As of late, work has been extremely busy and deadlines have been aggressive. I put in extra hours last Thursday and decided to leave work early my logging off my laptop at 3:30 pm on Friday to balance things out a bit.
Since the pandemic started, I rarely go out on Fridays. My last meeting on Friday was with my manager, who said that it was warm outside. It was 23C. I decided to fetch some dinner at Pho VietStar, which is owned by the same folks at CrepeStar two doors down. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on Friday, which is quite a contrast to the current temperature of 6C on a Sunday afternoon!
Pho VietStar is located at Aurora Shopping Centre. It's a plaza, so the name can be a bit misleading. I used to visit parts of Aurora monthly, but have never been in this area. There are lots of stores that I need to revisit here. There is plenty of parking.
After I finished shopping at Best Buy, I pulled up the menu on UberEats on my phone. You can only get delivery on UberEats for Pho VietStar. I wanted takeout. I called Pho VietStar and placed my order. The woman on the other end was energetic and great to interact with. My order was placed and she advised that it would take fifteen minutes. I was impressed. She also asked if I needed cutlery. I said yes.
I got there in fifteen minutes. I am fairly good these days when it comes to arriving at restaurants to pick up food. It's a nice skill that I have picked up during this pandemic!
I parked and headed into the eatery. There are laminated menus everywhere, which makes walk-in orders a cinch.
A young man greeted me. I said my name and my order was right in front of both of us. I met the woman who had placed my order. She said that my order didn't need cutlery and didn't add it. She went and got some. It was weird, but I was fine. She also gave me napkins, which I appreciated.
I ordered these items:
- Pork belly baos (two) that comes with fries
- A side order of gravy
- Chicken fresh rolls
I paid using a debit card. It didn't allow me to tip, which was a bummer.
I like using a fork to eat fries, especially when I'm dunking them in gravy. So, the cutlery move was good. I thanked both of them and happily walked out with my food.
I got home and tore into my food. As much as I love my usual pho and vermicelli dishes, I also love pork belly baos. I saw photos online of them and knew that I wanted them.
They were yummy! The veggies were crunchy and fresh. The pork belly was tender and flavourful. I would have put more protein in them, but they satisfied my craving for pork belly baos.
If you have been reading my reviews for a bit, you'll know that fries aren't high on my list of sides. I'd rather get onion rings, a side salad, or sweet potato fries. However, I was game getting gravy. The fries taste homemade and weren't oily. You can see bits of potato skin on each fry. The gravy was perfect. It wasn't overly thick. It wasn't thin or salty. Just right. I enjoyed this combo.
The fresh rolls are huge here! It was smart that they were separated by a banana leaf. The veggies here are amazingly crunchy and tasty. The vermicelli was done right. The chicken was tender and flavourful. Again, I feel that there could be more protein in it. Maybe I'm just a protein hog.
My food was impeccably packed and tasted so fresh with every bite. I will come back to have my pho and vermicelli dishes next. It's a decent Vietnamese place in Aurora for good eats, which has rekindled my fondness for the town.
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