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Pho Sweet Basil

Pho Sweet Basil
7 Kingsland Road
E2 8AH

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, July 30th, 2009

The Victims: Gerry, Ben, Matt, Carolyn

The Damage: Cheap! Like maybe £15 each. Maybe.

The Background: It was one of those random days, and a rare one too with the sun shining. We dropped by The Wenlock and tried out some ales, sitting in their "garden" (read: field across the street). I admired the "new" floor. (i.e., They've finally  pulled up the grody carpet.) And then we wanted to check out the fire which was still smoldering over Hackney--and somehow we found ourselves wandering around the back streets behind Old Street, on our way to Kingsland Road.

Gerry and Ben go out to eat on Kingsland Road all the time so it was a good game we were playing:

Them: "No, not there. We've been there before."
Me: "Not there either. I've been there too and the loos are gross."

Until eventually, we found ourself at Pho Sweet Basil, which none of us had been too.

The Entrance: They're empty. Whereas later, when we walk down the road, Tay Do Cafe is PACKED. And they serve alchohol, where we just wanted to BYOB. No problem, they tell us. We can BYOB. (Which has part of me wondering...is that legal?) The decor is new and modern and vaguely flat-pack-like.

The Starters: Beef in betel leaves. These are old. Like someone made them last night and just didn't get around to serve them. Either that, or they are way overcooked. The beef is tough. But the vegetables are fresh. And then there are some summer rolls, which are as nice as summer rolls can be. (I always find summer rolls rather bland. You really need the sauce. And I didn't get enough sauce.)

The Mains: Lots of different things. The best, in my opinion, was Ben's dish which was a fried rice stuffed with all sorts of delicious things, wrapped in banana leaf. This was comforting and savory and filling.

Worst was Carolyn's chicken dish, which came with some sort of curry sauce. The chicken, again, felt and tasted old and like it had been cooked once or twice before being warmed up a third time to be served to us.

 

Somewhere in the middle was my mixed seafood and vegetable dish. The prawns were generous. In general, it was very generous. Lots of fresh vegetables cooked just right. This was good. I would have it again.

The Loos: Could use a good power-washing. 

The Service: Easily confused.

The Verdict: Not my favorite.

Mien Tay

Mien Tay
122 Kingsland Rd
E2 8DP

The Victims: One Kraut, two Poles, two Yanks, an Irishman, a BBI, and a Belgian. Plus a Belgian-American baby.

The Background: Chris and Evelien text me bright and early Sunday morning. Brunch? Vietnamese style? I'm in. They want to go to Cay Tre, but I know Cay Tre can be a bit of a mess on weekends. We call ahead to get a table for six. (Note we end up being 8.5...how do these things happen?) Cay Tre can take us...at 4 p.m.

No thanks.

So Kingsland Road it is. I've just read this review of Mien Tay on An American in London and I'm intrigued. Between Chris & Evelien and myself, we've been to nearly every other place on the Kingsland Road, so Mien Tay it is. Will it be as good as Alice has experience or as bad as Alice has experienced?

The Entrance: There's no one in there. No one. It's almost like it's closed. I'ts 1 p.m. We settle in and order some beer (only Tiger or Budweiser) and eat some prawn crackers. Eventually, we order some beef in betel leaf. It's good, but I feel like the servings of beef are skinny in comparison to those at Cay Tre.

The Starters: When I go out to eat with Chris, I let him order. He's good at it. Although he normally orders enough food to feed a small army. You have to be careful about that. He gets us some squid (pictured at the beginning of this post, nice) and some spicy soft shell crab. (The second photo in this post. It is patty-like, like An American in London has described, and just not so very good). Followed by some lotus leaf salad with prawns (OK).

The Service: Sweet. Fast.

The Mains: This is where things get a bit blurry, partly because of the Tiger beers but mostly because of the sheer quantity of food that Chris ordered. There was some tofu, which was yellow and very ver good. And goat! Yes goat! On a cow platter. And it was pretty excellent. Meaty. Flavorful. Some tofu noodles, which were boring. Two steamed fish which I wasn't that big a fan of. Lots of garlicky Morning Glory (nice). A chicken dish. (Eh. This was for one of the Poles.) A lamb dish (good). And a pork dish (I don't think I tried this one).

The Dessert: Our server brings us some orange and melon slices. Perfect.

The Loos: I've seen worse.

The Verdict: Eh. Nothing really wowed me. Except for the goat, weirdly. Who would have thunk it? I like goat.

