Once or twice…

I had a thin slice or two of lamb the night before for dinner and I had beef the following day! Gosh!!! They kept saying that red meat once or twice in a long while is fine but take my word for it – I shall make these two occasions the only exceptions. Gotta go back to abstaining for my own good!

This is new in town! The Vietnamese pho…

…at a coffee shop here!

I saw a foodie friend featuring it in his Instagram and Facebook posts and my sister went and tried and yes, she enjoyed it! We had a very nice one here but from what I saw when I drove past a few times, for reasons unknown, it seemed like they had closed down the place. Well, my girl said she would want to try as well so last Saturday, we made our way there for lunch.

There were two Vietnamese ladies…

…running the stall. You can’t get anything more authentic than that, that’s for sure!

I asked for 3 bowls of the pho (RM8.00)…

…for the 3 of us. I wanted to give the beef to the ladies but they simply refused, saying that there wasn’t that much of it, anyway.

We also had their Vietnamese rice paper rolls (RM3.00 each)…

…which I thought, weren’t anything to get excited about for want of some nice ingredients in the filling. Inside, they had tang hoon (glass noodles) mostly and a very thin slice of prawn and whatever else.

The dip that they served with the rolls…

…however, saved the day. It was exactly the same as what we had when we were invited by the girls’ Vietnamese friend in Wellington, New Zealand to his house for a Vietnamese rice paper roll party. I guess that would be how they would do it, the real thing. My missus did try to replicate it a few times but no, I did not think she managed to get anywhere near what it should taste like.

They loved the deep-fried Vietnamese spring rolls (RM1.00 each)…

…a lot and the ladies were so nice – they gave us one extra!

That certainly was a delightful lunch. Yes, I enjoyed the pho…

…but unfortunately, I would not be having it again or not for a long time, at least.

They did not add any of those very exotic leaves – the cilantro leaves, the Thai basil, the daun kesum (Vietnamese mint/coriander) and so on. I think I read somewhere that they do not do that in the northern parts of the country, Hanoi included. Well, I, for one, was glad because ever since I have been unwell, I get put off by any strong-smelling ingredient. Those leaves would definitely ruin my appetite! When we were almost done, I saw a (Vietnamese) couple dropping by and they brought along their own bunch of Thai basil! I guess if you are used to eating those, you would insist it would not be so nice without them.

Wan Sen Corner 旺昇茶餐厅 (2.296204, 111.840820)…

…is located in the lane after the SHELL station opposite Sacred Heart School. You turn into that lane – it is the first coffee shop on your right (behind the tyre shop at the corner).