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| - Ninh Kieu is a new Vietnamese restaurant that opened September 2013 inside Asian Town Center (E. 38th & Superior Ave.). Ninh Kieu and the new owners took over the location that use to be Pho 99 although much of the decor remains the same. Since it just opened and it was Sunday afternoon, it was busy. The servers were attentive and the lady in charge wanted to make sure we were happy. We ordered the P1 - Rare Beef Pho noodle soup (this was mine), the N2 - Clear Noodle Soup with just Shrimp (it usually comes with shrimp and beef), C2 - Pork Chop and Rice, and C8 - Grilled Shrimp with Veggies and Rice. See photos of our meal. I got to sample everything and all the dishes were tasty. But to me, Vietnamese restaurants make it or break it based on the Pho. And Ninh Kieu's Pho was good. Unlike some other places, the noodles soups only have one size. The broth was savory and the noodles were plentiful. The beef slices were on the smaller side, but the quantity was reasonable. Overall, I'll go with 4 Stars as I definitely enjoyed the meal and highly recommend the restaurant especially for anyone that wants to grab a bite to eat, then shop at Asia Food Market.
Here is an excerpt that I post to my Pho reviews for people new to this standard Vietnamese dish: It comes with your choice of meats along with rice noodles and some lighter herbs in a savory broth. A plate of bean sprouts, Asian basil, mint, pepper and lime is brought out on a plate. You can eat the noodle soup plain, and I recommend you do that for a bite or two to get an initial taste to enjoy the broth flavor. Many people will put in healthy handfuls from the plate of veggies, twist the lime juice, throw in a sliced jalenpeno pepper, and then squeeze some hoisin sauce (thick black sweet/tangy flavoring), and red Sriracha chilli sauce (a little goes a long way as the Sriracha can overpower everything). Mix it up and enjoy. Many others prefer to put the sauces on a plate and dip the meat in it one bite at a time, in order to keep the broth and noodles as is. Pho is a two handed affair with the soup spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Lots of napkins are at the table to wipe your mouth AND your brow from eating all the hot noodles.
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