Viva La Vietda

Finally back for more!
This time though, the soup was less flavourful as I would have liked, and failed to deliver that strong herbal kick. Still a pretty good bowl of soup noodles, but slightly disappointing after such a great experience the last time.

This was a beautiful starter that really whetted my appetite. The vegetables were crunchy and tossed with a delightful and a refreshing dressing, albeit a little too sweet for me. Topped off with crispy shallots, this is the epitome of a great Asian slaw.
I did wish the portion was bigger though!

To be very honest, my experience with Vietnamese cuisine sadly never quite gotten beyond the more well known phos and banh mis. So I'm incredibly grateful that Burpple has led me to this hidden gem & extended my knowledge on the cuisine to this other dish– Bò kho.
Although it does taste somewhat similar to pho, it was much more complex in flavour because of the addition of chilli oil, tomatoes and five spice powder. Interestingly, the broth still remained light and equally comforting to tuck into. Though they ran out of bread, I was equally as satisfied with my choice of noodles; they were slippery and a great accompaniment to the delicious soup. The serving of beef was very generous as well, and had a good amount of tendon which I greatly appreciated.
Definitely have to come back to try the other dishes served from this stall, I've already got my eyes set on the rice rolls and grilled pork noodle salad!

Eating here felt like a cultural lesson on Hanoi. So there I was, expecting a side plate full of beansprouts and basil, but the friendly owners shared with me that it wasn't how it is served in Hanoi. Instead, what the locals get is a plate of fried doughnuts (or more familiarly known to us as youtiao) to dip into the flavourful soup. True enough, the place which was brimming with Vietnamese patrons all had youtiao on their tables. It isn't on the menu (yet) but it is definitely a must order!! The noodles were good (smooth & slippery) and you could really feel the love, time and effort put into cooking the soup. But dipping youtiao into it... was just an interesting experience I wish I had never missed out on.