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2013-07-02
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Vietnamese cuisine has never appealed to me (no offense) because it just seemed so... foreign! It probably can be classified under the umbrella of Asian cuisine, but no, it's still something very faraway. Maybe it was due to the lack of availability of restaurants around our island. Recently, Vietnamese cuisine seemed to have invaded the shores of Singapore with many popping up - Nam Nam Noodle Bar, So Pho, Pho Stop, Pho House, Madam Saigon, Pho Hoa and many many more. The word "Pho" appears so
Recently, Vietnamese cuisine seemed to have invaded the shores of Singapore with many popping up - Nam Nam Noodle Bar, So Pho, Pho Stop, Pho House, Madam Saigon, Pho Hoa and many many more. The word "Pho" appears so many times in Vietnamese restaurants' signboards - it actually means a type of noodle made from rice. Even at 8.30pm on a weekday, my friend and I needed to wait for 5mins before getting seated. We attempted to stroll in and find a seat ourselves but were promptly stopped. Honestly I think the signboard below is totally useless - there are just too many words to be processed. Anything beyond 3 steps only belongs to a science laboratory.
There's normal table seating as well as the noodle bar. I think there's more "feel" at the noodle bar though. Love the high seats!
Here's the order form - what you see on the menu is what you pay. Each table fills one up and then hand it to the cashier. And pay at the counter. The cashier seemed like she's in a daze and doesn't know what's happening (neither do I but I'm the patron) - I handed her the order form without paying, and she didn't even stop me from returning to my seat at all. Only after five minutes did I realize I was supposed to pay and I went back to the counter. Like, whoa? No service charge at Nam Nam Noodle Bar so I shan't complain too much.
Extra flavouring/seasoning available on the noodle bar, in case you need them.
I have zero knowledge about Vietnamese cuisine so I just ordered their specialty dish, Pho Beef Balls ($8.90). I think that the soup base is really strange for me, with a very piquant onion taste and sharp fragrance which I'm not used to. It was a bowl of onion overdose. The noodles were less springy but of a softer texture. The beef meatballs were also less of the springy type and packed more solid ingredients than the usual Ikea-sort-of-meatballs. The soup base was too onion-packed for me to enjoy it thoroughly.
Is it just me or is the soup base also looks very oily? But I can't really taste the oiliness of it, anyway.
The big plus point is the noodles' smooth and soft texture. Doesn't require much chewing, and slips down my throat easily. Perfect for lazy people like me.
My friend ordered the Dry Stewed Beef Noodles ($8.90) which appeared to be a wiser choice because she could pick out the onions.
Lotus Tea ($2.50) is available in both Hot and Ice choices. You are strongly advised against it by my standards, because it just tastes like shampoo to me. Not like I've tasted shampoo but you know what I mean, right? It's pretty awful and I shuddered a little upon the first sip. ;S
You'll be better off ordering Mekong fresh young coconut ($5.90), Lime Soda ($3) or Vietnamese coffee ($2.50). So much for trying something "native", I should have followed my gut instinct when I saw the name.All in all, I think one-time here is enough - reasonable prices, really strange food, unique experience which would probably be horrible if repeated. I might try Vietnamese cuisine again at other restaurants, but I'll definitely put a few weeks in between.
For the rest of the menu, visit http://spherepiece.blogspot.sg/2013/07/food-feat-nam-nam-noodle-bar-raffles.html
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