Seems like there is no place in downtown Toronto to get a bowl of pho for less than $7 nowadays. My last vivid memory of this place was so incredibly miraculous. Since that time, 2 years has passed and I went back thinking my last experience couldn't be tainted. I had compared every bowl of pho in the GTA-wide in relativity to this Ossington pho. Remembering that the broth was rich, perfectly oily yet flavoured, with generous and thick servings of beef and noodle.
After being 2 years away, I feel like my memory must be going because it hasn`t served me right. When we ordered our two bowls of pho and a platter of spring rolls, the noodles were very sparsely tossed , even after comparatively assessing the large and small. The beef condiments were OK but I was so disappointed in the portions and flavour department that the damage could not be undone. When four very skinny, small, and still rice-paper white spring rolls made it to my table, I realized I could have done a better job at home. Was it possible that I have too refined tastes or that I have become too harsh as a pho connoisseur? Regardless, I will not be returning - there is now too much of a stretch between my expectations and reality.
Both my boyfriend and I left like hungry, desolate asian children feeling quite unsatisfied after having two bowls of pho and a platter of spring rolls....... and we could, in that very moment, have been perfect candidates for a global hunger TV advertisement.