Pho @ 49 Bat Dan

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Highly recommended by the hotel folks and also by the guidebooks, finding this shophouse was not too difficult. Easy to spot with the hungry crowd both dining in and taking away.


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Remember the signboard.

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Queues.

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When in doubt, really just point. I did not want to face a clueless uncle with my mispronunciation nor incur the wrath of ten other hungry people behind me. 

When in doubt, also just do what the rest do without sticking out too much like a sore thumb. 

Quickly finding a seat and pretending to be at complete ease in the coffeeshop stained with grime from yesteryears.
 
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What makes this Pho shop stand out is the chunk of beef hanging by the side of the stall. Surprising thing is, there were no flies hovering around it despite the full exposure it was getting.

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 Spicy!

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Yet when the bowl of steaming hot Pho was served, we all spoke the same universal language – slurping! They serve a different kind of chilli, orange ones which could be washed in water to rinse off the seeds. They pack a mighty punch however! Rich broth, evident of the numerous hours spent with pork and beef bones soaking. I think I just became a Pho convert over this famous bowl. I reckon Pho is quite all the same, the famous do get it righter than the rest but by and large it is quintessentially just a bowl of kuay teow with beef. If anything that sets it apart, it will be the condiments – like how same same wanton mee gets differentiated by the chilli paste?

 


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Here’s one place that is worth a visit for that first bowl of Pho to justify having tried the real thing!

Pho
49 Bat Dan

Comments

  1. Hi there ! Just stumbled upon your blog and am so glad that you offer a really refreshing opinion on some of the restaurants that Singapore has to offer. Quite unlike the many self proclaimed food connoisseurs/bloggers with rather undiscerning palates and only seem to blog about those few hype-ish but semi-mediocre restaurants , which really misleads the public who end up going to these said places leaving fairly disappointed (!!) . Anyhoos I've had a similar unfortunate experience of going onto one of those old junks/bunkers for a ha long bay cruise .almost died from the lack of protein/nutrition and the first thing all aboard did when we arrived at the stop over restaurant at the end of the tour was to order plates and plates of stir fried beef . Keep up the good work and please don't get sucked into posting 101 media invitings (how can an invited tasting with free food ever taste bad ?) :)

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  2. @Anna: Glad you like what you're reading!Taste is majorly subjective so there you have it, different opinions amongst food bloggers. I wish someone would blog about halong bay and the food in particular..so I hope that entry of mine would shed some light about what to expect at least!

    Have to agree with you on invited tastings...always read with a pinch of salt. :)

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