rev:text
| - **Pho Quest, International Edition**
After several days of endless poutine and gluttonous foie gras meals, I was on the search for something clean and healthy. Both pho and ramen, popular on the West Coast when weather dips cooler don't appear to be much on the radar in Montreal.
Fortunately, Pho Mont-Royal fit the bill and, although my expectations were tempered, hit the spot.
The restaurant space is long and narrow with plentiful table seating and natural lighting. Vietnamese music played quietly in the background and there's a Vietnamese mural, the decor is clean and bright. The menu focuses largely on noodle soups, dry vermicelli dishes, and rice dishes. Our order:
BBQ Quail - $5.50. I had seen Quail on a few Gre ch restaurant menus in the area and decided to try one here. It was nicely crispy and seasoned well with a side of fish sauce. Simple but tasty.
Pho Dac Biet and Pho Tai Nam Sac - $10. Both dishes were large and generous for the price and also available with rare beef on the side (always a baseline good sign). The broth was appropriately hot and cooked the rare beef nicely with a flavor that while not particularly beefy or full of depth hit my pho craving. Noodles were ok, likely dry packaged noodles, and the tendons were quite tough, not cooked long enough in the broth. The meat slices however were quite good quality especially in the Pho Dac Biet. Although the pho Tai Nam Sac was priced the same, I found the well cooked steak to be tougher and thicker cut. Def go for the Pho Dac Biet.
Overall, we had a good meal here. Coming from California, I was looking for an alternative to the rich and deep fried food of Montreal and Pho Mont-Royal delivered.
Pho Mont Royal accepts credit cards but not Amex.
|