Fans of Mrs Pho can now rejoice as its first shopping mall outlet is now opened at Vivo City! If you guys didn’t know, this authentic humble pho restaurant operates on the tribute to its founder Hoang’s mother, grandmother and aunts, the women who selflessly feed their family out of love and whom he crowns the best cooks. Mrs Pho serves up homemade communal style Vietnamese classics derived from Hoang’s family recipes, so you’re definitely in for a warm hearty Vietnamese meal when you dine at Mrs Pho.
To commemorate the opening of its third outlet in Vivo City, two very special new dishes were unveiled. So read on to find out what these dishes are and dishes that you can consider ordering when you dine at Mrs Pho!
Let’s start off with some of the sides/ bites to share dishes offered at Mrs Pho. A wide variety of sides are offered on the menu and these are dishes are mainly Vietnamese street food which stays true to what you can find along the streets in Vietnam. Each sides is very affordable and it is good to share among 2-4 pax.
One of the must try and unique side dish to try would be the Mrs Pho Cockles. Unlike the stir-fried cockles or steamed cockles that is usually found at BBQ seafood stalls, these succulent cockles are tossed in fragrant garlic and pork lard. Like the saying goes, anything cooked with pork lard will taste good and this dish is no exception. The cockles are coated with a layer of sticky garlicky savoury sweet sauce together with bits of pork lard. As sinful as its sounds, it is definitely worth your extra gym session to work off those calories! The cockles are also served with a side of salt and lime, which act as a dip and it helps to bring out the freshness of the cockles.
The Grilled Lemongrass Beef Sticks is definitely one of the classic street food found in Vietnam. The beef was not dry and you can definitely taste the lemongrass infused in the well marinated meat.
The Fresh Star Fruit and Beef Salad was a dish that I personally have not tried before and I have to say, I enjoyed this dish although it might not appeal to everyone. This dish has a very similar concept to the Thai Papaya salad. However, there is no sauce at all, think a salad with no dressing. However, the juice from the starfruit makes up for the “dryness’ with each bite and it provides a zesty balance to the whole dish. The beef slices mades a nice addition to the dish, making it more hearty. The recommended way of eating is to pile a slice of beef, a piece of star fruit and a chopstick full of shredded fresh vegetables on the crackers aka keropok (served on the side) and have a mouthful of all ingredients. I personally enjoy the dish on its own without the crackers.
Mrs Pho Fried Spring Roll needs no further introduction. Who doesn’t love a good roll of spring roll fried to perfection!
Another side dish offered is Mama’s Lucky Meatball. These meatballs reminded me of Taiwan sausages, sweet and savoury. They had a nice bite to it as you still can find chunks of meat in it as the meat is not fully minced which I like.
The last side dish I tried was the Mama’s Chicken Ham. This is one of the two new dishes revealed for the opening of its third outlet and this dish is exclusive to the Vivo City outlet! You will not be able to find it in any other outlets. Mama’s Chicken Ham are slices of minced chicken marinated with spices, steamed in banana leaf and then fried for extra flavour. This is a traditional Vietnamese snack and a special sweet and spicy dipping sauce is served at the side as well. To be honest, I was not wowed by this dish. It has a very familiar taste to it and I guess it tasted just like how a ham should taste, nothing new or surprising. However, the crispy sides from the deep frying, does give it a nicer bite to it.
For the mains, how can we pho-get about Pho! A Vietnamese meal will not be complete without this original iconic Vietnamese dish. I had a pleasure of trying out three different Pho offered at Mrs Pho, with one of them being the new dish! I have to say, for all the Pho dishes, Mrs Pho was rather generous with the amount of meat serving!
First of the Pho, we have the classic must order Special Beef Pho Combo served with a side of beef broth with a soft boiled egg in it. Apparently you are are suppose to slurp down the eggy beef broth for the added richness to the broth. For the main bowl of Pho, it is a warm, comforting bowl of silky flat rice noodles in a rich beef broth, accompanied by lean cuts of beef, beef balls, tripe and more. Crunchy beansprouts, mint leaves, sliced chilli and onion helps to provide a cut of freshness to this dish, making it a balanced meal. Overall, it is a well made bowl of Pho!
The next Pho is the Hue Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. The ingredients in this bowl of Pho is the same as the one above with an added kick of spiciness to it. I think people who love spicy food, will like this even more. The spiciness of this bowl of Pho will only come in a few seconds later after, thus you still can enjoy the rich beef broth without being overwhelmed by the spiciness.
Saving the newest Pho dish for the last, it is the other new dish on the menu – Moc Noodle Soup! For the Moc Noodle Soup, it is a chicken Pho. Similarly to the beef pho, you will have slices of chicken, chicken meatballs, chicken ham (same one as the side dish) paired with the house-made rice noodles in a bowl of chicken soup. The soup was a tad too salty for my liking tho but overall still a very hearty bowl of noodles.
To wash down it down, Mrs Pho serves homemade speciality drinks and such as the Saigon Salty Lemonade and Mrs Pho Summer Ice Tea (Luo Gan Guo). If you like the taste of sour plum (suan mei) or someone who has a heavier taste palette, definitely go for the Saigon Salty Lemonade! If not, stick to Mrs Pho Summer Ice Tea which definitely helps to keep the heat down.
For a sweet end, you can choose from the Homemade Viet Creme Caramel to smoothies such as the Avocado Smoothie or Coconut Smoothie. The Homemade Viet Creme Caramel is surprisingly not too sweet although caramel was drizzled on it and the pudding was soft and silky.
I think Mrs Pho is no stranger to many of us, and it has become one of our to-go affordable Vietnamese restaurant to get our Pho-fix! With the opening of their third outlet at Vivo City, you can now enjoy Mrs Pho at one more location now!
Mrs Pho
Address: Vivo City #B2-29A, 1 Harbourfront Drive, Singapore 098585
Opening Hours: Daily, 10am – 10pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrsPho/
