joint

Mom was working late. Andrew had to pick something up at the Shoppers, which brought us to close to a few dinner options; Cozmos, PJ Quigley's, Tim Hortons, and the Authentic Vietnamese Pho House. It didn't take long to decide.



After a long day on Saturday and another long day at work on Sunday, I was running on fumes today. It actually felt like I was coming down with a flu. I felt exhausted, frail, and weak. All I wanted was pho to boost my energy. Anything else was just a bonus. Iced coffee? Spring Rolls? Nah, that's just greed...

Sad Basil, Pho & Westfest

First off, I'd like to update you all on the basil growing in our herb garden.


The bugs are still snacking on the herbs. Since the plants were moved away from the other herbs and flowers, only a few bugs have gotten to them. With all of the rainy dark overcast weather we've had in Ottawa over the past two weeks, the three basil plants are all looking yellow and frail. They are craving heat and lots of sun!



VN and I were going to check out Westfest last week but then decided to try our luck for Sunday. The weather networks were calling for sunny weather. Instead, we went to a friend's BBQ where there were nachos, sausages, burgers, lots of drinks, and hilarious board games. Here's the pitchers of sangria. Mmm... blackberries.



Mom caught a cold last week and so we had homemade pho. The soup was made with pork ribs. It was  a fantastic pot of pho! The iced coffee made my lunch that much better.


I checked out Westfest later in the afternoon. The sunny hot weather was much needed -- and this is coming from someone who loves winter over the summer. To cool off, VN and I grabbed some iced tea at DavidsTea. VN recommended the fruity Buddha's Blend tea. She went with the Pineapple Oolong tea.


With our cold drinks in hand, we went looking for some good eats along Richmond Road. There were some ladies making spinach and cheese-filled parathas. It was very tempting. VN chose to try Railroad Ribs' pulled pork sandwich, while I just kept sipping on my iced tea.


This was my first churro experience. It was so warm, crisp, and yummy! We left Westfest before the bands began playing. I'll check out more of the food options and the concerts next year.

Authentic Vietnamese Pho House

The first time I saw this restaurant, the Authentic Vietnamese Pho House, was earlier last summer when I picked up some groceries at the Metro. I swear I smelled pho when I walked through the parking lot. Am I going crazy? Am I just craving pho? I thought to myself. I shrugged it off and didn't think about it until Richard mentioned that there was indeed a pho place in that plaza. He said it was decent. I made a mental note.

Sometime back in October, I dropped by for a quick bowl of pho and an order of spring rolls. The pho was good. I've been on a lookout for a new pho place that's closer than Chinatown. The last memory of going out for pho was with VN at Koi Asia -- and it wasn't a good memory either. The soup was extremely salty and didn't resemble the old Pho Mi 108 soup as it had in the past. 

(For those who didn't know; Pho Mi 108 was bought by the current Koi Asia owners and apparently kept some of their staff to do their Vietnamese dishes. At first, their pho and spring rolls retained the same flavours after their take over. However, over a few months, their pho standards began to steadily drop. I'd only order their Chinese dishes from now on.)

CA and I have gone to the Pho House more than twice. During our first dinner there, she explained that she used to be a pho addict back in university (after I introduced it to her). Since then, she's had mediocre experiences at multiple restaurants and pho just wasn't the same anymore. That's until we began inhaling our bowls of pho at the pho house. A week later, we both went back for more pho after we both had a long day at work.

Sometime later, I received a worrying text from CA out of the blue: "I think I have a problem."

Holy crap! What happened? Thoughts raced through my mind.

My phone buzzed again. "I want pho again" she admitted. We just had pho twice in just over a week.

I tried to console her: 

"Well, you've done well. The first step to getting better is admitting that you have a problem. :p I'm proud of you. As a former pho addict, I've learned to control my urges for pho. Pho no longer controls my life. And I just want to say that I'm here from you. :)"

That was back in October. Fast forward to a few nights ago on Pie Day; we went out for a quick dinner. CA ordered the pho with rare beef and beef balls. I got their hu tieu with chicken and rare beef. It would've been nice to see some banh pâté chaud (Vietnamese meat pies) as a special Pie Day option. Ah well.




We received a plate of vibrant herbs and bean sprouts soon after. As we waited for our bowls of noodle soups to arrive, we got our dipping dishes ready with some Sriracha and hoisin sauce.




