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| - saw the brand new sign for Xe Lua so close to home and was overjoyed. There really is a dearth of good Pho Places within 10 min drive from my place, so this would be a welcome addition to the few other restaurants in this plaza.
( The Spadina location is my usual, after party dinner place and they do serve up some yummy Pho at that location )
The restaurant must've just opened (7th Nov 2014 )and the decor is modern, great functional layout, and the furniture was ergonomic. The menu had the regular viet staples ( pho, bun, com, banh mi etc. ) a lot of items marked off as Not Available Yet.
My guest had ordered Rare Beef Tendon + tripe Pho and I got a bit adventurous this time with an order of Bo Kho( Spicy Beef stew ), The tea was on the house and served fast by the 4 wait staff. The two bowls came soon after. Not sure if the wait staff were being paid less or if they were over worked but they came across as being very cold and after serving the bowls, chose to stay near the bar and chat up rather than check on any of the guests at the tables. ( was 8pm )
The Pho was mediocre at best, the noodles were a tad under cooked and the bean sprouts served on the side were certain past their prime and were wilted and browning in spots.
The Bo Kho was a total let down tho, the spicy looking stew was lacking salt and worst of all, the beef was hard and fibrous. It was so under cooked that after trying two morsels my jaw was aching from the chewing. Through the 20 minutes of our dining time, not once did the wait staff bother to check on our table.
After finally getting the attention of a young gentleman ( must've been the owner's son ), i explained that the beef was undercooked and hence i wasn't able to eat it. They wouldn't discount the cost of the dish from the check and I was in no mind to reason with them.
Wish this was not such a let down
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