Thursday 15 April 2010

Zen Kitchen, Renaissance Arcade

I am a sucker for pho. In fact, I’m a sucker for Vietnamese food, full stop. I love the stuff. Zen Kitchen in the Renaissance Arcade has recently become the home of my lunchtime Vietnamese fix.

Research the origins of pho, I learned that the broth is usually made with charred onions and probably has French origins. The French dish put-au-feu also use charred onions in its broth. Feu is French for fire and is possibly epistemological origin of pho.

To start I ordered spring rolls. Part chicken, part Vietnamese pate, these spring rolls were hot and crispy.

I usually favour the rice dishes over the pho, but because I have a cold (and the best cure for a cold is chicken noodle soup) I went for chicken pho. A generous serve of pho emerged quickly from the kitchen, accompanied by a big plate of bean sprouts, basil and lime. The broth was savoury and the herbal flavours of star anise, cloves and ginger came through strongly (and probably did wonders for my cold). The chicken was slightly fatty, but juicy and tender. I like to dip my chicken in a little soy and hot sauce. Delicious.

Zen Kitchen is great place for lunchtime pho. I can also recommend to banh mi and the mayonnaise chicken.

Apologies for the lack of photos with this entry. I got so excited about filling my belly with Vietnamese food that I forgot to take any. I’ll take some next time. Promise.

1 comment:

  1. You have definitely inspired me to try this place! Good blog by the way, not too much waffle, to the point reviews.

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