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2012-11-16
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I've eaten here twice, and once was today. I suppose it's called "Noodlemi" to let you know that they have both noodle soup and banh mi. I don't know why this isn't more regular, but it isn't. This is a positive.Unfortunately, they're taking the homophone '-mi' a little too seriously and you see "cravemi" and "desiremi" all over the place. This is a negative. It does not impressmi.Here's a rundown:Service: It's obviously busy at lunch time. Even coming before the 1pm rush is no guarantee for a s
I suppose it's called "Noodlemi" to let you know that they have both noodle soup and banh mi. I don't know why this isn't more regular, but it isn't. This is a positive.
Unfortunately, they're taking the homophone '-mi' a little too seriously and you see "cravemi" and "desiremi" all over the place. This is a negative. It does not impressmi.
Here's a rundown:
Service: It's obviously busy at lunch time. Even coming before the 1pm rush is no guarantee for a seat. The food might take a while... the French lady I was seated next to ordered a soft shell crab roll that didn't come until 35 minutes into the meal (I know, because that's when I was leaving and I stayed for 35 minutes). Aim for uncooked things (salads) or pre-cooked things (pho) if you're in a rush.
Atmosphere: French. French music playing, French people seated next to you, Vietnamese-French fusion, baguettes... but no Tony Parker. Alas!
The first time I went, I tried the banh mi. I can't say I recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure you can't get a traditional mix of meats and pate. You have to tell them the one meat you want, and that's what's on there. Note to Noodlemi: I'm not in it for the pickled carrots. Give me meats!
The other thing was the baguette. It was crispy, but not in a good way. You know how couple-days-old stale baguettes are crsipy? Yeah, it was crispy like that. I'm not saying these were stale, it was just they were crispy like that instead of being crispy like, say, Tim Kee baguettes.
Still, the sandwich on the whole beat every other banh mi I've had in Central/ Sheung Wan/ that general area, including the place that used to be right here on Bonham Strand (I think it was called "Banh Mi") and the place over on Graham Street, whose name I shall not speak. So that's a positive, if there ever was one.
Today I had the pho. Beef pho to be preciese:
Meat: Look, I know noodle soup doesn't have the best cuts of meat. That's why you simmer the meat for hours in the broth. But the meat-of-choice at noodlemi is raw round steak, which by definition has not been simmered for hours. It should not be low quality; it is. Not to go into too much detail, but it's the sort of thing where you swallow part of it, but then it's still stuck by the unchewable parts to other parts you haven't swallowed, so it doesn't go all the way down, and you gag a little and... sorry, this story is unedifying. The meat is sub-par, and you don't get any beef balls or flank or anything else. C
Noodles: I like the rice sticks/ vermicelli. Every pho restaurant in HK likes the broad flat rice noodles, the ones that get all mushy and overcooked. Noodlemi at least had the decency not to cook the crap out of them *before* my soup was set in front of me, so they were only horribly mushy 5 minutes into the meal, and not right at the beginning. B
Broth: bonus for being hot. In any other country, I wouldn't give bonuses for making hot food hot, but HK is special. Other than that, it was spectacularly bland. I tried for hints of anise and ginger... then I tried for hints of beef... this was just hot water. That's going a little over the top, but I've had better. Once I put the sriracha in it, you couldn't taste the original flavors, few as they were. C
Sriracha: By the way, it's great that there's chili sauce at the table. No Vietnamese place in my old hood (Tsuen Wan) did this. When I first tried Noodlemi, they were using bottles of Huy Fong, the California brand that's better than all the rest (sorry, Vietnam, Thailand, etc.). This time the sauce was in proprietary Noodlemi bottles... though it might have been the same. I'll have to squeeze it directly on my tongue next time. I'll go with what I know though and give it A
Extras: chili slices, limes, bean sprouts, and basil. Everything you want. Except... why were there bean sprouts IN my soup? If you bring me sprouts on the side, aren't you suggesting I have the choice as to whether I have them and how many I have? But if you put them on the side and in the soup, I guess it's just... I can have more, maybe? Anyway, from someone who thinks the crunch of bean sprouts is "off" in pho, I'd prefer more choice. However, they deliver the extras: A-
I was thinking while I ate this soup that it was better than pho 28, which is closer by me. Now that I've thought out the case, I think it goes the other way. Pho is really three things: meat, broth, noodles, (and sriracha). Noodlemi has above average noodles, but below average meat and broth. I'm going to have to score this place the rare "B minus minus"
題外話/補充資料：
$55 for a bowl of pho, and no service charge. For the price, it's a "B minus plus".
(以上食評乃用戶個人意見 , 並不代表OpenRice之觀點。)
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