Tay Do Cafe

 

Tay Do Cafe
65 Kingsland Road
E2 8AG
Tel: 020 7729 7223

Date of Last Visit: 18 October 2008

The Victims: All, Darsh

The Damage: £15 each for a sh*tload of food. Really.

The Background: Al, Darsh, Feathers, Julie and I were hanging out at The East Room, drinking white wine. Feathers ditched us for dinner at the Greenwich branch of The Rivington.  Julie just ditched us. So we contemplated dinner. Kingsland Road it was.

Our criteria was simple: BYOB. So after picking up a bottle of Spanish white at a dodgy off-license, we headed into the very packed, joyfully so, Tay Do Cafe.

 

The Food: I get some tips from a couple sitting at a table behind us. We order summer rolls, beef wrapped in betel leaf, soft shell crab, Vietnamese pancake, a chicken dish, and a beef dish. (I know, I know, I'm sorry. You'd think I could be more specific after all these years.) Love the betel leaf. Love the chicken dish. Love the Vietnamese pancake (after reminding them to bring it to us a few times). Not so crazy about the beef or the soft shell crab.

The Bill: CRAZY about the bill. We ate and ate and ate and only paid this much...(sorry, slightly blury)...

 

The Verdict: The price is right. I'd go back here with a big group. Or with visiting Americans with  exchange rate shock. (But hey, at $1.73 to the pound, things aren't looking as bad as they have been.)

P.S. Don't forget...blog about Your Perfect Day in London by October 24th. I'll summarize all the blog posts for all to publish on their blogs as a traffic-building exercise...

Vietnamese: Little Hanoi

Little Hanoi
147 Curtain Road
EC2A  3QE
Tel: 020 7729 6868

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, 13 December 2007

The Victim: Ying

The Damage: Unknown! Ying paid!

The Background: I stood Ying up for lunch twice this week because of my own scheduling issues. Triple booked myself--I hate it when I do that. So Thursday was THE DAY--the time for me to make it up to her. I cleared my calendar for the afternoon so we could get together.

I've always walked right by Little Hanoi and their tempting buffet offer. (Cheaper still as a takeaway!) So it was about time to give it a shot. Stupidly, I got us a little lost on the way there. This is unbelievably stupid of me because it's not like I don't walk around the area all the time. I think I managed to eat up about 20 minutes of our valuable lunch time, trudging through the backstreets of Shoreditch.

The Starters: But finally, we made it to Little Hanoi. And Ying speaks Cantonese and so do the staff so all was right in the world. We ordered some summer rolls (as opposed to spring rolls?) on the advice of our server, along with some chili squid. I loved the squid--lightly fried (if there is such a thing) and dusted with thin chilli slices. I thought the summer rolls were okay...fresh and summery but a bit bland...I had to practically drown them in the brown sauce they were served with for them to taste like anything. (In all fairness, Ying rolled them in the brown sauce for me because she's much better with chopsticks than me. Although I'm certainly no slacker.)

All the while, I'm watching the buffet. It's a small little buffet. I tried to take a picture of the sign above it but felt too conspicuous. It basically said eat all you want, but if you waste anything, there will be a "wastage" fee of £1. If I had a £1 for every time my mother forced me to clean my plate as a child...

The Mains: On the advice of our server who I thought did a particularly thorough job of describing all the dishes in both English and Cantonese, I went for the dried chicken with chilli. It was served on a bed of white rice, with just the right amount of bean sprouts. Ying had the rice noodle soup with beef and she really liked it. We were both very satisfied.

Odd Observations: There was a very fully stocked bar. Intriguing. Also, Ying laughed at the chopstick wrappers that explained how to use the chopsticks inside. Apparently, you don't get this so much in China.

The Verdict: You know, I'd go back sometime. It was cheap and nice and I liked our server. And I need to get you a photo of that "wastage" sign. I can make a whole post out of that, for sure.

Vietnamese: Viet Grill

58 Kingsland Road
E2 8DP
Tel: 020 7739 6686

Date of Last Visit: Friday, 6 January 2007

The Victims; Ben, Gerry

The Damage: £18 each. With beers.

The Background: It's a Friday and I'm been dreaming of Vietnamese food all week. I am not quite sure why, but I just keep thinking of all the places on Kingsland Road and how, after all these years. I've only tried two of them! I suggested an outing to Ben, and he and Gerry are game. So off we go.

