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| - I've heard that there are quite a few good Pho places in Newmarket, and I knew we were going to be in the area, so I randomly checked one out. We basically hit the first spot we came to, Second Bowl. Right off Yonge Street in the Yonge-Kingston Plaza, there is plenty of free parking. We were able to get a spot pretty much directly in front of the restaurant which was nice. The restaurant is actually a Pho/Thai place, which prompted immediate skepticism, but shortly overlooked since Thailand and Vietnam do share a border.
The place was not busy at all, but then again it was rather late (we arrived around 20:00). The decor was a little more modern, despite the plaza in was in looking a little out of date. It was a nice change, the dining area was spaciously laid out; with pot lights instead of florescent bulbs filling the room with white light rather than a glow.
The menu was actually a bit of a shocker, and I quickly came to realize that I should not associate this place as a Pho restaurant. Second Bowl is exactly as they advertise, a Vietnamese and Thai restaurant. They didn't boast Pho, instead they had a range of Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisines. The menu wasn't extensive in any category, but the variety was there. Since we were there for the Vietnamese, on the card for the evening was: (P6) Pho Dac Biet, (V7) Bun Cha Gio Bo, and (C1) Com Suon Nuong.
Pho Dac Biet. This is the house special Pho and came with rare beef, well done beef, beef tripe, beef tendon, and beef balls (missing my favs: brisket and fatty beef, boo). As usual, the bean sprouts; leaves of basil, coriander, and culantro; lime, and Thai chili peppers came on a separate dish. They were acceptable, with little to no brown spots indicating wilting. I never add any sriracha nor hoisin sauce directly to the soup as it clouds the true taste of the broth. Instead, I use it only for dipping the meats. Every spoonful has soup, noodles, and meat (note: I always ask for scissors to cut up the larger pieces of meat to about 1/2 of the size of my soup spoon). My first taste is always the broth on it's own with a clean palette. The broth: this wasn't bad and I was able to taste the beef flavours associated as "Pho". Also present, albeit mild, were flavours of star anise and cloves. I couldn't discern any anise or ginger, but I'm not a fan of either so that was just fine by me. The ratio of meats to noodles was spot on! I was able to eat the entire bowl with only a little excess soup. 3,5 stars.
Bun Cha Gio Bo. Essentially a deconstucted plate of noodles, vegetables, beef, tomato, pickled carrots and radish, lettuce, peanuts, and garnished with cilantro. Fish sauce is served on the side. Since Bun is noodles without soup, the Fish sauce and the beef would be what makes the dish. The Beef: this was slightly on the thin side, but was flame grilled nicely and the flavours were OK (No lemongrass flavour but ok by me, I'm not a fan). The fish sauce also wasn't bad, being able to strike a balance of fishy, salty, sweet. There was no Thai chili pepper and it didn't come on the side. 2,5 stars.
Com Suon Nuong. Grilled Pork Chop on an open flame, steamed rice, fried egg, and onion oil. A simple dish, but very tasty if made properly. With cucumber, tomato, pickled carrots and radish. Again fish sauce is served on the side, and was the same that came with the Bun. I prefer to eat this dish without the sauce and enjoy the marinade of the meat along with the onion oil. The pork chop was ok, carrying the same flavour as the beef in the Bun, but was a little on the small side. 2,5 stars.
I've had Pho in Vietnam and the experience was quite different. Primarily a breakfast food, and much smaller bowls, Pho was widely available on street stalls. While the word Pho is in relation to the fresh rice noodles, the dried one is often used in North America. Some places will let you choose between fresh and packaged, but to be honest, even I've become accustomed to the packaged. For this reason I don't rate the noodles, instead I focus on the soup. The broth should be clear like French consommé. This is more difficult to achieve than it sounds since the soup is made by the long simmering beef bones, flank, and/or oxtail. The fat and marrow from the bones creates a frothy coating that sits atop the broth. In Vietnam, they put a tiny scoop of this into each bowl, and this makes all the difference in the world! The frothy fatty marrow packs one heck of a punch when it comes to flavour, and in an amazing way. In North America this is skimmed out so that only the clear broth remains. So here's my tip to you: When ordering Pho, you should always ask for some!
From an authentic view, they were off. Missing some key ingredients like ginger, fennel, garlic, fatty beef, and brisket. Would Second Bowl cure homesickness? Probably not. But, for me, it's A-OK. 3 stars.
If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!
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