One of the pho places that I had yet to visit downtown is a little hole in the wall called One Saigon on Hornby St. I found myself passing by later in the afternoon~if your a Foursquare user you get 30% off your food bill for checking in after 3pm!, you walk in and order at the counter, the menu is small but there is a bit of everything good in Vietnamese cuisine and the daily specials are worth checking out as well.
I placed an order for a couple of standard items I usually get:
A bowl of chicken pho that was around $7.50
And some spring rolls, you get 4 pieces for $5.50 or so and they are served with the usual sweet fish sauce concoction. I found the wrapper for these to me nice and crisp but a bit greasy, on the plus side they were piping hot.
With my bowl of pho all fixed up with the usual suspects-Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime and some hot sauce, I was really impressed with how light the broth was yet it was comforting and a treat to eat. They also get major props here for freshness of ingredients, my bean sprouts were milky white and crisp. The noodles were not over done and there was just the right amount for the size of the bowl.
I had a satisfying meal here and the service was great, the food was fresh and tasty and the 30% off with a Foursquare check-in will have me coming back to eat a ton more from the menu. I’d easily recommend One Saigon if you’re looking for a solid Vietnamese meal that won’t break the bank.
The place usually dies down around 1:30-2pm on the weekdays so it was a great time to visit and grab one of my favorite things and snap some pictures.
On my first visit I had the classic clubhouse with fries. For $11.75 you get the usual suspects in a classic clubhouse-freshly roasted chicken, fresh tomatoes and lettuce and perfectly cooked bacon. This was one of the best clubhouses I’ve ever had and it’s simply because of the fresh ingredients. The fries here are hand cut and tossed with salt and pepper and are totally addictive.
I was dining alone so some portions of the dishes I wanted to try were a bit on the large side so I’m going to have to wait to get back with some friends for a chow down and the fact on this visit it was the day before there 2 week vacation so I couldn’t get any pho.
Food wise I went with a combo plate that consisted of a couple great items like Vietnamese spring rolls, shrimp on sugar cane and a skewer of grilled pepper beef all for $12.
The Vietnamese spring rolls were OK, there filled with veggies and meat. The filling was seasoned nicely and tasted great but they were a bit greasy. At the end of the day I think if they were fresh out of the fryer I would have enjoyed them more.
This is the shrimp on sugar cane, it’s a shrimp mousse formed around a piece of sugar cane and then deep fried. It was a firm texture to it
and wasn’t light and fluffy like I thought it would be but it tasted OK dipped in the spring roll sauce.
The grilled pepper beef skewer was really good and I could eat a plate of them, the thin slices of beef were nice and tender and had a nice grilled flavor, the slices were separated with pieces of onion and red peppers.
For as long as I can remember the Ukrainian Village restaurant has been serving up great Eastern European classics in the West End. from the minute you walk in the door it’s like you’ve stepped into someone’s cozy house for some good home cooking.
It’s a family run business that is open Monday-Sunday (they open at 5PM on Mondays) for lunch and dinner. The menu is varied with classics like schnitzel, homemade perogies and delicious soups your sure to find something that satisfy your hunger.
The Ukrainian Dinner $19.95, two cabbage rolls, six perogies, Ukrainian sausage, vinegar dressed coleslaw, pickled beets and NUCLEAR hot mustard.
The Ukrainian sausage is pretty standard, I don’t think it’s made in house but who cares-it’s darn good and a quality product.
On the menu this is listed just as vegetables but it’s more like a coleslaw that’s seasoned nicely with some herbs and a vinegar type dressing, the beets are really good and that mustard is damn hot so beware-I don’t even touch it and have learned my lesson.
You get six perogies and they have 3 different kinds-potato and fried onion,homemade sauerkraut and cheddar with potato. I usually get an assorted mix but my favorite is the sauerkraut-it’s not like that stinky stuff from the jar, it’s more sweet than sour.
Finally you get two cabbage rolls, they also offer a vegetarian version but I went with the meat. They make good cabbage rolls here and there HUGE and not just a bunch of rice and filler
there’s a great mix of onion and beef and the sauce on top is nice with a sweet/sour taste.
for this visit I stuck to the Vietnamese side of the menu.
now on to the food:
Vietnamese Spring Rolls $3.95. I started with the Vietnamese Spring Rolls after reading reader reviews recommending them, they were super crispy on the outside without being greasy and the filling was nice and flavorful and the dipping sauce wasn’t too sweet or to sour.
Rare Beef and Beef Ball Pho $7.25. The pho here is quite good and really affordable, the broth is flavorful and very herbaceous. The beef was melt in your mouth tender and the beef ball was tasty, I’m a fan of leaving the lime wedge in my soup after squeezing it so I get a nice citrus punch.
