THE CHALLENGERS:

• NGOC VAN
• VIETNAMESE GARDEN
• TEA TREE

Man, that was a confusing title. Sorry everyone. But for those of you who have decided to keep reading – deepest thanks.

Pho (pronounced “fuh” by those of you who can speak Vietnamese a lot better than me) is a delicious brothy noodle soup dish that you can pick up at pretty well any Vietnamese restaurant. A good pho mixes a savory and salty broth, rice noodles, meat, vegetables and spices for the ultimate slurpy mess of a meal. They warm you up in the cold, cold winter, and they have a completely unscientifically proven ability to cure hangovers (this has been personally tried, tested, and proven). Pho is also a favorite dish of my serious man crush, Anthony Bourdain.

However, I am not here to talk about pho (too late).

I was originally going to write about the best pho in the city, but alas, as I often do, I got sidetracked. About a month ago, I took to Facebook, asking “where can I find the best pho in the city”, to which NGOC VAN and TEA TREE seemed to be the two most popular places. So I decided I would test the meaty waters at those two spots to see which one reigned supreme. There was one vote for Vietnamese Garden, and since I adore that place, I decided to include it in this brothy challenge.

But upon reading the menus, I got sidetracked! Pho is delicious, but what is this “bun bo hue” that I am reading about? Spicy? Beefy? Lemongrassy? Oniony? Brothy? Daaayyyyyym.

I knew I had to order it. The challenge was thrown out the window, as my belly needed some spice. And boy was I in for a treat.

(Bun bo hue literally translates to “beef noodle soup – in the style of Hue”. Hue is a city in Vietnam where, coincidentally, I had my first ever bowl of pho!)

CHALLENGER 1: NGOC VAN

People love this place, and for good reason. They hit the authentic Vietnamese market right on the head. I’ve had some pretty good dishes here before, so I knew I was in for a tasty treat.

The bowl came (along with the greasy, greasy spring rolls that I ordered), and I was presented with a very large bowl filled with a reddish-brown hazy broth and oily surface. Also in the bowl, one can find the sliced beef, lettuce (???) and tomato, sliced green onion, chili flakes and sprouts. The beef slices were fatty, but still very tender and tasty. There was very little chew to them at all, with the small exception of the small pieces of fat still clinging to the beef. The bowl hit a nice dynamic between the fatty, brothy (umami?) flavour notes and the sour punch one can expect with a Vietnamese soup. Importantly though, the bowl was spicy. Between the heat blast of the soup and the actual temperature of the broth, my face was sweating through the whole meal.

There were downsides though, even if few. The bowl maximized oiliness like one rarely sees in dishes like this. There was a discernable film of oil left on the side of the bowl as the broth slowly drained. I fully realize that this adds to the flavour, and I certainly didn’t hate it, but it is something to note. Also, the lettuce didn’t really do it for me. The noodles were a tad clumpy for my liking, as well – as if they had been sitting in a warmer, leaving them time to congeal together before getting scooped into the dish.

Overall, a very solid performance by NGOC VAN. Well done!

CHALLENGER 2: VIETNAMESE GARDEN

With my insides still hot from the last bowl of deliciousness a few days prior, I headed to Vietnamese Garden to try the second contestant. Full disclosure – I eat here at least once a week with my fellow co-workers. They make darn good food, and I was excited to try something on their menu that I had never tasted before.

The bowl arrived with quite a different look to it. This one had a discernably darker red hue to it. It had no lettuce, but rather cucumber and crushed peanuts. It was quite oily as well, though not quite to the same extent as Ngoc Van.

The first thing that hit me was the spice. Wowza. It may be too much for some folk who prefer to live on the bland side of life, but it rode that line perfectly for me. The cucumber was a nice change rather than having soggy and tasteless lettuce, and the peanuts added a nice crunch to what is a rather soggy affair. The beef was tender and tasty, and the onion was also a significant addition, adding a sharper flavour to the broth. The rice noodles were easily separated with chopsticks and slippery in their own delicious way. I devoured the bowl in record time.

Like I said before, this one was certainly a hotter contender. Though most people could likely handle it without a problem, maybe suggest the wonton soup for when grandma is joining you for a meal.

CHALLENGER 3: TEA TREE

Ahh, the final bowl. How will this one fare? Well, luckily for you, you are reading this and there is no way for me to leave you on a cliffhanger. The short answer: it’s tasty.

This one didn’t pack the spice of the two previous contenders. The spice was there, but it was significantly subdued – complimenting the other flavour notes rather than overpowering them. The broth itself is also a different colour. It’s more of a brown hue, rather than the red that I had previously seen. The broth was also not as oily as our previous contenders.

The noodles were nice. Not clumpy, not too hard or soggy. There was heaps of green and white onion, which of course I love. Onions especially work in soups like these, where they lose a lot of their crunch, and rather mellow out and absorb the other flavors around them. The flavor notes form a killer trifecta: spice vs sour vs sweetness. The onions itself provide a bit of a sweet note to it, and the beef add a bit of a sugary note to the mix. None overpowered the other, though – rather they complimented each other nicely. Also: CILANTRO. Where have you been?! The cilantro added a killer fresh taste to the soup, which could fallen into the pit of dark meaty brothiness.

You may be thinking, “Wow! Is there anything you DIDN’T like about this one?” Well, sadly, yes. The beef itself was not as good. It wasn’t as tender as the two previous offerings, and it had a tad of a “freezer” flavour that I couldn’t quite get past. And since that is such an important component to the dish, it is a bit of a drawback. However, looking at the bowl as whole, it was a seriously killer meal, and one I look forward to enjoying again soon.

All of these offerings were delicious in their own way, and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone. But alas, a favorite must be picked. Looking back on the meals, it is a very difficult decision. NGOC VAN had a tasty meaty broth, VIETNAMESE GARDEN had wonderful beef and TEA TREE had a killer triple whammy of spice, sweet and sour.

And with that, the winner is TEA TREE!

NEXT CHALLENGE: BEST “GOURMET” FAST FOOD BURGER