Listen here whippersnappers! I’m going to tell you young ‘uns an old story, about back when we were young. on February 20th of ’11 we decided to go to Cafe Xu Hue, on Kingsway near Nanaimo. I remember it like it was … well, I can’t even remember it now. Wait, was I even there? Hmmmm….. Wait, what was I going to do? Oh that’s right. It’s time to post a review.
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This tiny little restaurant on Kingsway is in a low-rise next to a Canadian Tire and across from a condo building under construction. It was pretty busy when we walked in, with lots of Vietnamese customers digging into their bowls of bon bo hues (a great sign!). Wait, you don’t know what Bon Bo Hue is (I had to look it up too). It’s beef rice vermicelli soup! Yes yes, I realize we’re a pho-review club, but… we like to extend the umbrella from time to time. And since it’s still has noodles, beef and soup – it practically qualifies as pho! And, I have a feeling it’s going to get even busier once the condos across the street are built, especially since this place only has 8 tables.
Bean Sprouts - the best part of any club...er.. pho I mean.
Sadly, despite its size, service was still rather poor, and it was quite cold near the door. However, once we got our steaming bowls of beef vermicelli, things started to warm up!
Bon bo hue: a cure for the cold
Overall, presentation of all the food was excellent. A real bonus was how they included banana leaves – which added some great texture – and, they garnished with banana flowers!
Here’s the review for the bon bo hue!
One size: $8
Beef: “Excellent” (Seriously. That’s all we wrote!)
Noodles: Not bad, not great. As expected!
Broth: Light and sophisticated, very flavourful.
Presentation: 4 out of 4
Note: this place is cash-only.
Overall: 8 out of 10. A couple of pholicious members gave slightly lower scores – but everyone else loved the bon bo hue!
