Honest Bao

On a rainy London day, my trusty Google Maps led me to Ngon Ngon for a quick lunch during weekday, a Vietnamese spot with great ratings (4.6) and a lunch menu that promised to be a steal. I arrived in the quiet lull between lunch and dinner, so the staff were enjoying their own meals. This meant a slightly relaxed service, and my pho took an extra-long 25 minutes to arrive. Colourful shop front, from Google Map I started with the prawn summer rolls. The prawns were a bit bland, but the fresh herbs and vermicelli were spot on. The dipping sauce, a unique mix of hoisin and peanut butter (I was expecting the mixed fish sauce), was surprisingly delicious. Perfect season for summer roll The rare beef pho was the main event. The beef was beautifully pink and tender, just as it should be. Mixing the pho with beans sprout and coriander is a must for me, maybe with a tiny bit of chilli as well. The broth was a good, classic beef pho flavour—no surprises, but satisfying. My only letdown was the ...