By Estee Ng

Vietnamese food seems to have made a recent resurgence in the F&B market in Singapore. Not that were complaining because we love Vietnamese food! It's healthy and tasty.

So, we took a trip down to Pho Street in Bedok Mall for some healthy and tasty goodness. Pho Street at Bedok Mall is a lively concept cafe. A bicycle greets you as you enter, and you'll find colourful baskets of fruit hanging above the counter where you order. Friendly waitresses greet you as you enter.

Although the restaurant was bustling with the dinner crowd on a weekday, waitresses were still prompt at providing pleasant service to the diners.

We started off the meal with a Lemon Cooler with Peppermint & Basil and Passionfruit & Basil Mojito ($3.50 each). Pho Street zests up the lemon cooler with refreshing mint and basil, while the Passionfruit & Basil Mojito (which turned out to be our personal favourite), adds a punch because of its sweet and sour tang. Both the coolers were refreshing, just in time for us to quench our thirst after a hot afternoon out in the sun.

From the appetiser menu, we tried the Fresh Summer Rolls with Prawn, Pork Belly & Fresh Herbs ($4.90). With the few named ingredients dressed in a translucent film of rice paper, we thought it would be slightly bland from past experiences at other establishments but every bite of the salad roll here at Pho Street proved to be flavourful, crunchy and healthy. It came with a peanut sauce dip, which tastes similar to Yong Tau Foo sauce, plus the added crunchy texture from the crushed nuts.

We also tried the Sesame Rice Crackers with Fragrant Minced Meat and Spices Dip ($6.90). It was as crispy as any freshly fried rice crackers could be, with a sweet aroma of sesame seeds and just a trace of coconut essence to bring out the overall flavour.

Something worth trying here if you're in a bigger group is the Vietnamese snack platter ($8.90) which consists of crispy fried pork rolls, roasted chicken skewers, and vietnamese crab cakes, all served in pairs.

The highlight of the entire meal though, had to be the Bun Cha! Recently, President Obama and Anthony Bourdain made news when they sat down over a bowl of Bun Cha in Hanoi. The same dish, Bun Cha ($10.90), at Pho Street, is served with a cold broth of pickled radish and carrots and pork belly. The basket contains rice noodles, grilled pork patties, beansprouts, grated cucumber and basil leaves.

Similarly to how Japanese soba noodles are eaten, the noodles are dipped into the broth before savouring it. The strong flavour of the pickle-soaked vegetables contributes to the acidity of the broth, but at the same time, it produces a sweet and savoury finish from the grilled pork belly. The dish was indeed refreshing and had an authentic Vietnamese flavour.

Another very popular dish that is served at Pho Street is the Banh Mi. And it is a favourite among the expats in Singapore. The Bahn Mi combination ($8.90) is served with pork belly, grilled beef and chicken ham, accompanied with other herbs such as cilantro, cucumber and pickled radish.

If you are a person who can't live without beef, then Pho Street's Pho Beef Combination ($9.90) is a good dish for you to have. It is served with beef balls, beef slices, beef shank, beef tendons and beef tripe. In comparison to Nam Nam, the beef broth from Pho Street is not as salty and the flavours are well balanced. The beef is also cooked to tender perfection.

The food in Pho Street indeed satisfied our cravings for awesome (and affordable!) Vietnamese cuisine, and we definitely see ourselves coming back to Pho Street again soon. Find Pho Street outlets at Seletar Mall, Westgate, Changi Airport T2 Departure Transit Area, and Century Square.

Pho Street @ Bedok Mall 311 New Upper Changi Road #B1-40

Opens daily from 1130am to 10pm

#phostreet #Phostreetbedokmall #upperchangiroad #vietnamesefoodinsg #bedokmall