Tag: Vietnamese food

Passable Noodle Soup at Pho Vistro

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pho VistroLocation: 259 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.phovistro.com/

The pho at Pho Vistro was fine.  There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, and I didn’t dislike eating it.

But it made no real impression on me; my biggest takeaway is that it was food and I ate it.  It wasn’t memorable in any particular way.

Pho Vistro

They have a few different varieties of pho on the menu; I ordered the restaurant’s namesake dish, which features beef and chicken.

The broth had a nice, clean chicken flavour, but almost none of the distinctive spicing you expect from a good bowl of pho.  They have a couple of bottles of sauce on the table that add a nice dose of spice and zestiness; these are absolutely essential.  On its own, the soup is seriously bland.

Pho Vistro

The slices of chicken and beef are okay, but they all had a vaguely leftovery flavour, and they’re all a bit tough.

The broad rice noodles are what you’d expect. They’re good.

Pho Vistro

It all adds up to a very inoffensive meal that I can’t imagine anyone getting too excited over.

Surprisingly Tasty Vietnamese Food at Mii Sandwich Co.

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Mii YorkdaleLocation: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: http://mii.herokuapp.com/

Mii is a small fast food chain specializing in quick Vietnamese eats.  As far as I know it’s only in mall food courts, which kinda makes you think it’s not going to be very good.

(Also, the name seems like a lawsuit from Nintendo waiting to happen.  It’s a bit puzzling.)

Well, I just tried their classic banh mi, and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it.  It’s certainly not the best banh mi I’ve ever had, but it gets pretty much everything right, and very little wrong.

Mii Yorkdale

Basically: it’s not the bastardization you’d expect from the food court in Yorkdale.  It’s legit.

It’s seven bucks, so it’s somewhat pricey by banh mi standards, but it’s a hefty sandwich; considering the location, you really can’t expect it to be much cheaper.

Mii Yorkdale

Everything is as it should be: a nice slathering of butter, a healthy amount of chunky pate, a variety of cold cuts, and a good proportion of veggies and cilantro.  There was some kind of dark sauce that was a little bit too sweet for my taste, but aside from that, it was a tasty sammich.

The baguette was quite good, too; maybe a little bit too crunchy on its exterior, but otherwise soft and fresh.