So Pho - Delivery

Let me just start by saying that I'm gonna try and use as many 'Pho' jokes as I can in this post. That's right. They're gonna be super corny but I told myself I'm gonna try and challenge myself in 2015.
And I have to say that it's been So Pho So Good <<< That's Pho Joke #1

Anyways we're trying something a little different this time. This actually happened one rainy day in the last week of 2014 (which was just last week lah no need to count so far). It was too rainy to step out for lunch so a few of us in the office decided to order in. I suggested we use Foodpanda.com (which we featured before) and see what we could come up with.

Because of the rain, quite a few places would not deliver because of the bad weather but after much hubbub and fuss, we finally managed to order from So Pho. That's right - we were gonna have Pho Pho lunch <<< That's Pho Joke #2

Yeah a few of our readers and even our friends had mentioned So Pho before which actually has an actual restaurant at Nex in Serangoon so I though since can't visit there yet might as well try out the food via delivery and then can compare with when we actually visit there.

Prawn Cakes with Sugar Cane ($7.50)

ALWAYS wanted to try this when I see it at other restaurants but always end up having something else instead. Finally!!

Well, for all my excitement, it ended up being quite a disappointment. The prawn cake was actually pretty hard. It was even tougher than fishballs or fishcake which is kinda weird now that I think about it... And it was kinda bland so thank goodness for the sweet chilli sauce there.

And in case you were wondering where's the sugarcane in all this, it's what they use as the skewer.
See it there? I'm not sure if that's supposed to make any difference to the taste of the dish? Anyways it's quite a medium size so you'll get about 3 pieces instead of Pho <<< That's Pho Joke #3

Grilled Beef with Mango Salad ($11.90)

This was actually a very tasty and refreshing salad to have. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was not that bad to be honest.

I was expecting those young green mango type of salad you know but this was actually those yellow mangoes in the salad. Mixed that in with some tender slices of beef, red onions and a (very) few strips of lettuce. The dressing was a sesame and peanut kind of dressing. Had a bit of a sour tang to it which really gets your tastebuds going.

But as tasty as this salad was, it's definitely a bit too pricey. It costs more than the main dish! That is Pho-nomenally <<< That's Pho Joke #4 high for something that takes up only about a quarter of the plastic bowl am I right or am I right?

I ordered a noodle dish for my main and it came with a broth. Just wanted to show you all that they will pack everything separately for the delivery. Noodles in one pack, extras like taugeh in one pack and the broth in a plastic bowl which is pretty well-sealed.

So what you can do it combine everything in the bowl and then stick it in the microwave for a bit if you want it to be steaming hot.

Vietnamese "Pho", Sliced Beef, Brisket and Beef Balls Noodle Soup ($10.80)

Yep that's pretty much everything all combined. Looks not bad right??

So I ordered the triple threat combo of Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket and Beef Balls. I know it sounds like a lot but not really lah if you love beef. Plus I'm the meat guy remember?

Sliced Beef

Beef Brisket

Beef Balls

Yep that's the whole gang there. The Beef Balls has a nice bite to them and quite tasty actually especially when you slurp then down with the beef broth.

What's the difference between the Sliced Beef and the Beef Brisket actually you might be asking?
Well, the beef brisket is one of the most favourite cuts of the cow but it has a lot of connective tissue (I think they call it 'urat' right??) so must be cooked properly so it's super tender. This one was not bad I guess but hmmmmm we've had better.

And to be honest I was super disappointed with the beef broth. It was not as tasty or 'beefy' as I was expecting. And I was expecting a lot from a place which supposedly specializes in Pho because the broth is a super important part Pho sure <<< That's Pho Joke #5

Just thought I'd give you guys a look at the noodles while I'm at it so please check out the Pho-tograph <<< That's Pho Joke #6 above to see the Pho.

Adam's Verdict:
Prawn Cakes with Sugar Cane 2/5 -- Grilled Beef with Mango Salad 3/5
Vietnamese "Pho", Sliced Beef, Brisket and Beef Balls Noodle Soup 3/5

I really think that the food will definitely be better when eaten at the restaurant instead of delivery  most probably because it will be fresh and steaming hot. I guess a certain element is lost when you have such Pho-od <<< That's Pho Joke #7 delivered.

Well anyways they have so many items to try on the menu so we're still looking forward to dropping by one of their 3 restaurants (Nex, Paragon or Jem) soon. In fact, I might even order the exact same things for myself to compare how it is.

So Pho

Food in this review was delivered but you can check out their restaurant at

NEX
23 Serangoon Central 
#B1-15

www.katrinahldgs.com/restaurant/Sopho
Tel: 6636 8195

Operating Hours:
11:00am - 10:00pm

Makan In Malacca Part 4: The Chicken Rice Shop

I'm guessing some of you may have eaten at The Chicken Rice Shop before.
They not only have restaurants across the Causeway but they also have outlets in Singapore!
But it seems like the number of outlets is shrinking though... Down to only 2 in Singapore!

