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| - Since I've been a young child, every Saturday my family would take a trip to Chinatown and we would dine at Train (Xe Lua). My father's Vietnamese so he always had a preference of having Vietnamese for lunch instead of Chinese. Because of this, Train remains a restaurant close to my heart. So when it comes to this review, I might be a bit biased about Train. I remember when Train used to be on the first floor of the location, covered with cardboard boxes and sticky floors everywhere. It's come a long way from back then. However, the food still delivers.
There are two dishes that I usually order at Train, the vermicelli with barbeque pork, spring rolls and 'raw pork' (also known as Nem Chua which is Vietnamese Fermented Pork) and pho special (101).
I never used to order vermicelli at Train, but it grew on me after trying it on a hot summer day. My dad would sometimes buy Nem Chua at Nguyen Huong (a Banh Mi place down the street) and after eating it with homemade vermicelli, it was a dish that I really enjoyed. My dad would also make his own version of the Vietnamese barbeque chicken/pork when I was younger which tastes exactly like the one at Train. All the components of their vermicelli dish are ones that I have had the homemade version of and although it does taste great, I do prefer the one at Train. The fish sauce at Train is quite strong and the amount they give you tends to be too much for me as I prefer my vermicelli light and fresh. The peanuts add a nice crunchy texture to the noodles, and the bean sprouts and veggies, give it freshness. But with everything in the dish, it's a great combination.
Train uses fresh noodles while many other restaurants use dried noodles for their soups. This make a huge difference in texture as fresh noodles are softer while dry noodles are harder and less pleasant to have in pho/soups. The noodles here are also thicker than what you get at other places which I find to be a lot heartier when scooping a mouthful. The broth is nicely seasoned and isn't too salty. However, I will admit that the broth is a tad oily and will leave a film in your mouth. Tendon has always been my favourite part when it comes to "toppings". If you leave the tendon in the warm broth for too long, it dissolves and does add even more oil to the soup. So my suggestion is to eat it up fast before it melts into the soup. I enjoy getting both the cooked beef as well as the raw beef in my pho. The raw beef should be dipped into the warm soup so that it cooks it but the longer it sits, the tougher it'll get.
The service at Train isn't like any other restaurant. They're not known for their service but despite that, the efficiency of the food is quite impressive. It doesn't take long for your food to come, even if the place is packed. The broth of the pho, as like most Viet places, is already prepared and they just scoop it onto the noodles and meat. The prices at Train are very affordable and $10ish can get you a bowl of pho/bowl of vermicelli as well as a drink (try the 3 bean drink with coconut milk!), which is a decent amount of food.
After rereading my review, I guess there is an art to eating pho. There are certain items in the broth that are much more enjoyable when they are consumed in a certain order. That may be just me and how I eat but this is my personal review of the restaurant and food. I enjoy Train a lot and trying other Vietnamese places don't compare (...well, maybe Pho 88 is alright - but that's a review for another day). Even though I'm on a quest to experience as many Vietnamese places I can, Train will be one that I'll always come back to.
(This review is solely for the Spadina location of Train, I've been to all the other locations and quality of food is indeed different at all the locations.)
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