You Should Know: Viet Grill and Cay Tre are related. I asked our server how, and she said the cooks are friends. I am sure there is more to this story, but that's all I got. Viet Grill is bigger that Cay Tre, and a little more modern and--if I may say so--even a bit cleaner. There's a big room downstairs too. Looks like these guys are betting on the 2012 Olympics, because the place is pretty big for Kingsland Road foot traffic.

The Starters: Ben and I split the combo platter, which I thought was a great deal at £4.95 a person. It came with the beef wrapped in leaves, which I love, along with spring rolls (not the deep fried kind), fried spinach, some other rolls, and four chilli spareribs, which were awesome. I would go back for the chilli spareribs.

The Mains: Our sever recommended the catfish and it looked lovely when it arrived at the table. It was served whole, head and all. Our server helpfully deboned it for us (I made mental notes for next time).

The catfish was tasty. I loved the skin...it was crispy and almost barbecue-like. But you know what? It was a little dry. This didn't stop me from eating it, but I just wish it had been a little moister. Ben's duck in jalapeno sauch...hmmm...not what I expected. (And yes, I suppose part of me was expecting little pancakes.) Truthfully, I didn't like it. I like duck, but not this kind. Stringy slices were swimming in a bland (bland as in bad, not as in fresh-and-springy-bland) sauce and just looked blah. Gerry, on the other hand, had a delicious-looking bowl of veggie pho. I have problems with pho because I usually slurp the broth all over myself, but I was just a little jealous.

The Verdict: Viet Grill was off to a good start, but I'd go somewhere else on Kingsland Road before I go back. Or, well, I'll just go back to Au Lac for the pancake. (Interestingly, Viet Grill has their pancake on the menu under "Vietnamese Pizza.")

Vietnamese: Au Lac

104 Kingsland Road
E2 8DP
Tel: 020 7033 0588

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, December 2, 2006

The Victims: Me, Myself, and I

The Damage: 14 gbp

The Background: Funnily enough, more than one person has found my blog by Google'ing "Cammy Nails." See, Cammy Nails is where I get my manicures and pedicures every so often, and it's off of Whitecross Street in a newer, more spacious abode. Whitecross Street is one of my favorite streets in London. (Although you would probably be puzzled by that statement if you were to purposefully trek there.) And well, I seem to mention Cammy Nails a lot.

I dropped in at Cammy first thing this morning (first thing for a Saturday morning, that is), and I was treated to a pedicure and manicure AT THE SAME TIME. As someone who never seems to have enough time, this was a Godsend. Thank you, Cammy Nails! (For your reference, Cammy Nails can be reached at 020 7496 9399. They are at 18 Fortune Street, EC1Y 0SB.)

I happened to be reading A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain while I was in there, and of course I just happened to be on the Vietnam chapter. So I asked the folks at Cammy...if I were to go to Kingsland Road for lunch, where should I go? They all immediately said Au Lac. (In case you didn't figure it out, everyone that works at Cammy is Vietnamese.) This was followed quickly by Tay Do, which I will try another time. They were a little impressed that I'd already been to Cay Tre and Song Que, but not very. (They looked particularly puzzled by Song Que--as if they didn't really consider it Vietnamese or something.)

The Approach: So after waiting forever for my nails to dry, I walked over to Au Lac. I spied two older women out front, perusing the menu; they must have been taking a break from their bus tour to the Geffrye Museum.

I casually opened the door, turned to them and said, "This is supposed to be THE BEST Vietnamese place." They tittered and were so excited and came in after me. They were so grandmotherly, I should have adopted them and sat at the same table with them, but I was on the Great Chefs chapter in A Cook's Tour and just wanted to read and eat.

The Starters and The Mains: After having the Vietnamese pancake at Song QUe, I wisely opted for the same at Au Lac--but this time, not the veggie version! The shrimp were lucious--nice and fat--not those little teeny ones you get in prawn sandwiches over here. And the pancake itself was amazing...I asked my server what was in it, and she explained that it was three different types of rice flour. My plan was to eat about 1/3 of this, and take the rest home. Of course, this plan was ruined when I left the pancake in its carton on the table. Idiot!

I went for a spicy pho, which was really nice, although I still can't get the hang of slurping up all the noodles. It was served with a side of sprouts, lime, hot peppers, and what I think were bay leaves but I'm not really sure. The soup was really nice, but I think I liked the pancake a whole lot better. And now it's a few hours later and I'm sitting here thinking--I could really use a snack--and I'm totally kicking myself for leaving the pancake on the stupid table.

