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| - Third visit, that says something, and it keeps getting better.
Only thing is they only take debit or cash, so be prepared. BUT also be braced for big flavour. While it comes across as a Vietnamese pho joint, you really do want to venture beyond that section of the menu.
I went with my best friend at 5:20-ish for dinner, and there was hardly anyone in the usually bustling little restaurant. Hence, the server seemed to be in a better mood. We ordered the small satay beef pho ($7.50) and the curry beef brisket with roti ($12.95), both to share.
The satay beef pho arrived within 5 minutes of us placing the order. When it arrived, we knew we were going to have to spend the $0.50 for take-out containers. The portion size could hardly be considered "small", it was definitely a mammoth compared to any bowl I've ever seen. The satay pho was nothing I've ever imagined. The soup stock was richly layered in terms of flavor and texture. The warm spice that wafts up with the steam, then the milky sweetness of coconut, then a mild tang of pineapples are but some of the flavours I most appreciated. The soup was also creamy from coconut milk and had surprising pieces of chopped roasted peanuts here and there. All these make the super tender slices of beef and pho themselves nearly sidekicks.
Then, halfway through our pho, the brisket curry and roti arrived. Both smelled amazing (though it also made it clear that I will be washing my scarf as soon as I got home). You know how most places try to rip you off by giving you a bunch of potatoes and two itty bitty chunks of meat? Well, this was not "most places". There was enough of that perfectly cooked, not-yet-disintegrating brisket drowned in an abundance of liquid gold - the curry gravy. And thattipsti...oh boy that pillow of fluffy, crispy, doughy, buttery roti. Words can't describe it, you need to have that roti, tear it with your very fingers, dunk it in the curry sauce, and send it straight in your salivating mouth.
I packed most of the curry as leftovers (yeah, we tried to finish, but obviously failed by a pretty wide margin).
Including tips, our dinner came to $25 flat.
Come again? Do you even need to ask?
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