Thai Son Vietnamese Restaurant

Here is another backdated food post of Thai Son. I was kinda swarmed by some sort of fruit fries entering and departing the restuarant which was not a totally pleasant experience for Gator - it was late spring then. Overall, the food was so-so.

I was looking forward to having some Bun Bo Hue noodles. But it was not a totally good experience for me. It was not what I expected. The broth was really very greasy. I had to pour away like 1/4 bowl of this oily mixture before I cook commence eating.

I know this doesn't look greasy - but it really is. It had this huge pork knuckle inside.

I was not too enamoured with the pork knuckle - it was kinda big and made eating difficult. But I did like the meat balls and also the slices of meat.

The broth came with a healthy serving of onions

Bun Bo Hue came accompanied with a healthy serving of meat leaves and bean sprouts

 I added quite a bit of mint leaves and bean sprouts to hopefully absorb the grease from the broth. But it did not really work. A thumbs down from Gator for this dish.

We also ordered a grilled pork chop with a side order of meat loaf. The portions were pretty generous. I like the meat loaf - thought it was better than Pho Hoa Hong actually.

I really like the grilled pork chop - done quite nicely.

My favourite part of the dish was the burnt bits from the pork chop and the meat loaf.

Overall Experience:

Deco: 2/5 - you basically want to eat fast and leave. A no fuss place.
Quality of food: 3/5 - I liked the grilled pork chops but the bun bo huy was a disappointment for me
Value for $$: $$$/5 - its reasonable and portions are generous. But overall, I had better food elsewhere.
Overall Experience: 3/5 - it was so-so for Gator. I want to try their Pho next time.

Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodles, Aberdeen Centre

I have a backlog of food posts and so will be gradually write about them over the next few weeks.I have been to Chef Hung's twice and have a generally happy and positive experience.

One of the main highlights of this restaurant is their display of a moving bowl of noodles accompanied by chopsticks. It never fails to amuse Gator. I was told that when their restaurant first opened, there will be massive lineup outside their premise. But I had no difficulties at all during both occasions to get a table.

Chef Hung has won several beef noodle competitions in Taiwan.

The picture of presumably Chef Hung was displayed in all their paper place mats.

And this is their accolade - award wining beef noodles.

This time, ordered their Champion braised beef with noodle in tomato soup. Chef Hung claimed not to have MSG in their food and I believe that its true. I was not dehydrated hours after enjoying my bowl of noodles. Requested beef shank for one of the bowl of noodles. I was happy with the portions - I love the beef tendons in my noodles.

This pix is a bit blurry because of the steam from the noodles: beef shank

This one had no beef shank - spot the juicy tomatoes

Finally, I cannot resist ordering their chicken nuggets - I have to admit that their chicken nuggets were not as good as corner 23. It was fried but there was not much taste to their seasoning.

Crispy chicken nuggets - need more spice and taste to this dish

Overall Experience:
Deco: 4/5 - comfortable and private seating. I love their display of moving noodles - a centrepiece attraction. I also like sitting at the corner near the window.
Quality of food: 4/5 - I really like their noodles but felt that they should improve on their side  dishes are alright.
Value for $$: $$/5 - Its definitely more expensive than Cattle Cafe.
Overall Experience:  4/5 - I know a lot of people felt that their noodles are overrated but I had 2 positive experiences so far and I really enjoyed it. Service was polite, prompt and efficient.