Was looking for a nice, big hot bowl of pho on a 8 degree day, and decided to try this relatively…read morenew place. I was disappointed.
As a disclaimer, I come from the perspective of an Asian American palate, where pho is a piping hot and hearty affair. Here is my two cents after a short meal at Brass Spoon:
Pros: Very silky smooth vermicelli, pretty flavorful soup and the option to pick all your preferences such as how oily you want the soup, how many scallions/onions/condiments preferred, and extra toppings, was quite a thoughtful touch.
Cons (For me they far outweigh the pros): The portions. Small bowl, tiny portions of beef, like literally 5 small slithers of meat. I also added Vietnamese sausage, and got three LIME-SIZED SLICES OF MEAT ABOUT AS THICK AS TWO CREDIT CARDS. Seriously Brass Spoon, just charge higher and give people something, it's Vietnamese sausage, meant to be thickly sliced and satisfying, not a friggin slice of exotic truffle!
The place and decor itself is hip and in a cool neighborhood. The place is inexpensive at HKD 60ish per lunch. But the decor makes me expect more from this place, instead of feeling ripped off even at such a low price. If your margins are being squeezed, mark up higher and offer a more competitive product. I don't think people aren't willing to pay - you are competing against guys like Ted's Atlier and Po Boys nearby, with pricier but way more satisfying menus. You just opened. Pho is meant to hit the spot for us diners. I don't know what spot you are aiming at here.
Two stars from me, Brass Spoon needs to figure out who they are first if they want to be top brass.