I had lunch at Pho VN Express recently and I liked it.
So this place is a bit hidden. It is on the second floor of an office building and if you weren't specifically looking for it, you may not know that it exists, unless you work in the building, I guess, lol. In fairer weather, they sometimes put a sandwich board at the front of the building to advertise, which is how I learned of this place initially, but in the winter there is no such board.
You just need to take the elevator to the second floor and follow the signage.
I got the VN Special Vermicelli Bowl ($12.99). It comes with a spring roll, 2 shrimps, and your choice of chicken, beef or pork. I chose beef. I asked for no bean sprouts, no sesame seeds and no fish sauce, and my bowl came out as requested.
The beef was lean and tender and had a strong lemongrass flavour to it. Fortunately, I like lemongrass. The shrimps were flavourful (and de-shelled, thank goodness), and the spring roll was crispy. The vegetables I got were shredded lettuce and a very minimal amount of shredded carrots. The vermicelli was plentiful and a good texture, but served lukewarm and not hot the way I like it. The bowl was topped with crushed peanuts and fried onions.
Overall, I really enjoyed my meal, but would have liked some more carrots, and some other vegetables like pickled daikon or cucumbers.
Service was friendly and efficient. The place has a fair amount of seating. It's much bigger than I expected.
They are only open Monday through Friday and primarily cater to those who work in the building or nearby.
I'm looking forward to trying out their other offerings, like their pad thai :) read more