Le Do Vietnamese Restaurant

Restaurant: Le Do Vietnamese Restaurant

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Last visited: February 22, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC

2292 East Hastings (Commercial Drive/Grandview)
Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5

Service: 3.5

Ambiance: 1.5

Overall: 4.5

Additional comments:

• Popular for pho – famous for soup base
• Popular for spring rolls, chicken and beef pho
• Fresh, made upon order
• Family owned/operated
• Vietnamese owners
• Hole in the wall
• Seats about 30
• Authentic
• Fast/Cheap/Good
• Not much MSG
• Some pictures on menu
• Cash only
• Closed Wednesday
• Open daily 10am – 9pm (except Wed.)

**Recommendation: Spring Rolls, Chicken Pho, Beef Pho, Bún Bò Hue, Chicken Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich)

This all started with Twitter. People were asking me about the best places for pho in Vancouver and to be honest I was a little stuck. I’ve had home made pho before from an excellent Vietnamese mom who worked in a kitchen for years…ever since then I can’t go back to anything else. Home made pho is NOTHING like what they serve you at restaurants.

Anyways people recommended Le Do Vietnamese Restaurant so I decided to give it a try. My expectations were set high because I’ve heard good things about it, and I did my research ahead of time and so far everything was positive. Overall the food is good, but I didn’t think it was amazing. One clear fact I noticed was that they didn’t use that much MSG! Surprising! It was still flavourful too and the noodles are noticeable fresh and the soup is super hot in terms of temperature.

On the table:

**Deep Fried Spring Roll 5/6

• As a side order $1.75 each or 3 for $5.25 – which is the same
• These are actually really good. The only thing is that they’re a bit small. It’s about 3 inches so they’re a bit pricey, yet I would still order them again because they were good.
  

• They’re hot, fresh, crispy and well stuffed with vermicelli noodles, carrots, jacama root, mushroom, ground pork and cabbage. They don’t use the vermicelli as filler either, there’s actually not much noodle in them.
• It was salty and slightly tangy I really liked them.
  

**Variety of Beef Noodle in Soup (Pho Duc Biet #1) 5/6

• Rare beef flank, tripe, tendon, beef balls and noodles in soup M - $5.95 L - $6.50

• It came with 3 slices of beef flank that were really tender, but they cook super fast because the soup is served super hot.
  

• There’s also 2 pieces of tripe, 2 pieces of tendon and one beef ball cut in half – and this is for the medium size. They serve with with black pepper on top and I really liked that.
  

• They give you lots of green onion, cilantro and onions which I really like.
• The broth was good, but still a bit watered down compared to the real deal. It was savoury and not too sweet and it actually pretty clear tasted. It’s definitely made in house but the beef flavour wasn’t as strong as I would have liked.
• I don’t think they use much MSG, maybe a bit because they don’t advertise “no MSG”, but it’s definitely not overwhelming of the most obvious ingredient.
  

• The best part for me was the hot soup and the noodles. The noodles are noticeably fresh and really soft and chewy.
  

**Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Bún Bò Hue #26) 5.5/6

• Special spicy beef rice noodle soup M - $6.75 L - $7.25

• It came with 3 thin slices of Vietnamese ham and a couple pieces of beef shank with cartilage. It's supposed to come with pig's feet (pork hock), but I don't recall any being in there.
• This is one of their specialty dishes and it’s not available at every Vietnamese restaurant although it is a common Vietnamese dish.
  

• It’s not as spicy as it looks. It actually wasn’t that spicy at all. It was quite mild with a strong lemongrass flavour which made it a bit sweeter. The spiciness was more aromatic than it was spicy. I actually liked this broth better than the standard beef broth although the broth is the same base. This one also has some shrimp paste in it so it's very aromatic and tasty. This broth was just more flavourful overall especially with the chili oil.
  

• The noodles for Bún Bò Hue are not the standard vermicelli noodles. The noodles are those thin round rice noodles. They're good, but it reminds me of eating Chinese soup noodles.
  

**Chicken Bahn Mi 4.5/6

• Chicken (Vietnamese) sandwich $3.00
• This is the sandwich the waitress/owner suggested. That was after she said “everything is good”…so I took it that this was actually a really good item considering when I asked about the sandwiches there was little hesitation to suggest the chicken.
• This was really good, except I wish they gave more chicken. There wasn’t much in there but they gave lots of vegetables like cucumber, carrots, radish, and cilantro.
  

• The chicken bahn mi is different here because the chicken is almost like a chicken stew. They cook and serve the chicken in this tomato stew that’s sweet and sour like – it’s savoury, slightly tangy and sweet. It was very light and it had a ketchup flavour but it was really good and made the sandwich so juicy and flavourful.
  

• The sandwich is really buttery though, but that’s part of what makes is so good. It’s actually lard and not butter so it makes it extra good, but extra bad for you too.
• The chicken is pieces of skinless dark meat instead of the usual shredded chicken they use in bahn mi.
• I could have used a stronger marinade for the vegetables though. It was a bit pickled tasting but I could have used more flavour like fish sauce and sugar.
• I doubt the bread is made in house, but it was better than in looks. It was served warm and it was really crusty and really soft in the middle. With the chicken stew I was surprised the bread didn’t get soggy too.
  

