Dining Out: Nam's Famous Dry Wings, Pork Vermicelli, and Vietnamese Beef Stew with Bread at Nam 2

Haven't been back to Nam 2 in nearly half a year because they are always so goddamn busy and I loathe waiting for a table when I'm hungry (hungry turns to hangry), but my mom and I actually managed to get a table without waiting (granted, it was very early evening before the dinner rush, but still) and feasted on some of my non-pho faves:

Nam's Famous Dry Wings with garlic, onions, and lime dip
Pork Vermicelli with onion oil, pickled veggies, bean sprouts, mint, peanuts, and deep fried pork nem
Vietnamese Beef Stew with brisket, carrots, tomato, onions, and basil, served with bread

Still my favourite Viet restaurant for the classics. I tend to order from them through Uber Eats when I want Vietnamese food, but everything just tastes better at the restaurant. However, I just discovered that they open until 2:00AM now! Another way to avoid the line-ups: go for midnight dinner instead.

Nam 2

8380 Kennedy Rd., Unit C7

Unionville, ON L3R 0W4

(905) 470-1271

Dining Out: Smoked Beef Brisket & Ribs, Savoury Jowl Bites, Crispy Octopus with Sous Vide Egg, Vietnamese Beef Stew with Puff Pastry, and Lemongrass Pork Chops at Electric Piggy

I had never heard of Vietnamese BBQ before, so when I kept seeing Electric Piggy (the sister restaurant to Nam) all over my social media, I knew I had to try it out ASAP. So my friends Minji, Daniel, Samuel, and I went there for an early dinner and MY GOD, IT WAS INCREDIBLE:

14-hour smoked beef brisket and 6-hour smoked pork ribs with house BBQ sauce and buttery corn bread
Savoury pork jowl bites served with vermicelli
Crispy octopus with sous vide egg, la lot sausage chorizo, and potato purée
Vietnamese beef stew with premium beef brisket, tomato, carrots, and lemongrass topped with puff pastry
Charcoal grilled lemongrass pork chop on hai nam rice with onion oil

The most tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket and fall-off-the-bone pork ribs. Delectably juicy slices of pork neck. An impeccable combination of octopus and chorizo in an almost carbonara-like creamy egg concoction. A rich, savoury stew of tender beef brisket chunks and carrots topped with a flaky, crispy, golden puff pastry. Juicy lemongrass pork chops grilled over charcoal with perfectly oily hai nam rice. A perfect demonstration of how Vietnamese food is truly and beautifully fusion. 

I am apparently making it my goal to try out all the different Asian BBQs these days, and so far, I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED. 

Electric Piggy

8384 Woodbine Ave.

Markham, ON L3R 2N8

(905) 415-2122

Dining Out: Satay Beef Pho at Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

Satay beef pho

It's officially fall which means NOODLE SOUP SEASON HAS BEGUN. (Note that noodle soup season really encompasses fall and winter and part of spring, too. Toronto is cold for half the year, okay?) But today is also GLOOMY AF, which is when I want something a little richer, a little spicier. Enter the satay beef pho at Pho Time. You can get this at pretty much any pho restaurant, but the one here is particularly delicious.

Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

9255 Woodbine Ave., Unit 7A

Markham, ON L6C 0G5

(905) 534-0808

Dining Out: Dry Crispy Chicken Wings, Dual Smoked Rib & Braised Rib Pho, and Stir-Fried Butter Beef Rice with Sunny Side-Up Egg at Nam

My colleagues and I decided to go out for an early dinner after work at Nam:

Nam's Dry Crispy Chicken Wings

Dual Smoked Rib & Braised Rib Pho

Dual Smoked Rib & Braised Rib Pho

Stir-Fried Butter Beef Rice with Sunny Side-Up Egg

I say this with no exaggeration: this was the best Vietnamese meal I have ever had in my life. I have not actually been to Vietnam, but this place is owned and run by actual Vietnamese people (no offense to the dozens of Chinese-owned Viet restaurants in the city) so I trust that the food is as authentic as it can get here. (Also because my colleague, who is actually from Vietnam, said that this is her personal favourite Viet restaurant in the city and she's very picky about her Viet food, so I trust her judgment.) All the food we tried was excellent here, but the Dual Smoked Rib & Braised Rib Pho, which I shared with Minji, was truly outstanding. It's the only pho I've ever had where the meat was actually separated from the bowl of noodles, and the meats are so juicy, so tender, and so flavourful, that I see no reason to get anything else. Well worth the premium pricing. Nam2, its sister restaurant, is also great (they share the same menu), but the service is far, far, far superior at Nam. And they actually listen to you when you tell them NO CILANTRO.

