Vietnamese Pho @ Hoang Ngan, Tokyo

For part of my sister's birthday in Tokyo, we organised what we thought would be a small gathering with a couple of American we'd met at the Halloween party we recently went to. We met up at a Vietnamese restaurant in Shibuya called Hoang Ngan, and were surprised to find a larger-than-expected group had gathered, including another baby. Unfortunately Rob had to work on that Saturday (not a usual occurence, thankfully!) so he couldn't join us for lunch, but he made up for his absence by taking my sister and some friends out to an izakaya in Roppongi that served up really good yakitori, one of Honey's favourite Japanese food.

My lovely sister enjoying her pho lunch set, with the group:


I must say that I would like to develop a deeper appreciation for the Vietnamese cuisine, beyond the typical phở, but the restaurant offered lunch sets with a noodle or rice dish that was too cheap to pass on. I got a gỏi cuốn (fresh spring roll) in a sweet spicy sauce, Chicken Phở, and a small plate of dessert, all for less than 700yen. The spring roll was delicious, the phở was nice, but I wasn't keen on the almond jelly.

Chicken Phở lunch set:


I like noodles in soup - they're so easy to prepare and makes for a quick home-cooked lunch, and perhaps it is for this reason that I feel somewhat blasé about phở. I hear that it is the soup base that makes or breaks a phở (as with any noodle soups), so maybe I haven't yet encountered a broth that would make me go "wow".