Vietnamese Egg Soda (Soda sữa hột gà) 3/6

• Club Soda, egg, and condensed milk $3.50
• It’s almost like an ice cream float, but richer in flavour, but not in texture and not as sweet.
• I know it sounds a bit different, but it’s actually pretty good.
  

• It tastes like a carbonated custard drink. The flavour is definitely custardy.
• It’s not really creamy, and it’s not too sweet although you expect it to be.
• The whipped egg just makes it frothier and adds a creamier texture to it although it’s not really creamy. An ice cream float or milkshake is much creamier.

Pho Thai Hoa

Restaurant: Pho Thai Hoa
Cuisine: Vietnamese/Asian
Last visited: September 25, 09

Area: Richmond, BC
Unit 1101 - 8328 Capstan Way
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Extensive menu, more than just Vietnamese dishes
• Always wins/voted as "Top 3 Vietnamese places"
• Known for good pho and great beef broth
• Good broth, but cheap pieces of fatty meat
• Overrated
• Casual atmosphere
• For me it's like the Hon's of Vietnamese food
• Popular, pretty cheap
• Great weekday/weekend combos and specials $6.95-10.95
  
• Food is decent, but not the best, slightly above good
  
• Wide selection of Vietnamese subs "Banh mi" - buy 10 get 1 free offer
  
• Soup is flavorful, still has msg, but not excessive
• Large rice combination plates $10.50
• Menu includes other Asian dishes such as: Chow Mien,
  
• Korean bbq beef noodles etc.
• Photos of everything on menu
  

**Recommendation: House Special beef noodle soup, Papaya Salad with sliced pork and prawns, Vietnamese subs (Banh Mi)

Curious to try: Cambodian style noodle soup, Tapioca noodle soup with pork and seafood, curry with bread

I've heard a lot about Pho Thai Hoa...mostly all good stuff. I always see it winning awards and the restaurant prides itself as "The Bronze winner for Best Vietnamese Restaurant" compliments of Vancouver Magazine. Maybe my expectations were set too high? Don't get me wrong - the food was better than good, but it wasn't THAT good either.

Some stuff was better than others. I tried quite a selection of their menu to get a general idea of their flavours and style. The flavours are there - but the quality is lacking in some areas therefore sacrificing the overall dish. They can't fool me - I know exactly where they sacrificed to meet profit margins. It is low maintenance Vietnamese food - nothing gourmet - better beef broth than most but also not the best. I've had better and I'll be sure to report back where in future posts. Out of all the Vietnamese Restaurants it does offer the widest selection in terms of menu items though. So you can get all your tradition Vietnamese dishes as well as some Korean, Chinese and Cambodian dishes here as well.

On the table:

• **House Special Beef noodle soup 4/6
• Beef balls, beef tendons, beef tripe, beef brisket & rare beef slices with beef broth and noodles.

• The beef broth is flavourful and quite rich in flavour (not just in msg), but also luke warm. That really bothered me because the beef broth should be piping hot. It's also a tad on the salty side, and it's not too oily which is great.
• The beef was not bad, not quality pieces and the rare beef slices were a bit overcooked for me which is weird because the soup was not that hot. I took the rare beef out form the bottom as soon as I got it to prevent it from overcooking as well. The size of the meats were kind of small too. The broth made up for it though.
• **Papaya Salad with Sliced Pork and Prawn 4.5/6
• Shredded green papaya, shredded carrots, slices of pork & shrimp, topped with crispy deep fried garlic and toasted ground peanuts. Served with nuoc cham dressing (that clear slightly orange coloured dressing that comes with spring rolls).

• I really enjoyed this! Eat it for lunch or share it as an appetizer. It's hard to find this salad at Vietnamese restaurant, so don't miss out because it doesn't come up often. They make it pretty good here too. It's a great combination - the green papaya doesn't taste like papaya at all. Green papaya is crunchy and it has a very light and refreshing taste. I hate papaya and loved this salad because it tastes nothing like papaya. The texture and combinations are perfect!
• 
  
• It's crunchy, savoury, tangy, nutty, slightly sweet and ends off with a slight kick from the dressing. It's awesome.
• I would have enjoyed it even more if they didn't sacrifice the quality of ingredients. One complain is that the pork slices were so fatty! That was really gross. You could see it and some of it was slightly pink, which through me off. It was fully cooked though. Definitely cheap pieces of meat, which explains why they're really generous with it. You get a lot!
• Also the "prawns" were the pre-packaged kind - and they half them! So it's the illusion that you are getting 10 shrimp when you're actually getting 5 shrimp cut in half! That was a bit upsetting.If they gave me decent shrimp and good quality pork this salad would be a 5.5/6 for me.
• Salad Roll 1/6
• This was one of the weakest salad rolls I've seen. It was SO small. We ordered from the combo specials menu so that could be why, but still. It was half the size of a regular one and there was hardly any vermicelli noodles in it.
• Chicken Pho 2.5/6
• Chicken meatballs, chicken on the bone and a quail's egg with chicken broth and noodles.

