WANDERBITES! : Food Blog with Stories of Travel, Culinary Hits and Misses. : vietnamese

Monday, February 18, 2013

Pho Hoa - Wisma Metropolitan : Vietnamese Noodle Fling

Who believes in love at first sight?

I don't really, but I do believe in love at the first taste. The latter is much less complicated compared to the earlier. Ehm. Let's not get drifted away.

Pho, this Viets-pride noodle has been on the top of my mind lately. "Rubs, what would you want for dinner?" ask a colleague and instantly my nervous system will react "I'm feeling for something soupy." Didn't know how the thought manage to park herself in the subsconcious real estate of mine, but she's slick. In the past two weeks I've savored as much as four bowls of pho goodness.

Pho Hoa here was an adventurous attempt. Hearing its reopening from a friend of a friend of a friend who knows the ... You know where this is going, scratch that. Plus when I tweeted it, a few friends confirmed that it was once a hit in Jakarta. Google maps still put its previous location in Barito, Wijaya, and BEJ. They are now reopening Pho Hoa in Wisma Metropolitan I, Sudirman.

I like how the menu is presented. Straight up, no hassle. Your eyes will be directed into the selections of pho, from the simplest (IDR 45k) with just meat, to the ones with the most variety of toppings (IDR 55k) with meat, tendons, and whatnot. You can pretty obviously guess which one I put my choice into.

Yes, the top of the line. Pho with steak, brisket, tendons, tripes etc.

Pho with Beef Brisket, Beef Steak, Tendon, Tripes (IDR 55k)

As I sipped the broth, there's this slightly bitter taste that gets annoying after a while. Adding a few aromatic basils helps to distract it, but not for long. The only way to get away was to munch in the extra sweetness from the beef together with pho and soup.

Jamie Aditya Graham was dining a few table for us! =D

The Fling. Sexy isn't it? But sexy is just barely what we want right?

Physically I enjoyed the meal. But mentally, I couldn't help to compare it with Will Meyrick's pho at Mama San. It was as if it has a few layers that waited to be uncovered, and with every addition of ingredients, it gets better and better. I know it's probably a different playing field here, but I need to point out that once you've tasted the superior the other becomes mediocre. It is human, and I'm sure you've had that moment too at least once for one particular food.

Should I admit my love to pho? Absolutely. For this particular one though, I'd say a mild liking is probably at best. Or for the lack of a better word, ehm ... a fling? ;)

Cheers,

Fellexandro Ruby

Food Photographer / Storyteller

Snack on my tweets @Wanderbites for #Livebites and more food / travel stories ;)

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Pho Hoa

Wisma Metropolitan I

Office Tower

Jalan Sudirman Kav. 24

(Left side of the road, heading Blok M)

Ph: 021-5228970

Opens weekdays only.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Mama San Bali : All That You Can't Leave Behind

Dear Biters, I'm trying something new. I know, I get bored easily. But I hope you see this as improvement, or at least a good thing to break away from routine. Here's the debut of what I called "pictorial review". Yes, text review is crafted and embedded in the picture for ease of reading.

And I guess nothing more appropriate to try this new media on the remarkable lunch I had at Mama San on my last trip to Bali. The street food chef, Will Meyrick has astound me once again with his Asian cookings.

Without further adue, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think, shall I do this more or do you prefer the usual review. Poke me on Twitter @Wanderbites ;)

Cheers,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food & travel storyteller / photographer
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