October 13th, 2009 by Bill Killorn
Review Series: Chinatown Challenge
When looking for a place to eat in Toronto’s Chinatown it is easy to become overwhelmed by the options. There are a lot of factors at play when you are deciding on a restaurant. Sure you want delicious food at an affordable price but, you also want a nice environment to sit and enjoy that food in. Restaurant decor and ambiance are essential parts of enjoying your dining experience. Therefore, in the Chinatown Challenge Review Series attention is not only given to the quality of the pho but the atmosphere of the restaurant as well. Decor played a large part in my dining experience this week as I tried the Pho Dac Biet at Pho Ai My.
Pho Ai My - One of the most beautifully decorated restaurants in Chinatown
Tags: pho ai my, pho dac biet, special beef noodle soup
October 8th, 2009 by Casey
Quietly sitting in the shadow of pho are vermicelli and rice. Like pho, vermicelli bowls and rice dishes can be customized into numerous different combinations. But unlike pho, they don’t garner the glory they deserve. In this article, I’m referring to the dry vermicelli combinations, and not the vermicelli soups, and rice as the steamed white rice served on plates.
Part One: Vermicelli Combos
A basic bowl of vermicelli comes with the noodle, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pickled daikon and carrots, and a bowl of light fish sauce, nuoc cham. Combination choices include different types of meats, and spring rolls. Read more.
Tags: bun, ordering vermicelli, vermicelli combo
October 7th, 2009 by kateD
Review Series: Best Vermicelli On The West Side
The strip of Bloor west between Ossington and Lansdowne is undeniably gritty; it is also a surprising and refreshing foodie destination. In a few short blocks you will find a huge variety of cheap and delicious foods from a United Nations of small, unpretentious (read slightly dingy) storefront restaurants: South Indian, Ethiopian, Greek, Persian, Mexican, Caribbean, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. But Pho My Duyen is no shabby storefront. Given the neighborhood, the décor is almost shockingly posh. What HGTV would refer to as ‘high-end finishes’ abound. Yet any concern that style reigns over substance here is dispelled with the first jasmine scented sip of premium tea. Throughout the meal, care and consideration reveals itself in myriad little ways: a paper umbrella in a drink, a spoon with a hooked end so it won’t fall into your soup when you rest it against the side of the bowl.
Surprisingly swanky interior at Pho My Duyen
Read more.
Tags: bun, grilled shrimp vermicelli, nuoc cham, shrimp, vermicelli combo
October 5th, 2009 by Bill Killorn
Review Series: Chinatown Challenge
Finding pho in Chinatown is not hard, there are many places that serve the delicious combination of beef, broth and noodles. What is difficult though is finding the pho that best suits your tastes, as every restaurant adds their own little spin on the traditional Vietnamese dish to make it their own. Our Chinatown Challenge series is here to help you make sense of your pho options. This week we visit Pho Hung.
The Pho Hung logo has become synonymous with Vietnamese food in Toronto
Tags: pho, pho dac biet, pho hung, special pho noodle soup
October 3rd, 2009 by kateD
Review Series: Best Vermicelli On The West Side
Ossington has exploded in the last year: posh new restaurants and bars open weekly, and half the places you wander into are so fresh that your cocktail comes with a side of drywall dust. Gentrification is in the air, but so far Pho Tien Thanh still looks like the restaurant that time forgot. The lighting is fluorescent, an A/C unit takes pride of place above the door, the bathroom layouts are… unconventional. Luckily, you are here for the food, not the décor. And, as the busy lunchtime crowd attests, the food more than makes up for the lack of ambience. Local business people and office workers drop in for take out, families enjoy lunch together, hipsters take a welcome break from cruising the trendy shops and galleries.
Street view of Tien Thanh on Ossington
Tags: bun nem nuong cha gio, pho tien thanh, vermicelli, vermicelli combo
October 2nd, 2009 by Christina
A full moon will appear this Saturday October 3rd. The moon will shine its brightest this season bringing about joys of family gatherings. The celebration of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is accompanied by lots and lots of food and of course the giving, receiving and eating of Moon Cakes. The most common of its forms is of lotus bean paste wrapped in a thin layer of baked pastry in round shapes embossed with ancient Chinese emblems such as dragons, calligraphy and even rabbits.
emblem of a dragon
Tags: banh trung thu, moon cake, moon festival
Jennifer: What a great list!
Steve: Best pho I have ever had is here, I prefer the one that is pho ye yong or something. It is a special cut of...
bridget sookma.: i love this site of wines and pictures and info on other restaurants
Asha: This place is so tasty, and such great value. The avocado shake is really good but very filling.