Pho by Any Other Name...

Golden Bull Vietnamese Cuisine on Xiangyang Lu - By Hien, Dec 18, 07

Having walked past a new building on a daily routine over the past six months, I was quite excited to learn a few weeks back that it was going to be the site of a new Vietnamese restaurant. The area hemmed in by Xiangyang Lu, Changle Lu and Julu Lu is one off the nastier parts of town when it comes to dirt cheap restaurants and street vendors selling everything from live chickens (freshly killed on the spot), fish and produce, to, of course, "watch, bag, DVD, shoes." The area looks like its undergoing a bit of a facelift these days though, with a few new boutiques sprouting up in the surrounds, and new restaurants like Zoco and now Golden Bull opening their doors.

If you've been keeping track, you'll recall me lamenting in my last "Pho Quest" article that I've just about run out of Vietnamese restaurants to try in this city, and so when I saw the first Golden Bull poster being pasted up, I was already smacking my lips in anticipation. Glancing inside the window at the decoration I could see them setting up, and was even approached a few times to come in as I walked past. This was off-putting though. The hard sell from restaurant greeters usually drains any enthusiasm I have to enter the place. I don't know about any of you, but the one thing I've never gotten used to in Shanghai is the hard selling of restaurants.

A little apprehensive at first I decided to try it out nevertheless for a Sunday Vietnamese brunch (which used to be my ritual in Sydney). Being just around the corner from my apartment and a nice, warm Sunday morning as it was, I was in a jovial mood. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by an army of hostesses and a manager even before getting past the set of doors. This is par for the course for large Chinese restaurants, but this being a Vietnamese restaurant it left me a little uneasy -after all these years I still cannot get use to entering a restaurant and being greeted as if I'm walking into a KTV.

As the menu came out I was eager to take a peek at what they had to offer. I should have checked it out before I came in but I was hell bent on trying the place no matter what. Before I got a chance to take my time with the menu I had to ask them to leave and give me a few minutes; again after five years in China I am still not used to having the wait staff standing right next to me when I'm looking over the menu. I always need a bit of time and space to discuss options with my dining companion.

Looking closer at the offerings, the dishes all looked good but I was after just one thing: a bowl of "PHO." And hard to find it was; I must have turned the pages five times before realizing that they had cleverly disguised this Vietnamese staple in another name: "Cellophane beef with rice noodle" (30rmb). After unmasking the Pho I ordered it together with steam rice noodle sheets with barbecue beef (Bun Hoi, 60rmb). This too was called something else and it was lucky they had a picture of it, or else I wouldn't have recognized the dish. This renaming of standard Vietnamese dishes was evidence to me that the restaurant is going for a broader appeal, seeking to cater to a larger market rather than appeal to us few die-hards for Vietnamese authenticity. As a race, the Vietnamese are as proud as they come and the names of their national dishes are never changed unless the chef is looking at creating a new fusion dish...

My low expectations turned to reality when the coffees (25rmb) came out and were done completely wrong. The rice noodles sheets fared a little better and on first impression look to be very good. The sheets were very well constructed (meshed rice noodles), but the beef was a little bit too salty and did not have enough lemon grass. The real disappointed, though, as is the case with most Vietnamese restaurants in town, was again the lack of essential fresh mints. In this case, they didn't give us any at all...

I was already in a very disappointed mood when the Pho came out, and it worsened when the dish appeared without the bean sprouts, basils (replace by 2 mediocre leaves of mint), hoisin sauce, fresh lemon and chillies. These are only a few of the essential condiments that comprise Pho, and are pretty standard. Of course some (very few though) prefer not to have these added extras, but it nevertheless should come out together automatically. The Pho broth itself was not too bad, event though it lacked coriander and shallots. With a bit of tweaking it could well be something I would come back to. Alas, in my experience, Golden Bull is straying to far from the authentic character of Vietnamese cuisine and the Quest continues...

Hien's quest to find the best Pho in Shanghai has led him tirelessly to restaurants across the city. Read more of his Pho reviews here:

- Pho-thetic Pho in Gubei

- The Pho Quest Continues... - Phostar on Hongmei Lu
- Le Garcon Chinois - Ssssh it's a secret
- The Vietnamese Blues - Saigon Blue, a new Vietnamese Restaurant
- Vietnamese is the new Black? - The new 'Quan Vietnam'

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