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| - Whenever I see a 3+ star Vietnamese place pop up in my search in Durham region, my heart skips a beat. I'm such a huge noodle soup lover and always on the lookout for a new joint to call my new go-to place for Pho. After reading reviews for the Red Kitchen, I thought maybe this could be the one. Sigh...
We ordered a rare beef pho lunch special which comes with 2 mini (they're really mini) and a choice of coffee or tea and a bowl of bun bo hue. I've been a fan of bun bo hue ever since I first tasted it in Pho Metro (scarborough) and have tried this delectable soup in many other Vietnamese joints and I'm sad to say, this one was the most dumbed down version of this glorious soup I love so much.
The broth for the rare beef pho was so bland and lacked beefiness umami. The meat was ok, I think. I was too busy digging into my own bowl of spicy (well, it was supposed to be) bun bo hue. As far as the lunch special rare beef pho is concerned, I don't think I'd order it again.
Bun bo hue suffered similar fate as the rare beef pho but with more transgressions made against such a signature dish. First of all, they had the wrong noodles for this soup. They served the same rice noodles that was in the pho, not the thick round noodles bun bo hue is supposed to have. From there on, it was a lack of a whole bunch of ingredients (shredded red cabbage, onion, Vietnamese bologna, blood jello...etc) that made this dish so disappointing. The broth didn't taste enough of the lemongrass or the sweet/salty/sour balance or even the beef. There was a good amount of brisket and rare beef but asides from that, there was nothing else. Literally....
I'm sad to say that the Red Kitchen did not impress me. I'm willing to give it another shot and try something else but it won't be any time soon.
Next stop, the Pho Metro in Ajax!
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