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2014-11-23
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When I first heard about Bep, I was excited. There's Vietnamese food I'm OK with in HK, but there's nothing I really like.My enthusiasm was tempered, however, when I discovered that it's the same people who did Nha Trang, which I loathed. But you never know...My hard heart softened somewhat upon seeing an old friend at the table. Non-Americans may not understand the strong American feeling that Huy Fung brand Sriracha ("rooster sauce") IS Sriracha. Unlike the "authentic" stuff exported from Thai
My enthusiasm was tempered, however, when I discovered that it's the same people who did Nha Trang, which I loathed. But you never know...
My hard heart softened somewhat upon seeing an old friend at the table. Non-Americans may not understand the strong American feeling that Huy Fung brand Sriracha ("rooster sauce") IS Sriracha. Unlike the "authentic" stuff exported from Thailand, this is made with red jalapenos and is, I've found, spicier and much better flavored. My review of Nha Trang said, "I wanted some Sriracha... and when I asked for Sriracha, the server looked at me like I was crazy. 'Chili sauce' eventually did the trick, but I had to ask for more chili sauce twice during the meal. Can't I have a bottle on my table?" That's what I call picking up your game, Bep.
I got the combination pho: beef balls and raw sirloin. Meat: The sirloin was maybe a little bit thicker than it should have been, but that's all I've got against it. It wasn't fatty or chewy. Just straightforward: meat. The beef balls I was a genuine fan of. I haven't had beef balls this firm and flavorful for a while. 8/10
Noodles: I previously praised Nha Trang fro their noodles, and the case is no different here. These noodles were not mushy even at the end of the meal. Nice and firm-- I don't know why so many places can't do this, but it's high on my list. 9/10
Broth: Very strong in the salt, sweet, and meaty departments. Weaker on the aromatics, like ginger and star anise. Ever-so-slightly greasy. I called the stuff at Nha Trang "pretty much hot water"-- this was far better, my favorite broth in HK so far. 8/10
Add-ins: On the side you get Thai basil, lime, bean sprouts, and some additional herb I couldn't place. You can also ask for sliced chilis (which I did). Again from my old review of NT: "You might be miffed that they don't have bean sprouts, if that's your thing." Clear, qualitative improvement here.
The add-ins are great. With the Sriracha and sliced chilis, my pho was fiery red in color and genuinely spicy. Love it. 10/10.
Final pho grade: Excellent, A-
My favorite Vietnamese rolls are just the rice vermicelli ones (sometimes with pork or shrimp), especially if there's good Sriracha on the table. The menu didn't mention vermicelli in any of the rolls, so we fell back on the soft-shell crab rolls. Looking at my old pictures, it looks like the soft shell crab rolls used to have vermicelli in them. I guess now that the place has gone 'upscale' that they have reduced the 'filler'... but in this instance I like the filler! Anyway, still very good. B+
My wife got the banh mi. Way back machine once more:Old review of NT: "The baguette itself was a horrible, flaccid piece of tasteless white bread with no crispness and no flavor. There was no mayo and no chili sauce. Just some vietnamese sausage on white bread. Like a balogne sandwich almost (but with no mayo). D"
Ouch. I'm not the nicest individual sometimes. Anyway, the new incarnation of the banh mi has genuinely turned things around. The bread at Bep is great. My wife considered asking the servers if we could buy some to take home. It wasn't just balogne: there was pate and pork as well. It did need Sriracha, but luckily there was some right there on the table. My wife doesn't think it holds up to Tim Kee French Sandwiches, but we both really liked it. Very good, B+
I have totally buried the hatchet with respect to my prior gripes with Nha Trang. Bep is my new favorite thing in HK. It's not full of food trends and gimmicks. Just solid stuff, done well. Old fans of NT may not like the higher price point, but maybe that will be good in shortening the line out front.
题外话/补充资料：
I think we paid $330 for the soup, sandwich, rolls + 2 lime sodas.
(以上食记乃用户个人意见 , 并不代表OpenRice之观点。)
张贴