• Not many places offer a chicken option and I had a non-beefeater with me so it was perfect opportunity to try it. To be honest the chicken stock tasted like it was from a can. I think they put it on their menu just to have it as an option, but they don't expect people to order it so they don't put any effort into it.
• It came with kind of pathetic pieces of on the bone chicken (about 1 white and the rest dark meat). The chicken is a really small chicken and the quality isn't there. You can tell just by the picture. I think it was almost greasier/oilier than the beef pho because the chicken pieces were so fatty and still had the skin on. However, it was a nice surprise to find a hard boiled quails egg as in ingredient. I appreciated that.
• Banh Mi - Shredded Chicken Sub 4.5/6
• I ordered the shredded chicken Vietnamese sub. It had shredded chicken, pickled carrots & daikon, cucumber & cilantro on a toasted baguette.

• I actually really enjoyed this. The best part for me was the shredded chicken and the toasted baguette. I also love cilantro and they gave you a lot of it - so I liked that.

  

• The shredded chicken was very lean and they're pretty generous with it. A nice bed of it. AND FINALLY a meat that was lean and still flavourful with their own marinade. It had this dry texture and almost tasted like pulled pork or jerky. I loved it.
• They needed to add more daikon though there wasn't enough. I would mind a stronger pickled taste as well. When I say pickled it's not just sour, when Vietnamese pickle their veggies - it's actually sweet and sour. so I wouldn't have minded a stronger pickled flavour, maybe let the carrots and daikon sit in the liquid a couple days longer.
• The bread is wonderful. It's soft, chewy and a crispy baked exterior. It's nice to bite into and then you get the crunch of the veggies.
• I'd go back just for the sandwiches. They have so many options which is kind of rare too. Most restaurant will have a selection of 6. Pho Thai Hoa had 9-10 sub options!

New Asia Deli - Vietnamese Subs

Vietnamese Sub - "Banh Mi"

Meatball Sub

Restaurant: New Asia Deli - Review for Vietnamese-Chinese style Subs
Cuisine: Vietnamese/Asian
Last visited: September 3, 09

Area: Richmond, BC
Unit 1113 3779 Sexsmith Road
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 5 (cause of the subs)
Additional comments:

• Awesome Chinese style Vietnamese subs (I just wish the bread was better)
  
• More about the subs, not about the pho
• Could use more stuffing
• Bread is a bit hard
  
• Chinese owners - family owned and operated
• Located in Continental Square
• It used to be a hole in the wall behind the TD Canada Trust on No 3 Rd.
• Subs are made fresh upon order
• 4 subs for $12
• Crowded at lunch
• Closed Sundays

**Recommendation: Meatball Sub, Special Sub

New Asia Deli used to be a hole in the wall restaurant located behind the TD Canada Trust on No 3 Road across from the Richmond Centre shopping mall. After 2 years of running the business in a shoe box they gained enough popularity to move to a new and bigger location. The owners remain the same and the customers are loyal. Most young people will go here especially for their Vietnamese subs, and the people ordering pho are usually older people or families.

These subs aren't the authentic Vietnamese subs though, they're kind of Chinese-Viet style, so they are a bit different. The marinade for the meat is just really good and they go heavier on the pickled daikon which makes these subs even better. They're not authentic Vietnamese because the ingredients are slightly different. They don't put pate in them and the meat isn't as fatty - which I prefer. The only thing I will criticize is that the bread is not "French baguette" - which sucks. It's too hard and crusty - not soft like the ones from authentic Vietnamese places.

Generally I prefer a Vietnamese sub to a Subway sub any day.

Vietnamese Sub or "Banh Mi" includes some type of marinated meat, pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber, pate, butter-mayo, fish sauce, cilantro & green chillies all in a warm French baguette.

On the table:

• **Meatball Sub 5/6
• Marinated ground pork, cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, chillies

• The French baguette is ok here, it has a bit harder exterior, very crusty.
• The sauce they marinate their ground pork in is really good! This is what makes the sandwich. The meatball is really tender, juicy and moist - the marinade kind of absorbs into the bread too.
• They go heavier on the daikon which is nice - but I would prefer them to give more veggies altogether - the baguette is pretty heavy so I think they could put more stuffing in these sandwiches. I hate eating a sandwich and feeling like I'm just eating the bread - when this happens I feel like I'm eating the sandwich just waiting to get to the middle part. The bread is also just not great here, it's too hard and crusty.
• All in all, this meatball sub is still amazing! I like it better than the infamous Ba Le on Kingsway
• **Special Sub 4.5/6
• Cold cut meats, cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, chillies

• Again this is not an authentic Vietnamese sub, so it doesn't taste like the "specials" you would normally get at a Vietnamese place. These are somewhat "healthier" because they don't use head cheese or that fatty jellied pork rind meat. I'm not a fan of either of these ingredients
• This is more Chinese-Viet style - still really good! Again they could go heavier on the stuffing, and include more of everything. I find they do a poor job spreading out the cucumbers and cilantro. They were looking a little sparse in the sandwich - maybe because they make them so quickly? The sandwich is still really good though, fresh ingredients and made upon order - banh mi should always be made upon order though.