having watched tan kheng hua's 'table for 3' on channel 5, i was itching to try out pho31 as there weren't many notable vietnamese dineries in singapore.. though it was lunch hour, only one lone table occupied the staff.. but the surprisingly empty vicinity wasn't at all worrying and in fact, brought with it a welcome relief from crowd throngs over the past weekend.
the archetypal mango salad was more thai than viet. the contrast pairing of savoury peanuts with mangoes, chopped onions and chilis created a slightly sourish sweetish twang, which made it hard not to like this refreshing and delightful appetizer.
i say, "dip it!"
another de rigueur viet dish was the combination plate of fresh rice paper rolls and fried spring roll.
"viet calamari?" -you say.. "what's that???"
to cut the long story short: viet calamari is not sliced into rings. it is not dipped in batter and it has not been fried crisp. haha.. instead, the squid is sliced into mini shield shapes and stir-fried in sweet and sour sauce, then confettied with sesame seeds. i have a weird quirk that prevents me from enjoying squid that has been sliced this way but i must say that the brittle layer of crisp surrounding the calamari made it a real toothsome treat.
still hungry? the grilled lemongrass porkchop with rice and a fried egg is guranteed to fill you up.. just take a look at the portion! upon first bite, coconuty- aroma exuded from grilled pork chop displaced my fears of pork that tasted like pork (another quirk, don't ask!). the meat was rather tender and aggreably well- seasoned and darr actually liked the harder rice grains that came with it.
the sumptious spread that awaited us. i would made return trips to pho31 simply because of its homey delights and semi- convenient location. there are other interesting dishes such as sugarcane prawns and perhaps, i should give the pho a try. funny huh... how we didn't have pho at pho31 or at a vietnamese restaurant for that matter.
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