Thanks to buddy Mark, I now have another good place for affordable, authentic Vietnamese cuisine in Singapore π
The view of Kallang MRT station from our table at Food Haven coffee shop. Just steps away only.
Opened only last month in Jun 2024, Huong Pho must be the newest Vietnamese food stall in Singapore now.
Actually, despite their name, Huong Pho sells more than the iconic Vietnamese noodle soup. They also have banh mi and other quintessential Vietnamese dishes including spring rolls.
Huong Pho owners Mike and Hana are both first time food hawkers. Hana's hometown is near Ho Chi Minh City and she has a passion for cooking since childhood. To start Huong Pho, Hana returned to HCMC to learn the trade from a hawker master there.
I was moved on hearing what the couple had to go through and witnessing how hard they worked to serve authentic Vietnamese cuisine without shortcuts. Their passion for the trade earned my respect.
They remind me of our pioneer hawkers who created our hawker culture which we said we treasure and wanted to preserve.
Let's start eating.
The iconic beef pho.
The beefy savoury sweet soup with traces of Chinese spices was made by simmering bones and meat for hours. Mike and Hana get up at 3am to start their day as authentic, sincere, traditional cooking cannot be speeded up.
In the bowl were various cuts of beef, some tender, some slightly chewy and I had a thick chunky fat-lean piece which was soft tender, and bursting with beefy sweetness. Love it. (Three of us, we shared our food.)
I like it that Hana uses fresh kway teow noodles instead of rehydrated dry kway teow. Fresh kway teow is softer, thicker, has more rice flavour, smoother and more slurpworthy as the flavourful beef soup cling to the strands better.
You know, even in Ho Chi Minh City, most pho places use rehydrated noodles, so you see how determined Hana is to give customers the best.
Hana said their top seller is now the chicken pho.
It is made with kampung chicken, hence the texture is a little firmer than the usual battery birds but has a nicer gentle natural chicken sweetness, especially in the tenderly chewy skin.
The chicken soup was clear and light but not short of nice chicken sweetness and savouriness.
Yup..., just like with the beef pho, the tasty fresh kway teow noodles transported all the chicken soup goodness to our mouths.
If you, like me, must have your bouquet of mint, sawtooth coriander, bean sprout, etc., with your pho, do ask for it.
Lightly grilled, gently marinated bu chien tien δΈθ§ε€©, which we can taste all the subtle good porcine sweetness in the juicy fat and soft tender meat.
If you love pork, just surrender and eat your good fat today. It is worth it.
He who hesitates, lost the bu chien tien π
Hana's spring roll has slices of grilled pork belly in addition to the usual shrimp, steamed bee hoon and raw greens. Everything inside was fresh and good quality.
I love everything about this delicious spring roll - texture, taste, and the savoury tangy sweet dip added another 10 points for flavour π
Singapore has good banh mi. I say this with some confidence after trying banh mi in HCMC and in USA, Canada, Australia over the decades.
This was my first time having sardine in banh mi and it was mind blowing. Amazingly good, I mean.
Hana actually goes to the market to buy fresh sardines and steam them for hours till the bones inside are soft. No canned sardine nonsense.
Hana also makes her own pate with fresh (not frozen) pork liver, not dig it out of factory bottles or tins.
Once you take a bite, you will know what a big difference fresh ingredients make.
The toasted baguette was crisp outside, fluffy inside clamping a tight clutch of fish, pate, homemade pickle, and fresh greens bursting with complementary sweet, tangy, savoury flavours. Slot in a couple of real Vietnamese chili pepper slices and you will enjoy some masochist pleasure and pain along with it π€
Actually, this is just the first month of Huong Pho. When Mike and Hana get the engine more oiled, in optimal gear, you can imagine how much more delicious everything will be. We are all in for a bigger treat!! Especially, Vietnamese food fans.
And, that's why I will be back.
Stall name: Huong Pho
Address: 5 Upper Boon Keng Road, Singapore 380005 (food stall inside Food Haven coffee shop)
Nearest MRT: 3 - 5 minutes walk from Kallang MRT station depending on traffic light π
Tel: 9058 8788
Hours: 7am - 8pm (Mon off)
fresh sardine? that’s unusual. thanks for the tip
ReplyDeleteDear Stanley, first time for me too
ReplyDeleteThe sardines sold out fast π
ReplyDeleteOh, first time hear about sardines banh mi, interesting. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI tried this morning. Bought 4 bahn mi. 3/4 filled with veggies only very little meat/fish. Disappointed.
ReplyDeleteJOHOR KAKI Blog I’ll come for pho ga again prepared by the nice lady but I will go to star baguette for bahn mi in future.
ReplyDeleteWent down today for their food, indeed their food standard is way up beyond hidden in this coffeeshop with restaurant standard, ordered a chicken pho for myself and a bowl of beef pho for my wife, the owner is generous about putting lots of spring onion and beef and chicken for each respective bowl, kudos to him price is way worth the value for his food. Keep it up, is a must go location for their standard and both owners are keen and take pride in their food because they went around the coffeeshop to gather feedbacks after those who patronize their shop. I respect for that .. keep it up..
ReplyDeleteWill try next week
ReplyDelete