Oh yeeeeah! Mine came with wider rice noodles, slices of napa cabbage, fried shallots, and soup made of chicken. Both of our noodle soups were tasty.


The small restaurant is located across the police station on Greenbank Road, inside the Greenbank Hunt Club Center. You no longer have to venture out from Nepean for a good bowl of pho.

Humble Bowl of Homemade Pho

It’s been a while since I last wrote about homemade pho. We’ve definitely made and enjoyed many pots of pho since. It seems we've been giving Phnom Penh noodles more love.

One of the many pots of pho was made with pork bones. We try to buy the meatier pork bones. The meat becomes tender after being simmered in the soup for two or three hours and just melts in your mouth.

Thin rice noodles were soaked in cold water at least an hour prior to eating. Since the rice noodles have already absorbed a lot of water, they only need to soften in boiling water for literally one second. I like to press the cooked noodles with the ladle to drain any excess water, that way it doesn’t taint the soup.

My bowl of noodles was topped with some tender bits of pork, some slices of beef (eye of round), and some green onions. We didn’t have any cilantro or onions that day or else those would’ve been added too.

I like to bring the pot of pho soup to a boil for a few seconds and then bringing it down to a gentle simmer when I’m ready to eat. The soup would become cloudy if the pot of pho were to be left on a boil. Ladles of super hot soup filled the bowl and then the bowl of pho was eaten immediately. The thin slices of beef are cooked in the soup and the pork bits are heated through.

The thing I love about homemade pho is that you can just top up your bowl with more soup afterwards. I usually end my meal with a ladleful of soup to wash everything down. Mmm...

Pho and Egg Rolls on a Game Night - Updated

A few days ago, EU and I went to see the visiting Florida Panthers play against the Ottawa Senators. My uncle offered to take us out for pho before the game since the Scotiabank Place isn’t the best place for food. I couldn’t say no. They hadn’t been to Koi Asia or the former Pho Mi 108, so I suggested that we go there instead of Kanata Centrum.

Once we sat down at the empty restaurant, I reassured my uncle that this is one of my favourite joints when I crave pho. That seemed to do the trick, but I thought I’d add one more thing; Koi Asia has chefs that make a decent rice noodle with black bean sauce. My uncle was hooked.

We quietly looked over the menu. My uncle broke the silence with a laugh. He directed my attention to the description of the rice noodles with black bean sauce… or should I say “balck becan sauce.” We all had a few tries at pronouncing the typo and laughed at the ridiculously sounding sounds we made. We’re such trolls.

Even though we were the only people in the restaurant, the lady and the man working didn’t pay any attention to us. Sure, it’s uncomfortable when the service staff hovers over you, but it’s also very annoying when they don't even pay attention at all.

Nevertheless, we flagged them down, gave them our order and waited for the food to come. EU wanted to make a ying-yang out of the hoisin and Sriracha sauce. I showed him what it sort of looked like. I realize now that I shouldn’t have encouraged him.

I got a small bowl of pho with slightly fatty beef and beef balls. EU asked for a large bowl of pho with tendons, beef balls, tripe, and medium-rare beef. The waiter looked confused at EU and then looked at my uncle. The waiter had to ask my uncle if EU had meant a small or medium bowl instead. Nope. My uncle wanted to have some pho as well, which was why he told EU to get a large bowl. Imagine if you overhead a 10-year-old kid tried to order a large bowl of pho. Hahaa!

My uncle got the rice noodles with black bean sauce. It was glistening when the plate arrived at the table. “I can eat this all week, everyday,” he quipped.

The bowl of soup to the bottom right corner of the photo is my uncle’s. He took some soup, noodles, and most of the protein from EU’s large bowl of pho. Other then that, EU finished all the noodles and the rest of the protein. He was close to finishing the soup in his bowl – two spoons away. I couldn’t believe he ate that much! What a kid... Like father, like son.

While at the game, I wanted to try Golden Palace’s egg rolls. According to a lot of people, the egg rolls were one of the best in Ottawa. At $6.50 a serving, I was hoping they would be decent.

I was presented this tray. The first impressions weren’t good. Two large open-ended egg rolls, cut in half.

The egg roll was on the thicker side. There was a thin crisp layer, but the rest of the wrapper was soggy. The egg roll was packed with lightly seasoned pork and cabbage filling. It was pretty disappointing. But at least they were moist.