Nam

9206 Leslie St.

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 2N8

(905) 763-3888

Dining Out: Phở Tái Satế at Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

Phở Tái Satế: Satay beef pho

Apparently, I can't get enough of spicy noodle soups this weekend.

My mom and I headed to Pho Time for a quick dinner and while I love regular pho, I was in the mood for something with some heat, so I ordered the satay beef pho. This place is actually run by Vietnamese people (most pho restaurants around here are not), so the satay beef pho here is actually spicy. Not intense spicy like you can't feel your mouth or taste anything after the first few bites, but the kind that brings heat (I was literally sweating) while still providing the true savoury-sweet flavour of satay. The peanuts enhance the flavour, the cucumbers add a super-refreshing crunch, and the beef is soft and tender. (Oh, and they ask if you want fresh or dried noodles beforehand. Always get the fresh noodles.) I'm not even exaggerating when I say this is the best satay noodle soup I've ever had.

(Although one point off for the cilantro, even though I asked for my noodles to have no cilantro. The server apologized about it, and I just accepted it because I didn't want to make a fuss, but it did make the noodle experience less than perfect because I had to spend every two minutes picking out bits of the devil's soapy lettuce.)

Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

Cachet Centre

9255 Woodbine Ave., Unit 7A

Markham, ON L6C 1Y9

(905) 534-0808

Dining Out: Phở Tái Bò Viên and Chả Giò at Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

Phở Tái Bò Viên: Rare beef and beef balls pho
Chả Giò: Crispy spring rolls
Went for a late lunch with my friend Carmen and inadvertently found my new fave pho place, where they actually give you a choice between fresh noodles and dried noodles, and the soup doesn't make you want to drink three litres of water afterwards. (I do also really love the food at Nam 2, but the line-ups are so long and the service is so abrupt that it's not worth it unless it's during off hours.)

Pho Time Authentic Vietnamese Eatery

Cachet Centre

9255 Woodbine Ave., Unit 7A

Markham, ON L6C 1Y9

(905) 534-0808

Dining Out: Sliced Beef and Beef Ball Pho, Beef Satay Rice Noodle Soup, and Vietnamese Spring Rolls at Le Viet

Nothing like having a nice bowl of piping hot beef pho and Vietnamese spring rolls on a cold, rainy day with your mom...

Sliced beef and beef ball pho
Vietnamese deep-fried spring rolls
Beef satay rice noodle soup

... and then ordering a bowl of beef satay rice noodle soup to share because the first bowl of noodles wasn't filling enough for either of you and you realize that maybe eating 3 big bowl of noodles among two people might be considered a lot to some people. (That moment when the server asks you if that extra bowl of noodles is for take-out, and you tell them, no, we're going to eat it now... 😅)

Le Viet

1210 Castlemore Ave.

Markham, ON L6E 0H7

(905) 201-6111

Dining Out: Phở Dặc Biệt, Chả Giò, and Bánh Mì Cà Ri Bo at Nam 2

It's my mom's last day staying with me at my apartment, so we decided to go out for dinner. Since it was -12°C today (Spring is bullshit here), I was in the mood for pho and thus took the opportunity to finally try out Nam 2. (My colleague, Linh, told me to try this place and when a Vietnamese person tells you to try a Vietnamese restaurant because it's one of the best they've had in Toronto, YOU TRUST THEM.) We tried going there last weekend, but there was a line out the door, so we figured we'd get a table for sure on a Monday, right? Well, if it's any indication of how popular this place is, we still had to wait 10 minutes to get a table tonight. Was it worth it?

Phở Dặc Biệt
Chả Giò
Bánh Mì Cà Ri Bo
Yes, yes it was. Of course, we got a large bowl of Phở Dặc Biệt (rare ribeye slices, tendon, tripe, brisket, and beef tendon balls with fresh noodles). We also got the deep fried pork spring rolls, and the Bánh Mì Cà Ri Bo (light coconut curry with beef brisket, potato, and tomato) served with a toasted bun. The pho is the star here, in my opinion. It actually tasted homemade — flavourful from the meaty broth rather than MSG (which makes me ultra-thirsty) — and was packed with a good amount of meat. Noodles were firm with a good chew, and loose instead of all stuck together in a massive pile at the bottom of the bowl like at most other pho restaurants. The spring rolls were perfectly crispy — puffy and airy on the outside — and jam-packed with ingredients. The curry had a good flavour and texture, but I did think it could've had a bit more coconut flavour. It included a good amount of beef brisket, though. 

Even though they forgot to exclude the coriander after I specifically wrote "NO CORIANDER" in the notes section, I still think it's worth eating here. Even if it means I have to remove every offensive leaf myself.