Hmmmmmmm.....

It seemed logical for us to order a set meal.
It's like $15 and you get ALL that food which is actually really a good deal.
Plus we wanted to try the special item Ayam Sodap Belado!

And we also ordered some ala carte items also :P

Nyonya Pai Tee

Sai To Fishball Soup

Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce

Both of the items above are part of the set meal by the way.

I actually quite liked the Pai Tee aside from how stingy they were with the filling.
The Fishball Soup was nothing special and seemed quite redundant because they give you a small bowl of soup with your Chicken Rice anyways...

As for the Pak Choy (not to be confused with Kai Lan), it definitely provides the salty factor.
Well it's literally just blanched Pak Choy with oyster sauce. Errr... ya.

Chicken Rice (Roasted)

I went for the traditional Roasted Chicken Rice (you have a choice of Roasted, Steamed or Soy Sauce).
The chicken itself was not bad. Really tender actually but a little on the dry side.
The rice was also a little dry. Maybe we're just not used to this kind of chicken rice?

The chilli was also a bit weird.
It comes with the minced ginger which you can mix it for added flavour but it didn't help the overall taste very much to be honest.

I guess we're used to the kind of chilli with a bit more kick.
A little more vinegar maybe?

Ayam Sodap Balado

My my doesn't that look nice and spicy?!
Well it's not.

It actually tastes like Asam Pedas... (I guess they DO love their Adam Pedas in Malacca!).
And it's a tad too oily. The only good point is that the chicken itself was cooked to perfection.

Maybe the ala carte items would fare better!

Kerabu Mango (Mango Salad) (RM 7.99)

My darling wife says this was the winner of the lot.
It had a nice kick to it but it was a little on the sour side for me.

The unique thing is that they had slivers of basil leaves mixed in which gave a very welcome surprise.
It's funny how something so small can make a big difference.
And that's shredded dried shrimps (udang kering) on top by the way.

Crispy Wanton (RM 7.99)

Fried wanton has got to be a favourite with a lot of people.
I'm sure you're at least 75% going to order it if you see it on the menu am I right?

Well let me warn you about the Wantons at The Chicken Rice Shop.
They had a sour tinge to it. We have no idea if the chicken was going south or if they seasoned it that way on purpose. Well I finished it anyways because it was at least one of the more edible items there.

So far it seems like most things are seasoned or flavoured differently from what we may be used to.
I wonder if the same items taste the same way at the Singapore outlets...

Well maybe the last item would be super nice.

Golden Fortune Wings (RM 3.99)

We purposely ordered this item because it looked so good on the menu.
And we're suckers for chicken wings.

But guess what? This was sour too!
I could detect the strong taste of Hoisin Sauce (looks like the marinated the wings in it) but trust me - I can take sour tastes but this seems like it wasn't intended to taste this way.

I'd love to guess again that the chicken was going south (like the wanton) but we didn't even get that far.
Just the skin alone was enough to make us put it down. My darling wife even said that if she could, she'd give it a negative score.

Kuching Famous 3 Layer Tea (RM 5.50)

I know it's weird for me to have a Kuching specialty when I was in Malacca but hey what can I say...
I was intrigued when I saw it on the menu.

Okay so let's run through.
Layer 1 at the bottom is Gula Melaka. (Seriously)
Layer 2 in the middle is milk.
Layer 3 at the top is the tea.

It actually tastes a lot like bubble tea.
Just make sure you stir it up properly before you drink it...
If you make the same mistake I did, then you're in for a mouthful of Gula Melaka.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Nyonya Pai Tee 2/5 -- Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce 1.5/5
Kerabu Mango 2/5 -- Crispy Wanton 1/5 -- Golden Fortune Wings 0/5
Kuching Famous 3 Layer Tea 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Ayam Sodap Balado 2/5 -- Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce 1/5
Sai To Fishball Soup 1/5 -- Kerabu Mango 3/5 -- Crispy Wanton 0/5 -- Golden Fortune Wings 0/5


This was actually the first meal we had when we arrived in Malacca.
Its kinda made us a little worried to be honest. Definitely one of the weirdest meals EVER.
But it's definitely the kind of place you can bring your family or a large group for a meal.

Maybe we'll try the outlet in Singapore just for comparison's sake.

The Chicken Rice Shop

Mahkota Parade
No 1 Jalan Merdeka Lot No F15 First Floor
Tel: 06-2824928
www.thechickenriceshop.com

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 10.00pm (Sunday til Thursday)
10.00am til 10.30pm (Friday and Saturday)