Although the egg rolls were disappointing, the Sens’ effort was the opposite. Sens won 4-3. Ottawa couldn’t defend their one goal lead. They allowed the Panthers come back with under a minute to go. It looked like the game was going into overtime, but then the Sens scored with about four seconds left in the game. VN summed up the game with two words, “epic win.”


*Update on Feb. 2012:
My most recent trip to Koi Asia for pho was in February. I had ordered the same bowl of pho (slightly fatty beef with beef balls) and found a few things different. The first thing I noticed right away was that they had skimped on the protein. If I had put together the three slivers of beef balls that I was given, it would've probably added to half a beef ball. Beef balls aren't even that large to begin with.

The second thing I noticed was that the pho soup tasted watered down and sweetened. I could've just had a bad batch. Now in saying all of this, I totally understand that Koi Asia is no longer a Vietnamese/pho restaurant. Rather, it's a Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurant that makes better stir-fried dishes than bowls of pho. I'd recommend sticking to the Chinese sections of their menu.*

Koi Asia Takes Over Pho Mi 108 - Updated

I heard some rumblings back in April that my favourite pho restaurant was closed. We’ve been going for almost five years! Sadly, Pho Mi 108 is no longer there. It was taken over and the name was changed to Koi Asia. I wanted to try the place out so Andrew and I dropped by the restaurant a few days ago.

Koi Asia serves Canadian-Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food. Most of the items on the menu were Canadian-Chinese fare. Wonton soup, chop suey, egg foo young, and the dreaded sweet and sour chicken balls – that kind of thing. I’m guessing that they want to do a lot of take-out and delivery orders.

The “traditional lunch bowls” looked decent. I was thinking of getting the bean sprout fried noodles (without the bean sprouts) and beef with black bean sauce. But then I saw the pho. I had to try it. Maybe next time...

To be on the safe side of things, I asked the waitress if the bean sprouts came in the pho. She replied that the bean sprouts, lime, and basil were served separately. Just checking.

I had read from a few places that the pho was different. What lies! My bowl of pho looked the same stuff. It smelt like the same. And it even tasted like the same stuff that Pho Mi 108 had once served. The only difference was the large amount of noodles. They gave me a lot of noodles! You can still see soup in the bowl in the picture above, but once I mixed the noodles into the soup, all I saw was the rice noodles. I feel like the soup is a bit sweeter than usual. Maybe I need to squeeze more lime juice next time.

We tried the Vietnamese spring rolls to see if the recipe had changed, but nothing was changed. The spring rolls had the same filling and were even fried in the same manner. These were just as greasy as usual.

Andrew got the grilled pork and chicken, and Vietnamese spring roll vermicelli bowl. He said there weren’t enough peanuts and the nuoc cham wasn’t very strong. I told him that the restaurant makes their nuoc cham like that so that it’s less off-putting to some of their customers. Overall, Andrew said that it was okay, but that homemade vermicelli bowls are much, much better. The main reason was because everything can be customized easier. True that.

Koi Asia has a small Thai section on their menu; stuff like tom yum soup, Panang curry, stir fried lemon grass (with chicken or beef), and pad Thai.

Their Vietnamese items include spring rolls, pho, bun bo hue, and vermicelli bowls.

I was very pleased that they didn’t change their pho. I’m pretty sure the chefs from Pho Mi 108 were still around. I wonder if they’ll stay on to help with the Vietnamese section of the menu or if they are just here to train the new chefs. No matter what happens, I hope the pho doesn’t change.

Their service was lacking that evening, even though there were only two other tables being occupied. I actually had to walk up to the guy, who was standing behind the counter, and hand him the menus and our order. *Le gasp* It bugs me, but it won't deter me from future visits.

Since they do free deliveries over $20, maybe I'll try to get some pho delivered to be in the evening. In any case, I’ll definitely come back to try their Chinese and Thai dishes in the future. I’ll be back to see if they change the pho, too! That’s a guarantee.


*Updated on Jan. 2012:
The quality of their Vietnamese dishes, like the pho and hu tieu, have dropped significantly. I'd stick to the Chinese section of their menu. I'm on the lookout for a new pho place close to our house. Any suggestions?*

~*~*~

Koi Asia

3825 Richmond Rd., Unit 5A

Ottawa, ON

613-596-0760