During lunch, I was entertained by the proprieters young daughter, who danced her way around the restaurant, and served the fish more than I think they could ever eat in a million years.

Decor: Mustard-y walls. Banquet-style tables/chairs. Lovely paintings. In short, a bit more atmospheric than Cay Tre or Song Que.

The Verdict: Love the pancake.

Vietnamese: Song Que

134 Kingsland Road
E2 8DY
Tel: 020 7613 3222

Date of Last Visit: Friday, November 24th 2006

The Victims: Too many to mention

The Damage: £15 each with beer.

The Background: Ben & Gerry suggested a night out at the circus over at the Bethnal Green Working Man's Club. We were game for the excursion, and met up at Song Que for some eats beforehand. I, of course, was on time and everyone else showed up 10 minutes later. Rather than sit around and wait for the others, I chatted up my server and ordered up a Saigon and some of those delicious leaf-wrapped-beef-parcels and sat back to soak in the atmosphere. That last crack about the atmosphere is a joke; Song Que has as much atmosphere as a high school cafeteria.This isn't a bad thing necessarily, but I did want to mention it.

The Starters: Along with the leafy beef thingies, we ordered a veggie tofu pancake which was honestly so very delicious. I could have been happy with just that. We also ordered up an assortment platter, but I can't tell you what type of assortment it was because the platter was licked clean--safe for one crummy prawn toast--by the time it made it down to my end of the table.

The Mains: Ben and I split 1/4 crispy duck. Love the duck!!! I think this would really be my last meal request. Echo ordered the sweet and sour prawns because she saw PRAWNS and got really excited. She did not enjoy her meal. (I sometimes feel I know Chinese people better than they know themselves!) But she did enjoy the side of veggie noodles she ordered--as did I! I helped myself to a large portion of her dish--sorry Echo! The rest of the table seemed to very much enjoy everything they ordered, and rounds of Saigon and Jasmine tea were in abundance. 

Aside: Ben was wearing a top hat which got us plenty of attention--Gerry had made it herself and it was awesome. She had also made Echo and I feathery circusy headpieces. We looked very festive. Gerry makes some pretty amazing stuff, and you should totally visit her Web site and/or stop by the Truman Brewery some Sunday when she has a stand.

The Service: I had read lots on-line about the gruffness of the service and you know what, you gotta work with it. I asked our server for his favorite beer, and his favorite food. And he loved us for that, and we loved him too. I did think writing the time on the tablecloth for when we had to leave was a bit annoying, but given the speed in which food is delivered, they know their average turn rate. They gave us 90 minutes, and we were out of there in less than that.

The Verdict: Cheap. Delicious. And spacious in comparison to Cay Tre. Song Que is what it is. Fluorescent lights and all. Once I get a bike pump, I can see myself biking over quite frequently.

Is This Vietnamese?: Xich-Lo

103 St. John's Street
EC1M 4AS
Tel: 020 7235 0323

Date of Last Visit: Monday, August 21, 2006

The Victims: Me, myself, and I

The Damage: 16.50

The Background: I flew in from Chicago at 8 a.m. this morning. I made good time back from Heathrow and was home by 9:30. I went straight to bed and slept til 12:15. It was fantastic. But then I was hungry. After putzing around for a bit--picking things up, putting things down--I decided to head over to Pho for a delicious lunch. BUT--just as I got to the corner of Clerkenwell and St. John's, I saw Xich-Lo, which opened at some point this summer. And having just finished Garlic & Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, it was time for a visit.

The Locale: It's orange. And fancier than I expected it to be. And more, well, romantic. There were little flickering candles on every table. Some had little seashells suspended in their watery base. I felt very alone all of a sudden, and in the wrong place. I should have arranged to meet someone there. At Pho, I would have had no probs dining alone.

Strike 1: There was construction going on next door, and my original table seemed to be positioned on the other side of a jack hammer. And I already had a jet lag headache. Uggh. So I moved upstairs, where the sound was just as loud, but I didn't get the vibrations that I did downstairs. This was annoying.

The Food: I went with the tasting menu, which started out on the right foot. A spoonful of delightfully seasoned beef. But it was topped with a prawn cracker, which I found a bit odd. I had little time to reflect; my tray arrived soon afterwards.

