Review of my visit in Nov 2018:…read more
A Bowl of Pho to Remember, by Chua Lam, celebrated writer and food critic based in Hong Kong. I am a snob when it comes to Vietnamese food (or Asian food in general..) and I enjoyed my bowl of pho at Chua Lam's.
It is located on Wellington Street, Hong Kong's Michelin-Star Mile, along with numerous other popular restaurants. During rush hours, you always see a long line outside the restaurants and according to the reviews on FB and Open Rice, you may not get the most out of this restaurant if you do not have the luxury of time.
I went shortly before noon and was quickly seated on a table with tall stools. As I was taking my time to study the menu, most of the previously vacant seats were filled, including the ones at my table - sharing table with strangers in Hong Kong is the strangest thing to foreigners but also the most natural thing for locals. I was left alone while waiting for my friend - which is a terrible thing to do to a business that has to pay premium rent. If you don't believe me, go to Mak's noodle - you'd be asked at least 5 times whether you are ready to order if you haven't made up your mind within 60 seconds, be sure to avoid eye contact with the ferocious servers if you are indecisive like me.
We ordered three dishes: Beef Pho, Fried Shrimp Steak and Cold Vermicelli. The portion of every dish was ginormous, which was a pleasant surprise given that everything in Hong Kong is kid's meal size of what you would get in the US.
Beef Pho ($68 HKD) was a solid 5, came with bean sprouts, fresh herbs, raw beef and beef balls. Beef bone broth was clear, not very greasy, and has a pleasantly refreshing and sweet taste to it. It feels very comforting drinking the broth and we finished every last drop of it. According to the menu, it takes overnight to make the broth. The noodles were delectable and made fresh inside the kitchen with free refill! The proteins were good, according to my friend as I am not a big fan of anything other than the actual beef. If you are feeling adventurous, there's a Special Beef Pho that you could order which includes "all parts from a cow" including raw beef, shank, brisket, beef ball, tribe and pizzle (yup, cow's penis).
Fried Shrimp Steak ($78 HKD) was mind blowing: as we get older, we get pickier and don't get easily impressed. - generous portion, fried just right with golden color, moist, springy and bouncy.
Cold Vermicelli ($68 HKD) was delicious, but not outstanding. It's a good dish to order if you don't care for warm soupy noodles.
This was one of the better meals that I had in Hong Kong with quality and fresh ingredients, efficient and yet friendly service. Overall, it was very enjoyable.