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The Pho Quest Continues...

Phostar, A New Vietnamese Restaurant on Hongmei Lu - By Hien, Aug 15, 07

In my never ending quest for the best Pho -- or at least a consumable Pho -- in Shanghai, I tried out a fairly new place out on Hongmei Lu called Phostar. People living out in the neighborhood are lucky because the area is filled with great restaurants right at their doorstep. For the rest of us, though, Hongmei is a little out of the way. For my Pho quest, however, I don't mind trekking out to any distant horizon just as long as there is a chance my longing for the perfect Pho might be fulfilled. If you're like me and are after a good bowl of Vietnamese beef broth you'd venture anywhere. But let me get right to the point: the pho at Phostar is ma ma hu hu at best. And if you're like me when it comes to Pho -- fanatical in every regard -- you may leave disappointed. But if you're after a decent portion, then this is the place for you, as they whip up a huge bowl. However, the quantity of noodles compared to other contents and ingredients was too high, which made this bowl of Pho slightly off the mark.

As I have lamented often in my other reviews, where is my basil? Okay, they gave me some. But three leaves is not nearly enough. Is basil so expensive that some restaurants in Shanghai cannot afford to provide it? The herb is so essential to the enjoyment of the meal, you'd think they would make all efforts to make ample amounts available at any expense. If you're not fussy about your herbs (or if you're not particularly knowledgeable about Pho), then I admit this might be the place for you, as the general taste and portion isn't half bad.

Then again, you'd think for a place that has “PHO” in its name, their particular take on the dish should be done to perfection. Should restaurateurs not owe it to the public to do the best they can, provide the most authentic dish possible, aim to satisfy those who know what they want and educate those who don't? I say Hell Yes!

Wow that's a load off. Now to be fair, they may do other dishes quite well, which we did not try as I was only focussed on the Pho. They have quite a large menu, which suggest to me that the Pho would not be so good, but perhaps other dishes can be. I am of the opinion that when a menu is large, it is hard to do each dish quite well when the restaurant is a small operation. I think I said this before in my previous articles too.

Overall the price is not bad, 28rmb for a Pho, but they either made a mistake in the bill or tried to pinch a few extra kuai from me. I chose the non-standard Pho and opted for one extra meat to go with it. They charged me for two meats, which amounted to an extra 8rmb on the total. Now I know 8 kwai isn't much but it’s the principle: these little things can ruin your meal.

Another thing I am quite particular about is Vietnamese Coffee and this was a bit of a disaster when it came out and not how it should be. A black Vietnamese coffee is in actual fact quite simple to make, but either the waiter was a dumb @#* or my Chinese is incomprehensible because black Vietnamese coffee wasn't what I received.

But back to the Pho. I had a large bowl, perhaps a little too large but the initial taste was quite good and quite flavorful. On a closer look, I could see big pieces of grinded pepper floating in the dish. After a few seconds the pepper completely took over any flavor the dish had, leaving the tongue numbing and tingly, unable to taste anything else. Even the chilly couldn't compete.

However don't take my word for it, try it for yourself.

For help on finding the place, it's quite close to City Supermarket and but not particularly close to Yan'an Lu as mentioned in other articles on the restaurant.

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