Strike 2: Some explanation of what I was about to eat would have been nice. I had no idea what was what. It was a large tray with a number of different bowls/dishes on it--5 things? Maybe 6 plus rice?

Back to The Food: I gobbled up the spring roll and the prawn patty (at least, that's what I think it was--no one told me). I had skipped breakfast on the plane. These were good, but everything that's fried is good, no? Then I ate some beef and it was bad. Maybe it was reheated or something. But it was just off. I started obsessing about getting mad cow disease from it. But then I had the soup--with lots of bean sprouts--and I was happy. I've been thinking about bean sprouts a lot lately because Whole Foods is supposedly opening in South Ken next year, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Whole Foods Salad Bar. Let's hope the concept translates to the UK. And then I had the fried rice, which was served in a cute little straw basket, and it was DELICIOUS. And I was happily trying to eat it all up when I noticed that it was served in a styrofoam cup inside the straw basket. And I was NOT the first person to have eaten out of this styrofoam cup. And I was totally grossed out. Uggh. Can styrofoam be cleaned? Reused? Yuk! Strike 3!

The End: My server brought me a cute little shot of orange/pineapple juice. It was super cold and delicious. 

The Verdict: I wanted to like it, but I didn't. I should have gone to Pho. :(

 

Vietnamese: Pho

86 St John Street
EC1M 4EH
020 7253 7624

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, March 9, 2006

The Victim: Me, myself, and I

The Damage: 6 quid

See, I'm so prolific all of a sudden because a chapter in my life is finally drawing to a close so now I have my time back to myself. Well, the chapter isn't officially over until 11 p.m. on Monday night, but that's okay. I feel good about things.

So I had to take couple of days off of work to get everything wrapped up. That means that I've been sitting in front of Excel for the last 72 hours, staring at Danish equity funds. And heck, who knew the Dutch equity market was that small? Or that German investors were so risk-intolerant?

So to give myself a break, I took myself to Pho for lunch. I got there at 12, as any good American would, and I was the only person there. This country is weird.

I ordered the sliced chicken soup, which had a very fancy name which escapes me right now. It arrived almost instantaneously, and a very nice guy brought me a special plate of "HHHHerbs." (I just imagine a bunch of guys named HHHHerb sitting on plate. As opposed to the errrbs that I know.) He explained that I was free to add whatever I wanted to my soup. There were chilis, and sprouts and lime and all types of exotic things. Chicory, I believe. And more. I added a little of this and a little of that and felt very much the mix-master.

And I ate my soup. It was very nice. Perfect for the terribly drizzly day it was. Very warming. And despite the staff's warning, the little amount of chili gave everything just the right kick and cleared my sinuses all up.

The Verdict: Cheap and delicious. Will be back.

Vietnamese: Cay Tre

301 Old Street
EC1V 9LA
Tel: 020 7729 8662

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday December 7th

The Victims: Ben, Lee, Sarah, Keith,

The Damage: 15 quid each with drinks

Yummy, yummy yummy. I had no idea Vietnamese food was so yummy. Many years ago, I vaguely recall having Vietnamese food on Argyle in Chicago. It was okay, but nothing to write home about. Vietnamese at Cay Tre, on the other hand, was a life altering experience, akin to my first Penny's Noodles experience (another Chicago event).

Ben had booked us in to Cay Tre because we were checking out gyms, of all places. We wisely decided against Fitness First and for Homes Place. That being settled, we sat down for some Vietnamese beer and sake (I don't think it was Vietnamese sake, per se, but I digress)along with some delicious little beef packages, wrapped in leaves. We loved the little packages so much, we ordered a second batch. Truly, they were delicious. I would tell you what they were called, but I have no idea. Watch for the smiley face on the menu. 

We also had some beef spring rolls, wrapped in translucent shells...tasty, but unwieldy. There was a bit of an adventure with the prawn crackers--they were delivered to the neighboring table, who proceeded eating them, and then the waitstaff unceremoniously took them away and dumped them on our table. That was funny.

For my main, I went with the Saigon Pho--the traditional noodle soup, but a bit spicier. It was really, really, really good. However, I really wanted to slurp my noodles because they were so long and it was hard to get a nice big gulp of noodles and broth at the same time. So I had to be strategic about things.

I made the mistake of using the ladies, and man, they have NEVER washed that floor. Clean that up, and this place gets a big 5 Star Lovely from me!

The Verdict: Yummy, yummy, yummy I've got Vietnamese noodles in my tummy.