In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the Vietnamese restaurants of Toronto’s Downtown West End, seeking out the best Vermicelli combinations. Often overshadowed by the ragingly popular Pho, Vermicelli really should be a contender for the greatest noodle dish.  In a typical vermicelli combo, various grilled meats, fresh herbs and vegetables, are arranged on top of thin vermicelli noodles. The diner then mixes the toppings into the noodles, dressing them with Nuoc cham (dipping sauce composed of fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and chili) to taste, making this a deliciously creative dish to eat.

Vermicelli combo with spring roll, grilled pork, and shrimp wrapped around sugarcane

Walking down a lonely stretch of Dundas, populated largely by Portuguese sports bars and defunct plumbing outlets, the façade of Pho Phuong draws you in like a beacon. Huge plate glass windows open into the restaurant, revealing trendy, modern décor in a style best described as Zen-hotel-lobby-chic. A multicultural crowd, whose demographic leans towards the young and hip, fill the room, happily slurping noodles. The restaurant is busy, even on a Tuesday after 9pm.

Tea is set down in front of you as soon as you slide into the dark brown banquette. Fresh orchids decorate the room. A well-designed menu, seemingly an inch thick, is set before you. Well over 200 items, not counting drinks and desserts, are listed. I consider myself lucky that I don’t have to contemplate all 200 items; tonight I have come to eat Vermicelli, of which a mere 28 combinations are on offer. I choose #70 Bun cha gio, thit nuong, chao tom (Dry Vermicelli with Spring roll, grilled pork and shrimp wrapped sugar cane) at $8.50.

The noodles arrive in a large, shallow bowl with an elegant shape. Arrayed on top of the noodles in orderly rows are the pork, shrimp and a darkly crisp spring roll, along with strips of vinegared carrot and daikon, shredded cucumber, fresh mint leaves and bean sprouts. Nuoc cham sauce arrives on the side in a pretty little star shaped ramekin. The aroma of the grilled pork tantalizes. It has been sliced thin to maximize the crispy charred exterior, while still being pleasantly fatty and tender. The spring roll is perfectly fried and filled with a dense mixture of delicately chopped meat and vegetable. The shrimp has been finely minced and mixed with a good dose of garlic, before being formed around a sugarcane skewer, reminiscent of a sophisticated Pogo. The texture of the shrimp is slightly hot doggy, but the flavor is pleasantly sweet and mild. Each element of the dish stands alone, but only when all the elements are aggressively blended together in the bowl and topped with the Nuoc cham, does the complexity of the dish as a whole emerge. The grilled pork imparts its lovely smokiness to the entire dish. The Nuoc cham lends a sweet saltiness. Refreshing mint and cool cucumber contrast with warm slippery noodles. No two bites are identical, which makes consuming the dish exciting, and much more than the sum of its parts.

Just as the décor is unusually stylish for a noodle joint, so too has the management gone the extra mile to make the dining experience comfortable for a wide variety of dinners—big booths can easily accommodate large parties, high chairs and booster seats are available. While you will pay a slight premium over run-of-the-mill Vietnamese restaurants, the extra couple bucks are well worth it. Pleasant lighting and ambience make this an ideal date spot, particularly if the object of your affection is less than familiar with Vietnamese Food. Pho Phuong provides the uninitiated with a great first impression Vietnamese cuisine. Follow up your dinner with some Latin music at the nearby Lula lounge and you’ve got an authentically Torontonian evening out.

Pho Phuong
1603 Dundas w. (East of Brock)
416-536-3030
10 am-10 pm 7 days a week