When I was in my third year at university, my friends and I would frequently come to Taste of Asia for a cheap and delicious bowl of pho, although laden with so much MSG that copious amounts of water would not suffice. We came here so frequently that the servers recognized us, and we would often engage in conversations with them!
Unfortunately, they changed owners within the past year or so. Taste of Asia became rebranded as Tasty Pho, and they underwent renovations as well. It is no longer a hole in the wall style place but still seems to be family-run. There’s a brand new coat of paint, some big TV screens, new tables and new chairs.
The boyfriend and I came here twice in the last 4 months. Both times, it was because Wah Lun next door was really busy and we didn’t want to wait for a table. The service here is quick and it is never that busy, although the food is decent.
#28, Pho Tai, Nam, Sach, $7.95: This bowl of pho came with rare beef, flank, and tripe. There was a decent amount of meat and tripe. The broth was delicious and fragrant, although a bit more on the salty side. I loved that there was a lot of chopped green onions as well. Overall, very delicious and comforting.
Grilled pork and spring rolls w/ vermicelli, $9.50: The pork was very flavourful with a good amount of lemongrass flavour to it. They do a great job of grilling meats and it’s always very flavourful w a slightly grilled and sweet taste.
The spring rolls were fresh and crunchy as well. The side of veggies were also really fresh, just like my pho.
Overall, Tasty Pho does live up to its’ name and is pretty tasty! Out of the two other Vietnamese places we eat at in this neighbourhood (Coconut Tree and Thai’s Saigon Bistro), Tasty Pho has risen to the top of our list.
Yay!
The restaurant is more on the small side, but the seating still felt pretty comfortable. The decor is a bit all over the place with mismatched chairs (note the more royal red seat covers vs. the others) and mismatched tables (note the white table cloth tables, wooden table, and glass pane table) but that’s when you know it’s a legit Chinese restaurant!
Beef noodles w/ vegetables in soup with dragged noodles, $7.50: For $7.50, this was really worth it and so delicious! The broth was clear and not too heavy, but still full of flavour. There was a generous amount of beef slices and vegetables as well.
Dan dan noodles w/ cutting noodle, $7.50: What Lanzhou noodle soup to me, is dan dan noodles to the boyfriend. He loves dan dan noodles due to the peanuts and spiciness. I only tried a small bite since I was sick and didn’t want to aggravate my stomach with the chili oil, and it was really good!
Bai Bua is conveniently located in East Van, by Hastings and Nanaimo. Within a couple of blocks, you are in foodie heaven… Tacofino, Red Wagon, East Cafe, Platform 7, Aer Cafe, Sushi Nanaimo… and of course, Bai Bua!
Tom yum noodle soup, $10.90: Cinnamon had been here a couple times before, and said the tom yum noodle soup was pretty good. Despite not being allowed to eat spicy food, she decided to break the rule that night because this soup was just THAT good! It packed a good amount of spice and was a generous portion.
Curry noodle, $11.90: It took us awhile to order because I was having a hard time choosing what to get. Everything sounded so good! In the end, Sangria was nice enough to offer splitting two dishes! The first dish we ordered was the curry noodle. Sangria had also been here before, and really loved these noodles.
Roasted duck red curry, $12.90: Originally, Sangria and I had ordered green curry. But after placing the order, we saw the roasted duck special listed on their chalkboard and both wanted that instead! Then, Cocoa read the menu as well and decided that SHE also wanted to change her pad thai to the roasted duck red curry as well.
Tom Yum Noodle Soup, $10.90: The next week, I took the boyfriend here! We were both wanting to try the tom yum soup, so why not get some noodles with it too? I’m glad I double checked with the server because although it didn’t sound like it, this dish contained both coconut milk and regular milk.
Green curry, $11.90: On my first visit I tried the red curry, this time it was the green curry! The green curry wasn’t as spicy and more on the sweet side. As with the red curry, the green curry was rich and creamy from the coconut milk. The chicken was moist and juicy, with a good amount of veggies inside.
Coconut rice large, $5.00: A Thai dinner isn’t complete without coconut rice! Their coconut rice is so good. It has a strong coconut flavour and is slightly sweet. Any curry and their coconut rice is the perfect marriage!
Fat Mao Noodles is located inside Chinatown. It is easy to spot from the rest of the stores on the bloack due to it’s glass walls.
The restaurant is fairly small, but seating is still comfortable because customers do not have to squish beside each other. I was greeted instantly by the workers in the open concept kitchen. My friend and I came around 12 pm, and there was only one other table (pic taken before we left).
The menu is also worth including because it is so cute! We really enjoyed the cat themed decor in here, and I’m sure cat lovers would appreciate it as well.
Each table also has a side of sauces to go with the noodles. As you’ll soon read, these sauces played a really important part to my bowl of noodles!
Braised duck noodles, $11.99: With this dish, you could choose between either Shangnai chewy noodles or wide rice noodles. I love my doughy and chewy noodles so I went with the Shanghai noodles.
The noodles were perfect as well. They had a perfect bounce and were chewy. Since they weren’t completely flat, some of soup went in between the folds and made it more flavourful.
Boat noodles, $10.99: This was the special that day. It was a spicy pork broth with pork shoulder, beef balls, fried garlic bits and crunchy deep fried noodles. We also speculated on why it was called boat noodles.
Durian ice cream, $5.99: Although my friend was quite full, she really wanted to try the durian ice cream. She is a huge durian lover and wondered how durian ice cream tasted.