And so the quest for a good Pho continues — Pho hasn’t been quite the Vietnamese fare I would usually go for of the late since I have a preference for non-soupy foods in general. Tucked away within Fook Hai Building facing Upper Hokien Street is May Pho Culture — a rather recent F&B addition to the building that takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Fart Tartz Cafe there. The interior does feature a mezzanine level that adds up as a dining space to the dine-in area on the first level and outdoor dining space, though it is an indie set-up where everything here is just managed by a handful of people. Being a hidden gem, May Pho Culture serves up Vietnamese Pho as their main focus — their range of pho includes pho that features quite a variety of cuts of beef; includes beef coin, beef brisket and tenderloin, whilst also offering different meat options such as chicken. Patrons who would like to have other items apart from pho can go for the Banh Mi and Com Tam that they also offer, whilst items available to share around the table includes fried and fresh spring rolls. May Pho Culture offers a decent variety of beverages here — apart from Vietnam Special Brew Coffee, they do also serve up canned drinks as well as a small selection of wines.

Hadn’t really have Pho for quite a while now considering how there are now a number of spots that serve decent Pho that is nothing to shout about; we have also been disappointed with the quality of the Pho at Mrs Pho which we used to patronise — the quality having dipped quite a bit ever since their commercialisation. May Pho Culture serves their Pho a little differently here — there aren’t many places that serves their Pho with fresh herbs by the side, along with chopped chili and wedges of lime as well; an indication of probably how much they care to replicate that authentic Vietnamese Pho-eating culture here. Patrons can choose to pluck off the leaves and drop them into the pho to elevate the dining experience here — something which we recommend even though the Pho broth was already very good on its own. The broth here is very clean, yet especially flavourful — probably one of the finest that we have had in recent times that we could easily just down the entire bowl despite being folks who don’t actually like soupy items. In the bowl of Pho also comes the slurpy rice noodles that are soft to bite, as well as onions and beansprouts for the crunch — the highlight being the tenderloin that really melts-in-the-mouth without much effort to chew; slowly cooked within the warm broth of the Pho for that level of tenderness. A really stellar bowl of Pho that is almost the gold standard of what other outfits do serve up.

While the Pho Tenderloin was the highlight for us, the Fried Spring Rolls is another item that we were also really impressed with during our visit — not only was it crisp and generously filled, it tasted actually really different from the others that we have had thus far; a little cleaner and less “fried” in a sense. For an establishment that has opened just for around two months, May Pho Culture is a gem of its own — really fresh food that is done well and good; bringing locals here a really authentic Vietnamese experience be it in terms of the style the food served, to the execution. Do expect some waiting time here during peak hours however, considering they will be a little short-handed if the place fills ups. That being said, this is definitely one place we will be coming back for the Pho; that broth is certainly hard to forget, and would be something which we will be craving for. Wishing the folks behind May Pho Culture all the best with what is to come!