Nam 2

8380 Kennedy Rd., Unit C7

Unionville, ON L3R 0W4

(905) 470-1271

Dining Out: Pho and Spring Rolls at Le Viet

Raw beef and beef ball pho
Deep-fried spring rolls
First bowl of pho of 2022! In fact, this is my first bowl of pho in over a year. (Literally no pho was had in 2021. This might be the longest I've been pho-less since I was 8. SHAME ON ME.) I have been doing very poorly this noodle soup season, but I vow to make up for it.

Le Viet

1210 Castlemore Ave., Unit 4

Markham, ON L6E 0H7

(905) 201-6111

Photolog 2021: Day 344 of 365

Pork belly banh mi
Deep fried spring rolls
New work tradition: Friday takeout lunches from Nam. Today's choices: Pork belly banh mi and fried spring rolls. (Yes, I did remove all the cilantro promptly after taking the photos.) Might be my new favourite Vietnamese restaurant. And needless to say, all my colleagues are fully supportive of this new tradition.

Nam Vietnamese Restaurant

9206 Leslie Street

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 2N8

(905) 763-3888

Photolog 2021: Day 102 of 365

Beef brisket curry with roti
Beef brisket curry with roti
Went to visit my mom today so we decided to get takeout from Le Viet for dinner. My choice? The beef brisket curry with roti. And OH MY GOD, I HAVE MISSED THIS SO MUCH. It is so rich and so greasy and so crispy and SO FREAKING DELICIOUS and just worth EVERY GODDAMN CALORIE AND FAT GRAM even though it's MY ENTIRE DAY'S WORTH.

Le Viet

1210 Castlemore Ave.

Markham, ON L6E 0H7

(905) 201-6111

Photolog 2020: Day 300 of 366

Had to wake up early today to go to my doctor's to get not one, not two, but four vaccines (in case you're wondering, for the flu, pneumonia, tetanus, and HPV). I figured since I was already out, I would meet my mom to do some essential shopping and get some lunch. So after 20 minutes at the dollar store and an hour at the supermarket, we went to get some pho 'cause the craving was real today and I haven't had it in eight months. (Also, it's officially cold out, and thus, noodle soup season has begun.) Even though it was take out, it was still surprisingly delicious. I used to hate take out noodle soup because you'd always have to re-heat it on the stove and get the noodles loose again, but they've smartened up and now use microwaveable plastic instead of styrofoam with the noodles in a big bowl so it keeps them from molding into a shape as fast. And the soup (which was in a separate container, of course) was so piping hot that I still burned my tongue on it when I got home. SO GOOD.

That having been said, my arms are sore as fuck now.

Photolog 2020: Day 229 of 366

Y'all, I finally got the Malaysian beef brisket curry and roti that I've been craving FOR A WEEK, and it was everything I dreamed of and more. (Don't even care that I've had curry for two days in a row, it's so damn good.)

Photolog 2020: Day 48 of 366

Happy Family Day! In honour of this random statutory holiday that was passed in Ontario 12 years ago, I took out my mom for pho. Quite frankly, I think we should have Noodle Soup Day. We need a stat holiday for March, after all.

Photolog 2019: Day 246 of 365

Last day of my long weekend, which means it's still Cheat Weekend. But it's also gloomy and rainy outside, which means noodle soup. Hence, tonight's pick was the deliciously spicy beef satay noodle soup at Le Viet. Plus a side of Thai-style fried fish cakes, 'cause it's not really a cheat day without something fried.

Photolog 2019: Day 197 of 365

Had to go to the cardiologist's office today to get a heart ultrasound, EKG, and heart rate holter. While I was there, I found out that I had accidentally lost ten pounds since April. (I say "accidentally" because I didn't actually work towards losing weight. I guess this is just what happens when you eat salad for lunch everyday.) So I determined that I needed a cheat day, and went to Le Viet with my mom for dinner. We shared the chicken and beef curry with roti, and a vermicelli bowl with BBQ pork, minced shrimp on sugar cane, and a spring roll. And I don't even feel a little bit guilty.

Photolog 2019: Day 153 of 365

My dad's in town. Thus, pho for dinner and then Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Let's go!

Photolog 2019: Day 132 of 365

Offered to take my mom out for dinner for Mother's Day this evening, and all she wanted was pho. So who was I to deny her a nice bowl of piping hot Vietnamese noodle soup on this cold, rainy day?

Photolog 2019: Day 109 of 365

It's Good Friday so I have the day off from work, but it's also been super gloomy and rainy all day. So you know what that means. (Eating noodle soup, listening to BTS while reading up on all their latest news on Twitter, and watching K-dramas.)

Photolog 2019: Day 89 of 365

Okay, apparently it's still winter here (it's currently snowing), so you know what that means. Yes, a piping hot bowl of pho for dinner. Noodle soup season has not ended yet, folks.