Long Phung Vietnamese Restaurant

Labor day hols and we set off in search of a late lunch after sleeping off the decadence of the night before. "How about checking out Little Vietnam at Joo Chiat?" I suggested. So off we went, for some authentic Vietnamese fare and if we were lucky, some "action" on the sleazy front. 

Long Phung was packed at 3pm (No surprises, I guess the clientele keeps late night too hehehe). Besides a large proportion of Vietnamese local girls, we noticed a fair number of tables with foreigners too. A tourist attraction in itself? 

Whatever the business model, my oh my the food was fantastic! As a starter, we shared the summer spring rolls - the roll was a bit thick but the accompanying peanut/ chilli/ sweet sauce was absolutely delish. Satisfyingly spicy - tasted even better after we added asome lime juice to give it some zest.

Next came the pho. I had the special beef pho which had an egg cracked in, and B had the rare beef pho. I have to say, this is the best pho I've had in Singapore so far! Fantastic soup base, not too heavy but oh so flavorful. They didn't stinge on the beef either.

Our roving eyes landed on the steamed clams the next table were having. B unbashedly said "I want that too." Good call - the clams were succulent and the broth was fragrant and comforting.

The bill came up to less $30 for the 2 of us, including 2 coconuts and an iced viet coffee. Now, THIS, is what I call excellent value.

NUOC

B mentioned a good Vietnamese restaurant near his place, so last lazy Sunday, we decided to check out NUOC at Orchard Central. I’ve always found Orchard Central a bit of a maze (weird layout) so if B had not known where the restaurant was, I doubt I’d ever have found it.

NUOC is a bit of a fine dining Vietnamese joint so prices were slightly steep. But I thought this was justifying so – quality of the food was fantastic, with excellent service to boot. The ambience was nice – lots of natural sunlight, soothing surroundings and a great view of orchard road. Very zen.

I would go back just for this one dish - Juicy beef tenderloin goodness married with healthy greens and refreshing chili/fish sauce – so good!

Also of worthy mention were the fresh vietnamese spring rolls – we were impressed with how snuggly wrapped the prawns, sliced pork, lettuce and vermicelli were rolled in the rice paper. The peanut dipping sauce was very tasty. We also had the chicken pho to share. I liked it, although B says the beef pho he had the last time he was there is better.

There’s 20% discount with the modestos card and I hear it allows BYO with no corkage for a couple of bottles too so I’m looking forward to a wine lunch/dinner there soon!